Cypress & Playwright Setup

Configure comprehensive end-to-end testing for web applications.

Core Workflow

Choose tool: Cypress or Playwright
Configure project: Browser and test settings
Create page objects: Reusable selectors
Write tests: User journey coverage
Setup fixtures: Test data
Integrate CI: Automated testing

Playwright Setup

Installation

bash

npm init playwright@latest

Configuration

typescript

// playwright.config.ts
import { defineConfig, devices } from '@playwright/test';

export default defineConfig({
  testDir: './e2e',
  fullyParallel: true,
  forbidOnly: !!process.env.CI,
  retries: process.env.CI ? 2 : 0,
  workers: process.env.CI ? 1 : undefined,
  reporter: [
    ['html'],
    ['json', { outputFile: 'test-results/results.json' }],
    ['junit', { outputFile: 'test-results/junit.xml' }],
  ],

  use: {
    baseURL: process.env.BASE_URL || 'http://localhost:3000',
    trace: 'on-first-retry',
    screenshot: 'only-on-failure',
    video: 'retain-on-failure',
  },

  projects: [
    {
      name: 'chromium',
      use: { ...devices['Desktop Chrome'] },
    },
    {
      name: 'firefox',
      use: { ...devices['Desktop Firefox'] },
    },
    {
      name: 'webkit',
      use: { ...devices['Desktop Safari'] },
    },
    {
      name: 'Mobile Chrome',
      use: { ...devices['Pixel 5'] },
    },
    {
      name: 'Mobile Safari',
      use: { ...devices['iPhone 12'] },
    },
  ],

  webServer: {
    command: 'npm run start',
    url: 'http://localhost:3000',
    reuseExistingServer: !process.env.CI,
    timeout: 120 * 1000,
  },
});

Page Object Model

typescript

// e2e/pages/BasePage.ts
import { Page, Locator } from '@playwright/test';

export abstract class BasePage {
  readonly page: Page;

  constructor(page: Page) {
    this.page = page;
  }

  async goto(path: string = '') {
    await this.page.goto(path);
  }

  async waitForLoad() {
    await this.page.waitForLoadState('networkidle');
  }

  getByTestId(testId: string): Locator {
    return this.page.getByTestId(testId);
  }
}

typescript

// e2e/pages/LoginPage.ts
import { Page, Locator, expect } from '@playwright/test';
import { BasePage } from './BasePage';

export class LoginPage extends BasePage {
  readonly emailInput: Locator;
  readonly passwordInput: Locator;
  readonly submitButton: Locator;
  readonly errorMessage: Locator;
  readonly forgotPasswordLink: Locator;

  constructor(page: Page) {
    super(page);
    this.emailInput = page.getByLabel('Email');
    this.passwordInput = page.getByLabel('Password');
    this.submitButton = page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Sign in' });
    this.errorMessage = page.getByTestId('error-message');
    this.forgotPasswordLink = page.getByRole('link', { name: 'Forgot password?' });
  }

  async goto() {
    await super.goto('/login');
    await this.waitForLoad();
  }

  async login(email: string, password: string) {
    await this.emailInput.fill(email);
    await this.passwordInput.fill(password);
    await this.submitButton.click();
  }

  async expectError(message: string) {
    await expect(this.errorMessage).toBeVisible();
    await expect(this.errorMessage).toContainText(message);
  }

  async expectLoginSuccess() {
    await expect(this.page).toHaveURL(/\/dashboard/);
  }
}

typescript

// e2e/pages/DashboardPage.ts
import { Page, Locator, expect } from '@playwright/test';
import { BasePage } from './BasePage';

export class DashboardPage extends BasePage {
  readonly welcomeMessage: Locator;
  readonly userMenu: Locator;
  readonly logoutButton: Locator;
  readonly sidebar: Locator;

  constructor(page: Page) {
    super(page);
    this.welcomeMessage = page.getByTestId('welcome-message');
    this.userMenu = page.getByTestId('user-menu');
    this.logoutButton = page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Logout' });
    this.sidebar = page.getByTestId('sidebar');
  }

  async goto() {
    await super.goto('/dashboard');
    await this.waitForLoad();
  }

  async logout() {
    await this.userMenu.click();
    await this.logoutButton.click();
    await expect(this.page).toHaveURL('/login');
  }

  async expectWelcome(name: string) {
    await expect(this.welcomeMessage).toContainText(`Welcome, ${name}`);
  }
}

