Why Playwright is the Next Big Thing in Test Automation
A Comparison with Cypress
Welcome to our latest blog post! Today, we’re going to talk about Playwright, a new test automation tool that is gaining popularity among software testing companies. We’ll discuss why Playwright is becoming a popular choice and why it might be the best test automation tool for you. We will also compare Playwright with Cypress, which was a leader in the market just a year ago but has faced some limitations and trade-offs.
Why Playwright might be the best Test Automation Tool for you company:
- Multi-browser support: Playwright supports multiple web browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.
- Cross-platform: Playwright works on Windows, Mac, and Linux, providing flexibility in your testing setup.
- Concurrent browser automation: Playwright allows you to run multiple browsers in parallel, which is particularly useful for running tests in a CI/CD environment.
- DevTools protocol: Playwright uses the DevTools protocol, which allows you to access the browser’s internal functionality.
- Automation of browser features: Playwright allows you to automate browser features such as geolocation, network, and storage
- iFrame support: Playwright provides full support for iFrame
- Third-Party Login Scenarios: Playwright provides support for third-party login scenarios
- Multiple Window/Tab Support: Playwright provides support for multiple windows and tabs
- Browser Support: Playwright supports multiple browsers
- Parallel Browser Testing: Playwright allows parallel browser testing
- Page Object Pattern: Playwright provides support for Page Object Pattern
- Edge Case Scenarios: Playwright provides built-in support for edge case scenarios such as file upload and download
- CI/CD Integration: Playwright provides easy integration with CI/CD pipeline
- Async/Await: Playwright supports Async/Await
- Test Grouping and Test Suites: Playwright provides support for creating Test Suites
the same script and has limited support for third-party login scenarios.
- Multiple Window/Tab Support: Cypress does not support multiple windows or tabs and has a workaround for this.
- Browser Support: Cypress currently only supports Chrome and Firefox and has limited support for Safari.
- Parallel Browser Testing: Cypress does not support parallel browser testing and only allows running one instance of the browser locally.
- Page Object Pattern: Cypress does not encourage the use of Page Object Pattern and has App Actions instead.
- Edge Case Scenarios: Cypress has limited support for edge case scenarios such as file upload and download and relies on third-party plugins.
- CI/CD Integration: Cypress has issues with CI/CD integration and requires dynamic installation of Cypress for each run.
- Async/Await Issues: Using Async/Await inside Cypress tests may cause unexpected behavior.
- Test Grouping and Test Suites: Cypress does not have built-in support for Test Grouping and Test Suites.
In conclusion, Playwright is a powerful and easy-to-use automation framework that is gaining popularity among software testing companies. It has addressed the limitations and trade-offs of Cypress and provides support for multiple browsers, iFrame, third-party login scenarios, Page Object Pattern, edge case scenarios, CI/CD integration, Async/Await, Test Grouping and Test Suites. Playwright is the next big thing in test automation and it might be the best test automation tool for you.
If you’re interested in learning more about Playwright and how it can be used for your company, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.