Introduction to Playwright#

Playwright is a modern automation framework for end-to-end testing of web applications. This introduction covers the essential concepts to get you started.

What is Playwright?#

Playwright is an open-source tool developed by Microsoft that enables reliable end-to-end testing for modern web apps. It allows you to write tests in JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Java, and .NET.

Key Features#

  • Cross-browser - Test on Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit

  • Cross-platform - Test on Windows, Linux, and macOS

  • Cross-language - APIs available in TypeScript/JavaScript, Python, Java, and .NET

Core Concepts#

  • Browser contexts - Isolated incognito-like sessions

  • Auto-waiting - Built-in smart waiting for elements

  • Web-first assertions - Assertions that understand the web

  • Tracing - Built-in debugging tools

When to Use Playwright#

  • End-to-end testing of web applications

  • Cross-browser validation

  • Visual testing

  • Performance testing

  • API testing alongside UI testing

Browser Support#

Browser

Windows

macOS

Linux

Chromium

✅

✅

✅

Firefox

✅

✅

✅

WebKit

✅

✅

✅

Important

Playwright uses real browser engines, not emulations, providing high fidelity testing.

Getting Started#

After reading this introduction, continue to the next chapter to set up Playwright in your project.