Why I Chose Playwright for Automation
When I first dipped my toes into test automation, I was immediately faced with a huge range of tools to choose from. Selenium had been the industry standard for years, but newer frameworks like Cypress and Playwright were gaining traction fast. I wanted a tool that was modern, easy to work with, and powerful enough to handle all the testing challenges I’d encounter.
Playwright caught my attention pretty quickly. One of the biggest selling points for me was its ability to test across multiple browsers — Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit — all with the same API. This meant I could write tests once and be confident they’d work everywhere, without extra configuration or hacks.
The API itself felt very developer-friendly. It’s clean and well-documented, making it easy to get started. I found the Playwright test runner especially handy, as it integrated nicely with the rest of the ecosystem and provided features like retries, screenshots on failure, and parallel test execution out of the box.
Another thing I really appreciated was Playwright’s debugging support. The Playwright Inspector tool lets you step through your tests visually, which was a game changer for understanding why a test failed or behaved unexpectedly. It made fixing flaky tests a much less painful process.
Playwright is backed by Microsoft, which gave me confidence about its longevity and ongoing support. It’s actively maintained and frequently updated with new features, so I’m comfortable investing my time in learning and using it.
I also liked the fact that Playwright supports mobile emulation and can automate modern web app features like single-page applications. It’s versatile enough to cover many scenarios beyond just simple UI testing.
Since adopting Playwright, my automation work has become more productive and enjoyable. I can quickly write reliable tests that catch real issues and help deliver better software faster.
For anyone starting out or looking to switch, I’d definitely recommend trying Playwright. It’s got a great balance of power, simplicity, and modern features that have made a big difference in my projects.
