Hands-On Automated Testing with Playwright: Create fast, reliable, and scalable tests for modern web apps with Microsoft's automation framework

Launch bulletproof web applications confidently by writing smarter, faster, and more reliable tests using Playwright with this comprehensive guide.

Free with your book: DRM-free PDF version + access to Packt's next-gen Reader*

Key Features

• Architect resilient test suites using Playwright's advanced APIs
• Optimize performance, parallelism, and debugging for complex apps
• Integrate cross-browser testing into scalable CI/CD workflows

Book Description

Hands-On Automated Testing with Playwright draws from Faraz and Butch’s extensive experience to help you harness the full potential of Microsoft's Playwright framework.

The book begins with a quick setup refresher, walking you through intermediate and advanced concepts such as dynamic content handling, accessibility testing, AI-generated test scripts, and parallel test execution. You'll explore real-world applications with end-to-end testing workflows for e-commerce and single-page applications. Alongside traditional topics such as accessibility, mobile, and visual regression testing, this book delves into modern trends such as CI/CD pipelines, DevOps integration, and AI-driven testing enhancements. Each chapter is packed with practical examples, expert techniques, and performance optimization tips, helping you gain a deep understanding of maintainable automation strategies.

Whether you're transitioning from manual testing or expanding your automation toolbox, this Playwright book provides the skills and confidence to build future-proof testing systems in today's complex web development landscape.

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What you will learn

• Set up and configure Playwright for cross-browser testing
• Generate and refine AI-powered test scripts
• Perform mobile, accessibility, and visual regression tests
• Debug with Playwright Inspector and Trace Viewer
• Integrate tests into CI/CD with GitHub Actions
• Use page objects and patterns for maintainable code
• Simulate real-world user flows in complex apps
• Optimize performance and parallelize test execution

Who this book is for

This book is for two main groups. First, web developers and test automation engineers with up to five years of experience in JavaScript or similar languages. If you have a solid grasp of web development and want to adopt or deepen your use of Playwright, you'll find this book beneficial. Second, QA professionals who have basic scripting knowledge and are ready to transition from manual to automated testing. If you want to upskill using Playwright, this book offers clear, relatable examples that bridge manual testing concepts with automation practices.

Table of Contents

1. Quick Setup Refresher
2. Advanced Selectors and Handling Dynamic Content
3. Browser-Agnostic Testing Across Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit
4. AI-Powered Test Generation
5. Crafting Scalable Tests with the Fixture System
6. Test Parallelization and Performance Optimization
7. Integrating Workflows with CI/CD Pipelines
8. Headless Testing and Debugging
9. Accessibility Testing with Playwright and axe-core
10. Setting Up Visual Regression Testing
11. Testing Mobile Web Experiences
12. Testing Forms
13. Handling File Uploads and Downloads
14. Security and Authentication
15. Best Practices for Test Maintainability
16. Real-World Project – Testing an E-Commerce Website
17. Appendix A: Streamlining Playwright in Modern Development Workflows
18. Appendix B: References and Resources

Faraz K. Kelhini is a test automation engineer, full-stack JavaScript expert, and author with a decade of experience turning complex web problems into elegant solutions. He has written three highly regarded books: Modern Asynchronous JavaScript, Text Processing with JavaScript, and JavaScript Brain Teasers. Beyond books, Faraz creates interactive courses for Educative.io, pens in-depth tutorials for LogRocket, and polishes manuscripts as a technical editor for Pearson and Packt. Whether he's architecting enterprise-grade applications, developing essential tooling, or guiding emerging talent, Faraz's mission remains the same: empower developers to write smarter code and have fun doing it.

Butch Mayhew is a Playwright Ambassador and quality consultant focused on enabling quality across organizations through modern testing practices and pragmatic automation. With 10+ years in test automation and deep exploratory testing, he helps teams build confidence in their software by improving how they test, what they test, and how quickly they can learn from results. He is the founder of Howdy QA, a consultancy that supports companies with Playwright adoption, framework design, CI/CD integration, accessibility testing, and hands-on training. His approach blends strong technical execution with a culture-first mindset: quality isn't a phase, it's a habit teams build together. He has also created LinkedIn Learning courses on Playwright, giving engineers and testers a structured, hands-on path to leveling up their automation skills.