SurfSense/.cursor/skills/playwright-testing/infrastructure-ci-cd/github-actions.md
2026-05-10 04:19:55 +05:30

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# GitHub Actions for Playwright
## Table of Contents
1. [CLI Commands](#cli-commands)
2. [Workflow Patterns](#workflow-patterns)
3. [Scenario Guide](#scenario-guide)
4. [Common Mistakes](#common-mistakes)
5. [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting)
6. [Related](#related)
> **When to use**: Automating Playwright tests on pull requests, main branch merges, or scheduled runs.
## CLI Commands
```bash
npx playwright install --with-deps # browsers + OS dependencies
npx playwright test --shard=1/4 # run shard 1 of 4
npx playwright test --reporter=github # PR annotations
npx playwright merge-reports ./blob-report # combine shard reports
```
## Workflow Patterns
### Basic Workflow
**Use when**: Starting a new project or running a small test suite.
```yaml
# .github/workflows/e2e.yml
name: E2E Tests
on:
push:
branches: [main]
pull_request:
branches: [main]
concurrency:
group: e2e-${{ github.ref }}
cancel-in-progress: true
env:
CI: true
jobs:
test:
timeout-minutes: 30
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- run: npm ci
- name: Cache browsers
id: browser-cache
uses: actions/cache@v4
with:
path: ~/.cache/ms-playwright
key: pw-${{ runner.os }}-${{ hashFiles('package-lock.json') }}
- name: Install browsers
if: steps.browser-cache.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
run: npx playwright install --with-deps
- name: Install OS dependencies
if: steps.browser-cache.outputs.cache-hit == 'true'
run: npx playwright install-deps
- run: npx playwright test
- name: Upload report
uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
if: ${{ !cancelled() }}
with:
name: test-report
path: playwright-report/
retention-days: 14
- name: Upload traces
uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
if: failure()
with:
name: traces
path: test-results/
retention-days: 7
```
### Sharded Execution
**Use when**: Test suite exceeds 10 minutes. Sharding cuts wall-clock time significantly.
**Avoid when**: Suite runs under 5 minutes—sharding overhead negates benefits.
```yaml
# .github/workflows/e2e-sharded.yml
name: E2E Tests (Sharded)
on:
push:
branches: [main]
pull_request:
branches: [main]
concurrency:
group: e2e-${{ github.ref }}
cancel-in-progress: true
env:
CI: true
jobs:
test:
timeout-minutes: 20
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
strategy:
fail-fast: false
matrix:
shard: [1/4, 2/4, 3/4, 4/4]
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- run: npm ci
- name: Cache browsers
id: browser-cache
uses: actions/cache@v4
with:
path: ~/.cache/ms-playwright
key: pw-${{ runner.os }}-${{ hashFiles('package-lock.json') }}
- name: Install browsers
if: steps.browser-cache.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
run: npx playwright install --with-deps
- name: Install OS dependencies
if: steps.browser-cache.outputs.cache-hit == 'true'
run: npx playwright install-deps
- name: Run tests (shard ${{ matrix.shard }})
run: npx playwright test --shard=${{ matrix.shard }}
- name: Upload blob report
uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
if: ${{ !cancelled() }}
with:
name: blob-${{ strategy.job-index }}
path: blob-report/
retention-days: 1
merge:
if: ${{ !cancelled() }}
needs: test
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- run: npm ci
- name: Download blob reports
uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
with:
path: all-blobs
pattern: blob-*
merge-multiple: true
- name: Merge reports
run: npx playwright merge-reports --reporter=html ./all-blobs
- name: Upload merged report
uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
with:
name: test-report
path: playwright-report/
retention-days: 14
```
**Config for sharding**—enable blob reporter:
```typescript
// playwright.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from '@playwright/test';
export default defineConfig({
reporter: process.env.CI
? [['blob'], ['github']]
: [['html', { open: 'on-failure' }]],
});
