Playwright Java – Advanced Test Automation

Overview

This skill produces production-quality, enterprise-grade Playwright Java test code. It enforces the Page Object Model (POM), strict locator strategies, thread-safe parallel execution, and full Allure reporting integration. Targets Java 17+ and Playwright 1.44+.

Supporting reference files are available for deeper topics:

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When to Use This Skill

• Use when scaffolding a new Playwright Java project from scratch
• Use when writing Page Object classes or JUnit 5 test classes
• Use when the user asks about cross-browser testing, parallel execution, or Allure reports
• Use when fixing flaky tests or replacing Thread.sleep() with proper waits
• Use when setting up Playwright in CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, Jenkins, Docker)
• Use when combining API calls and UI assertions in a single test (hybrid testing)
• Use when the user mentions "POM pattern", "BrowserContext", "Playwright fixtures", or "traces"

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How It Works

Step 1: Decide the Approach

Use this matrix to pick the right pattern before writing any code:

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Step 2: Scaffold the Project Structure

Always use this layout when creating a new project:

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src/
├── test/
│   ├── java/com/company/tests/
│   │   ├── base/
│   │   │   ├── BaseTest.java        ← templates/BaseTest.java
│   │   │   └── BasePage.java        ← templates/BasePage.java
│   │   ├── pages/
│   │   │   └── LoginPage.java
│   │   ├── tests/
│   │   │   └── LoginTest.java
│   │   ├── utils/
│   │   │   ├── TestDataFactory.java
│   │   │   └── WaitUtils.java
│   │   └── config/
│   │       └── ConfigReader.java
│   └── resources/
│       ├── test.properties
│       ├── junit-platform.properties
│       └── testdata/users.json
pom.xml

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Step 3: Set Up Thread-Safe BaseTest

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public class BaseTest {
    protected static ThreadLocal<Playwright>     playwrightTL = new ThreadLocal<>();
    protected static ThreadLocal<Browser>        browserTL    = new ThreadLocal<>();
    protected static ThreadLocal<BrowserContext> contextTL    = new ThreadLocal<>();
    protected static ThreadLocal<Page>           pageTL       = new ThreadLocal<>();

    protected Page page() { return pageTL.get(); }

    @BeforeEach
    void setUp() {
        Playwright playwright = Playwright.create();
        playwrightTL.set(playwright);

        Browser browser = resolveBrowser(playwright).launch(
            new BrowserType.LaunchOptions()
                .setHeadless(ConfigReader.isHeadless()));
        browserTL.set(browser);

        BrowserContext context = browser.newContext(new Browser.NewContextOptions()
            .setViewportSize(1920, 1080)
            .setRecordVideoDir(Paths.get("target/videos/"))
            .setLocale("en-US"));
        context.tracing().start(new Tracing.StartOptions()
            .setScreenshots(true).setSnapshots(true));
        contextTL.set(context);
        pageTL.set(context.newPage());
    }

    @AfterEach
    void tearDown(TestInfo testInfo) {
        String name = testInfo.getDisplayName().replaceAll("[^a-zA-Z0-9]", "_");
        contextTL.get().tracing().stop(new Tracing.StopOptions()
            .setPath(Paths.get("target/traces/" + name + ".zip")));
        pageTL.get().close();
        contextTL.get().close();
        browserTL.get().close();
        playwrightTL.get().close();
    }

    private BrowserType resolveBrowser(Playwright pw) {
        return switch (System.getProperty("browser", "chromium").toLowerCase()) {
            case "firefox" -> pw.firefox();
            case "webkit"  -> pw.webkit();
            default        -> pw.chromium();
        };
    }
}

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Step 4: Build Page Object Classes

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public class LoginPage extends BasePage {

    // Declare ALL locators as fields — never inline in action methods
    private final Locator emailInput;
    private final Locator passwordInput;
    private final Locator loginButton;
    private final Locator errorMessage;

    public LoginPage(Page page) {
        super(page);
        emailInput    = page.getByLabel("Email address");
        passwordInput = page.getByLabel("Password");
        loginButton   = page.getByRole(AriaRole.BUTTON,
                            new Page.GetByRoleOptions().setName("Sign in"));
        errorMessage  = page.getByTestId("login-error");
    }

    @Override protected String getUrl() { return "/login"; }

    // Navigation methods return the next Page Object — enables fluent chaining
    public DashboardPage loginAs(String email, String password) {
        fill(emailInput, email);
        fill(passwordInput, password);
        clickAndWaitForNav(loginButton);
        return new DashboardPage(page);
    }

    public LoginPage loginExpectingError(String email, String password) {
        fill(emailInput, email);
        fill(passwordInput, password);
        loginButton.click();
        errorMessage.waitFor();
        return this;
    }

    public String getErrorMessage() { return errorMessage.textContent(); }
}

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Step 5: Write Tests with Allure Annotations

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@ExtendWith(AllureJunit5.class)
class LoginTest extends BaseTest {

    private LoginPage loginPage;

    @BeforeEach
    void openLoginPage() {
        loginPage = new LoginPage(page());
        loginPage.navigate();
    }

    @Test
    @Severity(SeverityLevel.BLOCKER)
    @DisplayName("Valid credentials redirect to dashboard")
    void shouldLoginWithValidCredentials() {
        User user = TestDataFactory.getDefaultUser();
        DashboardPage dash = loginPage.loginAs(user.email(), user.password());

        assertThat(page()).hasURL(Pattern.compile(".*/dashboard"));
        assertThat(dash.getWelcomeBanner()).containsText("Welcome, " + user.firstName());
    }

    @Test
    void shouldShowErrorOnInvalidCredentials() {
        loginPage.loginExpectingError("bad@test.com", "wrongpass");