Test Examples

typescript

// e2e/auth.spec.ts
import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';
import { LoginPage } from './pages/LoginPage';
import { DashboardPage } from './pages/DashboardPage';

test.describe('Authentication', () => {
  let loginPage: LoginPage;

  test.beforeEach(async ({ page }) => {
    loginPage = new LoginPage(page);
    await loginPage.goto();
  });

  test('successful login', async ({ page }) => {
    await loginPage.login('test@example.com', 'password123');
    await loginPage.expectLoginSuccess();

    const dashboard = new DashboardPage(page);
    await dashboard.expectWelcome('Test User');
  });

  test('invalid credentials', async () => {
    await loginPage.login('test@example.com', 'wrongpassword');
    await loginPage.expectError('Invalid email or password');
  });

  test('empty fields validation', async () => {
    await loginPage.submitButton.click();
    await expect(loginPage.page.getByText('Email is required')).toBeVisible();
    await expect(loginPage.page.getByText('Password is required')).toBeVisible();
  });

  test('forgot password flow', async ({ page }) => {
    await loginPage.forgotPasswordLink.click();
    await expect(page).toHaveURL('/forgot-password');
  });
});

Fixtures

typescript

// e2e/fixtures/auth.fixture.ts
import { test as base, expect } from '@playwright/test';
import { LoginPage } from '../pages/LoginPage';
import { DashboardPage } from '../pages/DashboardPage';

interface AuthFixtures {
  loginPage: LoginPage;
  dashboardPage: DashboardPage;
  authenticatedPage: DashboardPage;
}

export const test = base.extend<AuthFixtures>({
  loginPage: async ({ page }, use) => {
    const loginPage = new LoginPage(page);
    await use(loginPage);
  },

  dashboardPage: async ({ page }, use) => {
    const dashboardPage = new DashboardPage(page);
    await use(dashboardPage);
  },

  authenticatedPage: async ({ page }, use) => {
    // Login before test
    const loginPage = new LoginPage(page);
    await loginPage.goto();
    await loginPage.login('test@example.com', 'password123');
    await loginPage.expectLoginSuccess();

    const dashboardPage = new DashboardPage(page);
    await use(dashboardPage);
  },
});

export { expect };

typescript

// e2e/dashboard.spec.ts
import { test, expect } from './fixtures/auth.fixture';

test.describe('Dashboard', () => {
  test('shows user data', async ({ authenticatedPage }) => {
    await authenticatedPage.expectWelcome('Test User');
  });

  test('logout redirects to login', async ({ authenticatedPage }) => {
    await authenticatedPage.logout();
  });
});

Cypress Setup

Installation

bash

npm install -D cypress @testing-library/cypress
npx cypress open

Configuration

typescript

// cypress.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from 'cypress';

export default defineConfig({
  e2e: {
    baseUrl: 'http://localhost:3000',
    viewportWidth: 1280,
    viewportHeight: 720,
    video: true,
    screenshotOnRunFailure: true,
    retries: {
      runMode: 2,
      openMode: 0,
    },
    experimentalStudio: true,
    setupNodeEvents(on, config) {
      // Tasks and plugins
    },
  },

  component: {
    devServer: {
      framework: 'react',
      bundler: 'vite',
    },
  },
});

Support Commands

typescript

// cypress/support/commands.ts
import '@testing-library/cypress/add-commands';

declare global {
  namespace Cypress {
    interface Chainable {
      login(email: string, password: string): Chainable<void>;
      getByTestId(testId: string): Chainable<JQuery<HTMLElement>>;
      mockApi(fixture: string): Chainable<void>;
    }
  }
}

Cypress.Commands.add('login', (email: string, password: string) => {
  cy.session([email, password], () => {
    cy.visit('/login');
    cy.get('[data-testid="email-input"]').type(email);
    cy.get('[data-testid="password-input"]').type(password);
    cy.get('[data-testid="submit-button"]').click();
    cy.url().should('include', '/dashboard');
  });
});

Cypress.Commands.add('getByTestId', (testId: string) => {
  return cy.get(`[data-testid="${testId}"]`);
});

Cypress.Commands.add('mockApi', (fixture: string) => {
  cy.intercept('GET', '/api/**', { fixture }).as('apiCall');
});

Cypress Tests

typescript

// cypress/e2e/auth.cy.ts
describe('Authentication', () => {
  beforeEach(() => {
    cy.visit('/login');
  });

  it('logs in successfully', () => {
    cy.get('[data-testid="email-input"]').type('test@example.com');
    cy.get('[data-testid="password-input"]').type('password123');
    cy.get('[data-testid="submit-button"]').click();

    cy.url().should('include', '/dashboard');
    cy.getByTestId('welcome-message').should('contain', 'Welcome');
  });

  it('shows error for invalid credentials', () => {
    cy.get('[data-testid="email-input"]').type('test@example.com');
    cy.get('[data-testid="password-input"]').type('wrongpassword');
    cy.get('[data-testid="submit-button"]').click();

    cy.getByTestId('error-message').should('be.visible');
    cy.url().should('include', '/login');
  });

  it('validates required fields', () => {
    cy.get('[data-testid="submit-button"]').click();
    cy.contains('Email is required').should('be.visible');
    cy.contains('Password is required').should('be.visible');
  });
});