```
### Container-Based Execution
**Use when**: Reproducible environment matching local Docker setup, or runner OS dependencies cause issues.
**Avoid when**: Standard `ubuntu-latest` with `--with-deps` works fine.
```yaml
# .github/workflows/e2e-container.yml
name: E2E Tests (Container)
on:
pull_request:
branches: [main]
jobs:
test:
timeout-minutes: 30
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
container:
image: mcr.microsoft.com/playwright:v1.48.0-noble
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- run: npm ci
- name: Run tests
run: npx playwright test
env:
HOME: /root
- uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
if: ${{ !cancelled() }}
with:
name: test-report
path: playwright-report/
retention-days: 14
```
### Environment Secrets
**Use when**: Tests target staging/production with credentials.
**Avoid when**: Tests only run against local dev server.
```yaml
# .github/workflows/e2e-staging.yml
name: Staging Tests
on:
push:
branches: [main]
workflow_dispatch:
jobs:
test:
timeout-minutes: 30
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
environment: staging
env:
CI: true
BASE_URL: ${{ vars.STAGING_URL }}
TEST_USER_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.TEST_USER_PASSWORD }}
API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.API_TOKEN }}
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- run: npm ci
- name: Cache browsers
id: browser-cache
uses: actions/cache@v4
with:
path: ~/.cache/ms-playwright
key: pw-${{ runner.os }}-${{ hashFiles('package-lock.json') }}
- name: Install browsers
if: steps.browser-cache.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
run: npx playwright install --with-deps
- name: Install OS dependencies
if: steps.browser-cache.outputs.cache-hit == 'true'
run: npx playwright install-deps
- name: Run smoke tests
run: npx playwright test --grep @smoke
- uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
if: ${{ !cancelled() }}
with:
name: staging-report
path: playwright-report/
retention-days: 14
```
### Scheduled Runs
**Use when**: Full regression suite is too slow for every PR—run nightly instead.
**Avoid when**: Suite runs under 15 minutes and can run on every PR.
```yaml
# .github/workflows/nightly.yml
name: Nightly Regression
on:
schedule:
- cron: '0 3 * * 1-5'
workflow_dispatch:
jobs:
test:
timeout-minutes: 60
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
env:
CI: true
BASE_URL: ${{ vars.STAGING_URL }}
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- run: npm ci
- name: Install browsers
run: npx playwright install --with-deps
- name: Run full regression
run: npx playwright test --grep @regression
- uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
if: ${{ !cancelled() }}
with:
name: nightly-${{ github.run_number }}
path: playwright-report/
retention-days: 30
- name: Notify on failure
if: failure()
uses: slackapi/slack-github-action@latest
with:
payload: |
{
"text": "Nightly regression failed: ${{ github.server_url }}/${{ github.repository }}/actions/runs/${{ github.run_id }}"
}
env:
SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL: ${{ secrets.SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL }}
```
### Reusable Workflow
**Use when**: Multiple repositories share the same Playwright setup.
**Avoid when**: Single repo with one workflow.
```yaml
# .github/workflows/pw-reusable.yml
name: Playwright Reusable
on:
workflow_call:
inputs:
node-version:
type: string
default: 'lts/*'
test-command:
type: string
default: 'npx playwright test'
secrets:
BASE_URL:
required: false
TEST_PASSWORD:
required: false
jobs:
test:
timeout-minutes: 30
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
env:
CI: true
BASE_URL: ${{ secrets.BASE_URL }}
TEST_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.TEST_PASSWORD }}
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- uses: actions/setup-node@v4
with:
node-version: ${{ inputs.node-version }}
cache: npm
- run: npm ci
- name: Cache browsers
id: browser-cache
uses: actions/cache@v4
with:
path: ~/.cache/ms-playwright
key: pw-${{ runner.os }}-${{ hashFiles('package-lock.json') }}
- name: Install browsers
if: steps.browser-cache.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
run: npx playwright install --with-deps
