Understanding Annotations in playwright

 In this example we will explore the different types of annotations available in Playwright, illustrated practical examples. "Annotations" in Playwright are typically used in the context of Playwright Test, the test runner provided by Playwright. Annotations help define or modify test behavior, making your test suite more expressive and easier to manage. Here's a breakdown of how annotations are used and understood in Playwright:

What Are Annotations in Playwright?

Annotations in Playwright are special markers that can be attached to tests to modify their behavior or convey additional information. They can help manage test execution by allowing you to skip tests, focus on specific tests, or mark tests that need fixing. The primary annotations provided by Playwright include:

1. test.only(): Runs only the specified test(s), ignoring all others.
2. test.skip(): Skips the specified test(s).
3. test.fixme(): Marks a test that is known to be failing and needs attention.
4. test.fail(): Marks a test as expected to fail.
5. test.slow(): marks the test as slow and triples the test timeout.

Common Annotations

✅ test.skip()

Skips a test or a group of tests.

test.skip('Feature not ready yet', async ({ page }) => {
  // This test will be skipped
});

✅ test.only()

Runs only this test or group of tests. Useful for debugging.

test.only('Run only this test', async ({ page }) => {
  // This is the only test that will run
});

✅ test.fixme()

Marks a test as broken or to be fixed later. It will be skipped but reported.

test.fixme('Bug not fixed yet');

✅ test.fail()

fail test or a group of tests.

test('should fail due to known bug', async ({ page }) => {
  test.fail(); // Mark test as expected to fail
  await page.goto('https://example.com');
  await page.click('button#nonexistent'); // This will fail
});

✅ test.slow()

It will slow down execution speed.

test('complex checkout process', async ({ page }) => {
  test.slow(); // Mark test as slow, increasing timeout
  await page.goto('https://example.com/checkout');
  // Simulate complex user journey
  await page.waitForTimeout(60000); // Long operation
});

Example of Annotations in playwright

Annotations are metadata added to test cases or test suites that can influence how the Playwright Test runner behaves. They're especially useful for:

1. Marking tests as slow or flaky
2. Conditionally skipping or failing tests
3. Adding custom tags
4. Providing additional context

Let’s look at a practical example that demonstrates how to use these annotations in your Playwright tests:

// @ts-check
import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';

// This test will run exclusively
test.only("Only", async ({ page }) => {
  console.log("only");
});

// This test will be skipped
test.skip("Skip", async ({ page }) => {
  console.log("skip");
});

// This test is marked as needing a fix
test.fixme("Fixme", async ({ page }) => {
  console.log("fixme");
  expect(1).toBe(2); // This expectation will fail
});

// This test is expected to fail
test("Fail", async ({ page }) => {
  test.fail(); // Marking this test as expected to fail
  console.log("fail");
});

// This test is marked as slow
test("Slow", async ({ page }) => {
  test.slow(); // marks the test as slow and triples the test timeout.
  await page.goto(
    "https://playwright.dev/docs/api/class-elementhandle#element-handle-is-disabled"
  );
});

Annotations in Playwright provide an effective way to manage your testing workflow by allowing you to control which tests run and how they behave. By using annotations like only, skip, fixme, fail, and slow, developers can streamline their testing process.