API Mocking in Cypress

typescript

// cypress/e2e/products.cy.ts
describe('Products', () => {
  beforeEach(() => {
    cy.login('test@example.com', 'password123');
  });

  it('displays products from API', () => {
    cy.intercept('GET', '/api/products', {
      fixture: 'products.json',
    }).as('getProducts');

    cy.visit('/products');
    cy.wait('@getProducts');

    cy.getByTestId('product-card').should('have.length', 3);
  });

  it('handles API error gracefully', () => {
    cy.intercept('GET', '/api/products', {
      statusCode: 500,
      body: { error: 'Server Error' },
    }).as('getProductsError');

    cy.visit('/products');
    cy.wait('@getProductsError');

    cy.getByTestId('error-message').should('contain', 'Failed to load products');
  });

  it('filters products', () => {
    cy.intercept('GET', '/api/products?category=electronics', {
      fixture: 'products-electronics.json',
    }).as('getElectronics');

    cy.visit('/products');
    cy.getByTestId('category-filter').select('electronics');

    cy.wait('@getElectronics');
    cy.getByTestId('product-card').should('have.length', 2);
  });
});

CI Integration

GitHub Actions

yaml

# .github/workflows/e2e.yml
name: E2E Tests

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  playwright:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: 20
          cache: 'npm'

      - run: npm ci

      - name: Install Playwright Browsers
        run: npx playwright install --with-deps

      - name: Build
        run: npm run build

      - name: Run Playwright tests
        run: npx playwright test
        env:
          CI: true

      - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        if: always()
        with:
          name: playwright-report
          path: playwright-report/
          retention-days: 30

  cypress:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: 20
          cache: 'npm'

      - run: npm ci

      - name: Cypress run
        uses: cypress-io/github-action@v6
        with:
          build: npm run build
          start: npm start
          wait-on: 'http://localhost:3000'
          browser: chrome
          record: true
        env:
          CYPRESS_RECORD_KEY: ${{ secrets.CYPRESS_RECORD_KEY }}
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

      - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        if: failure()
        with:
          name: cypress-screenshots
          path: cypress/screenshots

Accessibility Testing

typescript

// e2e/accessibility.spec.ts (Playwright)
import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';
import AxeBuilder from '@axe-core/playwright';

test.describe('Accessibility', () => {
  test('homepage has no accessibility violations', async ({ page }) => {
    await page.goto('/');

    const accessibilityScanResults = await new AxeBuilder({ page }).analyze();

    expect(accessibilityScanResults.violations).toEqual([]);
  });

  test('login page has no accessibility violations', async ({ page }) => {
    await page.goto('/login');

    const accessibilityScanResults = await new AxeBuilder({ page })
      .withTags(['wcag2a', 'wcag2aa'])
      .analyze();

    expect(accessibilityScanResults.violations).toEqual([]);
  });
});

typescript

// cypress/e2e/accessibility.cy.ts
import 'cypress-axe';

describe('Accessibility', () => {
  beforeEach(() => {
    cy.injectAxe();
  });

  it('homepage has no accessibility violations', () => {
    cy.visit('/');
    cy.checkA11y();
  });

  it('login form is accessible', () => {
    cy.visit('/login');
    cy.checkA11y('[data-testid="login-form"]');
  });
});

Best Practices

Use page objects: Maintainable selectors
Use test IDs: Stable element selection
Avoid sleep: Use proper waits
Isolate tests: No dependencies between tests
Mock external APIs: Reliable, fast tests
Test accessibility: Include a11y checks
Parallel execution: Faster CI
Meaningful assertions: Clear expectations

Output Checklist

Every E2E setup should include:

Playwright/Cypress configuration
Page object model
Custom commands/fixtures
API mocking setup
Authentication handling
Multi-browser testing
Accessibility tests
CI integration
Reporting configuration
Screenshot/video on failure

cypress-playwright-setup

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Cypress & Playwright Setup

Core Workflow

Playwright Setup

Installation

Configuration

Page Object Model

Test Examples

Fixtures

Cypress Setup

Installation

Configuration

Support Commands

Cypress Tests

API Mocking in Cypress

CI Integration

GitHub Actions

Accessibility Testing

Best Practices

Output Checklist