- name: Install OS dependencies
if: steps.browser-cache.outputs.cache-hit == 'true'
run: npx playwright install-deps
- name: Run tests
run: ${{ inputs.test-command }}
- uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
if: ${{ !cancelled() }}
with:
name: test-report
path: playwright-report/
retention-days: 14
```
**Calling the reusable workflow:**
```yaml
# .github/workflows/ci.yml
name: CI
on:
pull_request:
branches: [main]
jobs:
e2e:
uses: ./.github/workflows/pw-reusable.yml
with:
node-version: 'lts/*'
secrets:
BASE_URL: ${{ secrets.STAGING_URL }}
TEST_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.TEST_PASSWORD }}
```
## Scenario Guide
| Scenario | Approach |
|---|---|
| Small suite (< 5 min) | Single job, no sharding |
| Medium suite (5-20 min) | 2-4 shards with matrix |
| Large suite (20+ min) | 4-8 shards + blob merge |
| Cross-browser on PRs | Chromium only on PRs; all browsers on main |
| Staging/prod smoke tests | Separate workflow with `environment:` |
| Nightly full regression | `schedule` trigger + `workflow_dispatch` |
| Multiple repos, same setup | Reusable workflow with `workflow_call` |
| Reproducible env needed | Container job with Playwright image |
## Common Mistakes
| Mistake | Problem | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No `concurrency` group | Duplicate runs waste minutes | Add `concurrency: { group: ..., cancel-in-progress: true }` |
| `fail-fast: true` with sharding | One failure cancels others | Set `fail-fast: false` |
| No browser caching | 60-90 seconds wasted per run | Cache `~/.cache/ms-playwright` |
| No `timeout-minutes` | Stuck jobs run for 6 hours | Set explicit timeout: 20-30 minutes |
| Artifacts only on failure | No report when tests pass | Use `if: ${{ !cancelled() }}` |
| Hardcoded secrets | Security risk | Use GitHub Secrets and Environments |
| All browsers on every PR | 3x CI cost | Chromium on PR; cross-browser on main |
| No artifact retention | Default 90-day fills storage | Set `retention-days: 7-14` |
| Missing `--with-deps` | Browser launch failures | Always use `npx playwright install --with-deps` |
## Troubleshooting
### Browser launch fails: "Missing dependencies"
**Cause**: Browsers restored from cache but OS dependencies weren't cached.
**Fix**: Run `npx playwright install-deps` on cache hit:
```yaml
- name: Install OS dependencies
if: steps.browser-cache.outputs.cache-hit == 'true'
run: npx playwright install-deps
```
### Tests pass locally but timeout in CI
**Cause**: CI runners have fewer resources than dev machines.
**Fix**: Reduce workers and increase timeouts:
```typescript
// playwright.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from '@playwright/test';
export default defineConfig({
workers: process.env.CI ? '50%' : undefined,
use: {
actionTimeout: process.env.CI ? 15_000 : 10_000,
navigationTimeout: process.env.CI ? 30_000 : 15_000,
},
});
```
### Sharded reports incomplete
**Cause**: Artifact names collide or `merge-multiple` not set.
**Fix**: Unique names per shard and enable merge:
```yaml
# Upload in each shard
- uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
with:
name: blob-${{ strategy.job-index }}
path: blob-report/
# Download in merge job
- uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
with:
path: all-blobs
pattern: blob-*
merge-multiple: true
```
### `webServer` fails: "port already in use"
**Cause**: Zombie process from previous run.
**Fix**: Kill stale processes before starting:
```yaml
- name: Kill stale processes
run: lsof -ti:3000 | xargs kill -9 2>/dev/null || true
```
### No PR annotations
**Cause**: `github` reporter not configured.
**Fix**: Add `github` reporter for CI:
```typescript
// playwright.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from '@playwright/test';
export default defineConfig({
reporter: process.env.CI
? [['html', { open: 'never' }], ['github']]
: [['html', { open: 'on-failure' }]],
});
```
## Related
- [test-tags.md](../core/test-tags.md) tagging and filtering tests
- [parallel-sharding.md](parallel-sharding.md) sharding strategies
- [reporting.md](reporting.md) reporter configuration
- [docker.md](docker.md) container images
- [gitlab.md](gitlab.md) GitLab CI equivalent
- [other-providers.md](other-providers.md) CircleCI, Azure DevOps, Jenkins