| name | playwright-regression-testing |
| description | Automated regression testing strategy and best practices using Playwright with TypeScript. Use when asked to plan, organize, select, execute, or optimize regression test suites for web applications. Covers change-based and risk-based test selection, test tagging and prioritization, parallel execution, sharding, CI/CD pipeline integration with GitHub Actions, flaky test management, suite health monitoring, and regression types (corrective, progressive, selective, complete). Keywords: regression testing, test selection, smoke tests, test suite optimization, CI pipeline, flaky tests, test sharding, impact analysis, git diff. |
Playwright Regression Testing (TypeScript)
Strategy and best practices for automated regression testing of web applications using Playwright with TypeScript.
Activation: This skill is triggered when working with regression test strategy, test suite selection, test prioritization, CI/CD pipeline testing, flaky test management, test sharding, or optimizing test execution for web applications using Playwright.
When to Use This Skill
- Plan regression suites with risk-based and change-based test selection
- Organize tests into tiers (smoke, sanity, selective, full regression)
- Optimize execution with parallelization, sharding, and time-budget strategies
- Integrate with CI/CD using GitHub Actions pipelines
- Manage flaky tests with quarantine, retry policies, and root cause tracking
- Monitor suite health with execution time, flake rate, and detection metrics
- Select tests after changes using git diff analysis and impact mapping
Prerequisites
| Requirement | Details |
|---|
| Node.js | v18+ recommended |
| Playwright | @playwright/test package |
| TypeScript | typescript configured in project |
| Browsers | Installed via npx playwright install |
| Git | Required for change-based test selection |
| GitHub Actions | Recommended CI/CD platform |
Quick Reference
Tier Model
Tier 0 — Smoke (< 2 min) → Critical path, runs on every commit
Tier 1 — Sanity (< 10 min) → Core features, runs on every PR
Tier 2 — Selective (< 30 min) → Change-based + risk-based, runs on merge
Tier 3 — Full (< 60 min) → Complete regression, runs nightly/pre-release
Regression Types
| Type | When | Scope |
|---|
| Corrective | No app code changed (infra, config, env) | Full suite to verify nothing broke |
| Progressive | New features added | Existing tests + new feature tests |
| Selective | Specific code changes | Changed modules + dependent tests |
| Complete | Major refactor, release candidate | Run everything across all projects |
Tag Taxonomy
| Tag | Purpose | Tier |
|---|
@smoke | Critical path, must always pass | 0 |
@sanity | Core feature verification | 1 |
@regression | Standard regression coverage | 2-3 |
@critical | Revenue/business-critical flows | 0-1 |
@slow | Tests exceeding 30 seconds | 3 |
@quarantine | Known flaky, under investigation | Skipped in CI |
@a11y | Accessibility checks | 2 |
CLI Quick Reference
| Command | Description |
|---|
npx playwright test --grep @smoke | Run smoke tier only |
npx playwright test --grep @regression | Run regression suite |
npx playwright test --grep-invert @quarantine | Skip quarantined tests |
npx playwright test --shard=1/4 | Run shard 1 of 4 |
npx playwright test --last-failed | Re-run only failed tests |
Common Rationalizations
Common shortcuts and "good enough" excuses that erode test quality — and the reality behind each.
| Rationalization | Reality |
|---|
| "Run all tests every time" | Change-based test selection reduces CI time 60-80%. Run the full suite nightly, not every commit. |
| "Flaky tests are normal" | Flaky tests erode trust in the entire suite. Quarantine, investigate, and fix them. |
| "Regression testing is just re-running everything" | Strategic selection (risk-based, change-based) catches more defects in less time than brute-force runs. |
| "Test sharding is premature optimization" | Parallel sharding cuts CI time linearly with workers. Start with 4 shards from day one. |
| "Smoke tests cover regression" | Smoke tests verify health; regression tests verify behavior. They serve different purposes. |
| "Tagging tests is busywork" | Tags enable selective execution, prioritization, and suite analysis. Untagged suites are unmanageable. |
References
| Document | Content |
|---|
| Regression Strategy | Tier definitions, test selection (change-based, risk-based, historical, time-budget), directory layout, tagging, naming conventions, Playwright best practices, example test |
| CI/CD Integration | GitHub Actions tiered pipeline, sharding, merge reports, Playwright config, performance optimization, CLI reference |
| Flaky Management | Retry policies, quarantine strategies, detection checklist, suite health metrics, troubleshooting |
Verification
After completing this skill's workflow, confirm:
