e2e-testing

name	e2e-testing
description	Use when running E2E tests, setting up the E2E environment, debugging E2E test failures, or verifying code changes work from a user's perspective. Triggers include "run E2E tests", "verify changes", "Playwright", "test setup", "E2E failures".
version	1.0.0

WooPayments E2E Testing

Run Playwright E2E tests to verify changes work from a user's perspective — real browser, real Stripe test transactions, real WordPress site.

When to Use

• After implementing a feature or fix — verify it works end-to-end
• Setting up E2E environment for the first time
• Debugging E2E test failures — reading traces, screenshots, logs
• Writing new E2E tests — structure and conventions

Quick Reference

Task	Command
First-time setup	bin/setup-e2e-local.sh && npm run build:client && npm run test:e2e-setup
Run all tests	npm run test:e2e
Run specific test	npm run test:e2e tests/e2e/specs/wcpay/merchant/file.spec.ts
Run by name	npm run test:e2e -- -g "test name"
Run merchant tests	npm run test:e2e tests/e2e/specs/wcpay/merchant
Run shopper tests	npm run test:e2e tests/e2e/specs/wcpay/shopper
UI mode	npm run test:e2e-ui (open http://localhost:8077)
Start containers	npm run test:e2e-up
Stop containers	npm run test:e2e-down
Full reset	npm run test:e2e-reset
View report	npx playwright show-report

Workflow 1: First-Time Setup

Prerequisites

• Docker running
• npm install and composer install completed
• Dev Docker environment running (npm run up) — needed for credential detection

Steps

1. Run the setup script:

   bin/setup-e2e-local.sh
   

   This auto-detects credentials from:

   • Transact Platform Server (local/secrets.php) — Stripe test keys
   • Dev Docker (wp option get wcpay_account_data) — Stripe Account ID
   • Dev Docker plugins dir — Dev tools

   It asks interactively for anything it can't find.

   Options:

   • --server-path /path/to/transact-platform-server — override auto-detection
   • --live — use live server mode (Jetpack tokens) instead of local
   • --with-subscriptions — include subscription tests
   • --help — see all options

2. Build the client:

   npm run build:client
   

3. Set up the E2E Docker environment:

   npm run test:e2e-setup
   

   This takes several minutes. It:

   • Starts Docker containers (WordPress on port 8084, MySQL on port 5698)
   • Starts Transact Platform Server (port 8088)
   • Installs WordPress, PooCommerce, WooPayments, dev tools
   • Configures Stripe account linking
   • Imports sample products and creates test users

4. Verify it works:

   npm run test:e2e tests/e2e/specs/wcpay/merchant/merchant-admin-deposits.spec.ts
   

Important: Pre-setup steps for local server mode

Before running npm run test:e2e-setup, these steps are required:

1. Sync gitignored server code: The transact-platform-server has server/ and missioncontrol/ gitignored (populated via npm run pull). After the E2E setup clones the repo, these dirs are empty. The setup script (bin/setup-e2e-local.sh) handles this automatically, or manually:

   rsync -a --delete /path/to/transact-platform-server/server/ tests/e2e/deps/transact-platform-server-e2e/server/
   rsync -a --delete /path/to/transact-platform-server/missioncontrol/ tests/e2e/deps/transact-platform-server-e2e/missioncontrol/
   

2. Install dev tools dependencies: The dev tools plugin needs composer install after cloning:

   cd tests/e2e/deps/wcp-dev-tools-e2e && composer install --no-dev --no-interaction
   

3. Pre-clone dev tools (optional): To avoid the clone + install race condition, pre-clone before running setup:

   git clone --depth=1 "$WCP_DEV_TOOLS_REPO" tests/e2e/deps/wcp-dev-tools-e2e
   cd tests/e2e/deps/wcp-dev-tools-e2e && composer install --no-dev
   

Troubleshooting Setup

• Port 8084 already in use: Stop conflicting containers with docker ps then docker stop <container>
• host.docker.internal not found (Linux): Create tests/e2e/docker-compose.override.yml:

  services:
    playwright:
      environment:
        - BASE_URL=http://localhost:8084
  

• Dev tools clone fails: Ensure WCP_DEV_TOOLS_REPO in local.env points to a valid git repo or local path
• "Critical error" on server startup: Missing server/ dir in the E2E clone. Run rsync step above.
• "vendor/autoload.php not found" in dev tools: Run composer install in tests/e2e/deps/wcp-dev-tools-e2e/.
• Onboarding wizard shown instead of admin pages: The Stripe test account isn't fully onboarded. Re-run bin/setup-e2e-local.sh (auto-creates and onboards), or complete setup in Stripe Dashboard.
• "Already linked" error: Run npm run test:e2e-reset first for a clean start.

Workflow 2: Running Tests (Agent Verification)

Before running tests — prerequisites check

# 1. Docker running?
docker info > /dev/null 2>&1 || echo "Start Docker first"

# 2. E2E containers up?
docker ps --format '{{.Names}}' | grep -q wcp_e2e_wordpress || npm run test:e2e-up

# 3. Client built with latest changes?
npm run build:client

Choosing what to run

After a change to merchant admin UI:

npm run test:e2e tests/e2e/specs/wcpay/merchant/

After a change to checkout/shopper flow:

npm run test:e2e tests/e2e/specs/wcpay/shopper/

After a change to a specific feature (e.g., disputes):

npm run test:e2e -- -g "dispute"

Run a single spec file:

npm run test:e2e tests/e2e/specs/wcpay/merchant/merchant-admin-disputes.spec.ts

Run block-based checkout tests only:

npm run test:e2e -- --grep @blocks

Reading results

• Console output: Pass/fail summary printed after run
• HTML report: Run npx playwright show-report to open in browser
• On failure: Screenshots saved to tests/e2e/test-results/
• Traces: Available in tests/e2e/test-results/ (open with npx playwright show-trace <trace.zip>)

Test mapping — which specs cover which features

Feature area	Spec directory / files
Deposits/payouts	merchant/merchant-admin-deposits.spec.ts
Transactions	merchant/merchant-admin-transactions.spec.ts
Disputes	merchant/merchant-admin-disputes.spec.ts, merchant-disputes-*.spec.ts
Orders & refunds	merchant/merchant-orders-*.spec.ts
Multi-currency	merchant/multi-currency*.spec.ts, merchant/merchant-orders-multi-currency.spec.ts
Payment settings	merchant/merchant-payment-settings-*.spec.ts
Checkout (shortcode)	shopper/shopper-checkout-*.spec.ts
Checkout (blocks)	shopper/ specs tagged @blocks
Saved cards	shopper/shopper-saved-card*.spec.ts
WooPay	merchant/woopay-setup.spec.ts, shopper/shopper-woopay*.spec.ts
Subscriptions	specs/subscriptions/

Workflow 3: Debugging Failures

Step 1: Read the failure output

The console shows which test failed and the error message. Look for:

• Assertion failures (expected vs actual)
• Timeout errors (element not found — usually a selector issue or slow page)
• Network errors (server not responding)

Step 2: Check artifacts

# Screenshots (taken on failure)
ls tests/e2e/test-results/

# Open the HTML report
npx playwright show-report

# Open a specific trace
npx playwright show-trace tests/e2e/test-results/<test-folder>/trace.zip

Step 3: Access the E2E site directly

The E2E WordPress site stays running after tests:

• WordPress admin: http://localhost:8084/wp-admin/
  • Username: admin, Password: password
• Shop front: http://localhost:8084/shop/
• Transact Platform Server: http://localhost:8088 (when using local server)

Step 4: Check container logs

# WordPress container logs
docker logs wcp_e2e_wordpress --tail 50

# Server container logs (local server mode)
docker logs transact_platform_server_wordpress_e2e --tail 50

# MySQL logs
docker logs wcp_e2e_mysql --tail 50

Step 5: Run in UI mode for interactive debugging

npm run test:e2e-ui tests/e2e/specs/wcpay/merchant/failing-test.spec.ts

Open http://localhost:8077 in your browser. UI mode lets you:

• Step through tests
• See the browser in real-time
• Use the locator picker to verify selectors
• View console.log output

Writing New E2E Tests

Directory structure

Test type	Directory
Merchant tests	tests/e2e/specs/wcpay/merchant/
Shopper tests	tests/e2e/specs/wcpay/shopper/
Subscription merchant	tests/e2e/specs/subscriptions/merchant/
Subscription shopper	tests/e2e/specs/subscriptions/shopper/

Test patterns

import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';
import { getMerchant, getShopper } from '../../utils/helpers';

test.describe( 'Feature description', () => {
    test( 'should do something specific', async ( { browser } ) => {
        const { merchantPage } = await getMerchant( browser );
        // ... test steps
    } );
} );

Key conventions

• Use getMerchant(browser) / getShopper(browser) for role-based browsing
• Prefer user-facing locators: page.getByRole(), page.getByLabel(), page.getByText()
• Use page.getByTestId() as fallback, CSS selectors as last resort
• Tests run sequentially (workers: 1) — some tests depend on prior state
• Timeout is 120s per test, 20s per expect assertion

Test cards

Defined in tests/e2e/config/default.ts:

• 4242424242424242 — basic successful card
• 4000002760003184 — 3DS authentication required
• 4000000000000002 — declined
• 4000000000000259 — triggers fraudulent dispute

Environment Reference

Service	URL	Container
E2E WordPress	http://localhost:8084	wcp_e2e_wordpress
E2E MySQL	localhost:5698	wcp_e2e_mysql
E2E phpMyAdmin	http://localhost:8085	wcp_e2e_phpmyadmin
Transact Server	http://localhost:8088	transact_platform_server_wordpress_e2e
Playwright UI	http://localhost:8077	(via docker-compose)

Lifecycle Commands

npm run test:e2e-setup    # First-time: build + start + configure everything
npm run test:e2e-up       # Start existing containers (no reconfigure)
npm run test:e2e-down     # Stop containers
npm run test:e2e-cleanup  # Remove deps and docker volumes
npm run test:e2e-reset    # Stop + cleanup (full teardown)