writing-e2e-tests

name	writing-e2e-tests
description	Patterns and guidelines for writing Playwright E2E tests in this project — page object rules, assertion placement, and locator conventions. Use when writing new tests or reviewing existing ones.

Writing E2E Tests

Locators belong in page objects

.spec.ts files must never locate elements directly — all locators must be exposed via a page object:

// ✅ Locator defined on the page object, used in spec
await expect(pages.historyPage.container).toBeVisible();

// ❌ Locating elements directly in a spec file
await expect(page.getByTestId('history-page')).toBeVisible();
await expect(page.locator('.some-class')).toBeVisible();

Where to put assertions

• Simple assertions (e.g. visibility, count) belong in the .spec.ts test directly.
• Assertions that touch implementation details (e.g. checking an attribute value, computed style) or contain non-trivial logic should be encapsulated as a method on the page object.

// ✅ Simple visibility check — in spec
await expect(pages.historyPage.emptyState).toBeVisible();

// ✅ Complex / implementation-detail assertion — on page object
// PageObject:
public async expectEntryCount(count: number) {
  await expect(this.entries).toHaveCount(count);
}
// Spec:
await pages.historyPage.expectEntryCount(3);

Assertions

Use expect(locator).toBeVisible() instead of locator.waitFor():

// ✅
await expect(pages.historyPage.container).toBeVisible();
await expect(this.entries).toHaveCount(count);

// ❌
await pages.historyPage.container.waitFor();
await this.entries.nth(count - 1).waitFor();

Prefer assertions against what the user can see on screen over URL-based checks.

Import expect from @playwright/test in page objects that use it.