        SoftAssertions softly = new SoftAssertions();
        softly.assertThat(loginPage.getErrorMessage()).contains("Invalid email or password");
        softly.assertThat(page()).hasURL(Pattern.compile(".*/login"));
        softly.assertAll();
    }

    @ParameterizedTest
    @MethodSource("provideInvalidCredentials")
    void shouldRejectInvalidCredentials(String email, String password, String expectedError) {
        loginPage.loginExpectingError(email, password);
        assertThat(loginPage.getErrorMessage()).containsText(expectedError);
    }

    static Stream<Arguments> provideInvalidCredentials() {
        return Stream.of(
            Arguments.of("", "password123", "Email is required"),
            Arguments.of("user@test.com", "", "Password is required"),
            Arguments.of("notanemail", "pass", "Invalid email format")
        );
    }
}

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Examples

Example 1: API + UI Hybrid Test

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@Test
void shouldDisplayNewlyCreatedOrder() {
    // Arrange via API — faster than navigating through UI
    APIRequestContext api = page().context().request();
    APIResponse response = api.post("/api/orders",
        RequestOptions.create()
            .setHeader("Authorization", "Bearer " + authToken)
            .setData(Map.of("productId", "SKU-001", "quantity", 2)));
    assertThat(response).isOK();

    String orderId = new JsonParser().parse(response.text())
        .getAsJsonObject().get("id").getAsString();

    OrdersPage orders = new OrdersPage(page());
    orders.navigate();
    assertThat(orders.getOrderRowById(orderId)).isVisible();
}

Example 2: Network Mocking

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@Test
void shouldHandleApiFailureGracefully() {
    page().route("**/api/products", route -> route.fulfill(
        new Route.FulfillOptions()
            .setStatus(503)
            .setBody("{\"error\":\"Service Unavailable\"}")
            .setContentType("application/json")));

    ProductsPage products = new ProductsPage(page());
    products.navigate();

    assertThat(products.getErrorBanner())
        .hasText("We're having trouble loading products. Please try again.");
}

Example 3: Parallel Cross-Browser Test

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@ParameterizedTest
@MethodSource("browsers")
void shouldRenderCheckoutOnAllBrowsers(String browserName) {
    System.setProperty("browser", browserName);
    new CheckoutPage(page()).navigate();
    assertThat(page().locator(".checkout-form")).isVisible();
}

static Stream<String> browsers() {
    return Stream.of("chromium", "firefox", "webkit");
}

Example 4: Parallel Execution Config

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# src/test/resources/junit-platform.properties
junit.jupiter.execution.parallel.enabled=true
junit.jupiter.execution.parallel.mode.default=concurrent
junit.jupiter.execution.parallel.config.strategy=fixed
junit.jupiter.execution.parallel.config.fixed.parallelism=4

Example 5: GitHub Actions CI Pipeline

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- name: Install Playwright browsers
  run: mvn exec:java -e -Dexec.mainClass=com.microsoft.playwright.CLI -Dexec.args="install --with-deps"

- name: Run tests
  run: mvn test -Dbrowser=${{ matrix.browser }} -Dheadless=true

- name: Upload traces on failure
  uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
  if: failure()
  with:
    name: playwright-traces
    path: target/traces/

- name: Upload Allure results
  uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
  if: always()
  with:
    name: allure-results
    path: target/allure-results/

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Best Practices

• ✅ Use ThreadLocal<Page> for every parallel-safe test suite
• ✅ Declare all Locator fields at the top of the Page Object class
• ✅ Return the next Page Object from navigation methods (fluent chaining)
• ✅ Use assertThat(locator) — it auto-retries until timeout
• ✅ Use getByRole, getByLabel, getByTestId as first-choice locators
• ✅ Start tracing in @BeforeEach and stop with a file path in @AfterEach
• ✅ Use SoftAssertions when validating multiple fields on a single page
• ✅ Set up saved auth state (storageState) to skip login across test classes
• ❌ Never use Thread.sleep() — replace with waitFor() or waitForResponse()
• ❌ Never hardcode base URLs — always use ConfigReader.getBaseUrl()
• ❌ Never create a Playwright instance inside a Page Object
• ❌ Never use XPath for dynamic or frequently changing elements

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Common Pitfalls

• Problem: Tests fail randomly in parallel mode Solution: Ensure every test creates its own Playwright → Browser → BrowserContext → Page chain via ThreadLocal. Never share a Page across threads.

• Problem: assertThat(locator).isVisible() times out even when the element appears Solution: Increase timeout with .setTimeout(10_000) or raise context.setDefaultTimeout() in BaseTest.

• Problem: Thread.sleep(2000) was added but tests are still flaky Solution: Replace with page.waitForResponse("**/api/endpoint", () -> action()) or assertThat(locator).hasText("Done") which polls automatically.

• Problem: Playwright trace zip is empty or missing Solution: Ensure tracing().start() is called before test actions and tracing().stop() is in @AfterEach — not @AfterAll.

• Problem: Allure report is blank or missing steps Solution: Add the AspectJ agent to maven-surefire-plugin <argLine> in pom.xml — see references/config.md for the exact snippet.

• Problem: storageState auth file is stale and tests redirect to login Solution: Re-run AuthSetup to regenerate target/auth/user-state.json before the suite, or add a @BeforeAll that conditionally refreshes it.

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Related Skills

• @rest-assured-java — Use for pure API test suites without any UI interaction
• @selenium-java — Legacy alternative; prefer Playwright for all new projects
• @allure-reporting — Deep-dive into Allure annotations, categories, and history trends
• @testcontainers-java — Use alongside this skill when tests need a live database or service
• @github-actions-ci — For building complete multi-browser matrix CI pipelines