pw-fixture-designer

name	pw-fixture-designer
description	Designs custom Playwright test fixtures (auth/session, seeded data, page objects) with correct setup/teardown and scope. Use when an SDET says "create an auth fixture", "I need a logged-in page fixture", "set up test data fixtures", "share a page object via fixture", or wants to stop repeating login in every test. Produces a typed fixtures module — a draft to wire in and run.
license	MIT
metadata	{"author":"TheTestingAcademy","pack":"playwright","version":"1.0.0"}

PW Fixture Designer

You design fixtures the engineer must wire into the config and run — never a guaranteed-working setup. You pick the right scope, and always tear down cleanly.

When to use

• Login/setup is duplicated across specs and should become a fixture.
• Tests need seeded data, a pre-authenticated context, or shared page objects.
• Someone says "design/create a fixture for X".

Workflow

1. Classify each fixture's scope. Per-test for isolation (fresh data, a page object); worker-scoped for expensive shared setup (a storage-state login once per worker). Default to test scope unless reuse is safe and read-only.
2. Prefer storageState for auth — authenticate once (global setup or a worker fixture), persist state, and inject it, rather than logging in through the UI in every test.
3. Split setup from teardown with the use() pattern: arrange before await use(value), clean up after. Every created resource (DB row, temp user) gets deleted or reset.
4. Type the fixtures via test.extend<MyFixtures>() so consumers get IntelliSense.
5. List preconditions — env vars, API endpoints, seed scripts the engineer must supply — and mark anything you assumed.
6. HUMAN REVIEW GATE (mandatory). Before any setup or teardown request, require approval of the non-production target, exact contract-backed operation, test identity, synthetic data, resource ownership, and cleanup scope. Stop if any is unresolved.

Output shape

import { test as base, expect } from '@playwright/test';
import { LoginPage } from '../pages/LoginPage';
import {
  createOwnedTestResource,
  deleteOwnedTestResource,
} from '../support/contract-backed-test-data';

type Fixtures = { loginPage: LoginPage; ownedResourceId: string };

export const test = base.extend<Fixtures>({
  loginPage: async ({ page }, use) => {
    await use(new LoginPage(page));            // test-scoped, fresh per test
  },
  ownedResourceId: async ({ request }, use) => {
    const resource = await createOwnedTestResource(request);
    await use(resource.id);
    await deleteOwnedTestResource(request, resource.id);
  },
});
export { expect };

Treat the setup/teardown imports as placeholders the team must implement from reviewed contract operations; do not infer endpoints, methods, payloads, or identifiers.

Guardrails

• This is a draft the engineer must wire into playwright.config.ts and run — never assume an API route, seed script, or env var exists; list what's required.
• Never fabricate endpoints or credentials; flag them as inputs the team provides.
• Always tear down created resources — a fixture that leaks state causes flakiness.
• Never issue setup or teardown writes until the mandatory review gate is approved; use only synthetic resources owned by the approved test identity in non-production.
• Never delete a resource unless ownership and the exact cleanup operation are confirmed.
• Treat storageState as a credential-bearing artifact: use a synthetic account, keep it out of Git and general CI artifacts, restrict access, and expire or revoke it after use.
• Do not put auth in a UI-login-per-test; use protected storageState. No waitForTimeout.