e2e

name	e2e
description	Run, debug, and manage Playwright e2e tests. Use when running e2e tests, debugging test failures, regenerating seed databases, or investigating test infrastructure issues.

E2E Test Runner

Architecture overview

• Tests live in e2e/*.spec.ts, config in playwright.config.ts
• Global setup (e2e/global-setup.ts) builds the app, creates per-worker databases, and starts one server per worker
• Port calculation: E2E_BASE_PORT = PORT (from .env) + 500. Default PORT is typically 4001, so base port = 4501. Workers use ports base+0 through base+3
• Worker databases: db-test-e2e-0.sqlite3 through db-test-e2e-3.sqlite3 in the project root
• Seed databases (pre-seeded snapshots): e2e/seeds/db-seed-*.sqlite3
• MinIO (S3-compatible storage) is started via Docker Compose if not already running

Pre-flight checks (run before every test execution)

Before running tests, check for these common issues:

1. Stale worker databases — Files matching db-test-e2e-*.sqlite3 in the project root can cause "table already exists" migration errors if the schema has changed since they were created. Run pnpm run test:e2e:generate-seeds to regenerate these from the seed databases.

2. Port conflicts — Check if anything is already listening on the e2e ports (base port through base+3):

   lsof -i :4501-4504 2>/dev/null
   

   If ports are occupied by leftover e2e servers, kill them. If occupied by something else, warn the user.

3. Seed databases exist — Verify e2e/seeds/ contains the expected seed files. If missing, run pnpm run test:e2e:generate-seeds.

4. Docker running — MinIO requires Docker. Check with docker info if there are storage-related failures.

Running tests

Run all tests

pnpm run test:e2e

Run a specific test file

pnpm exec playwright test e2e/<name>.spec.ts

Flaky detection (repeats each test 10 times, stops on first failure)

pnpm run test:e2e:flaky-detect

Regenerate seed databases (after schema/migration changes)

pnpm run test:e2e:generate-seeds

Debugging failures

Follow this funnel when tests fail:

Step 1: Read the error output

• Look for the actual assertion or timeout that failed
• Check if it's an infrastructure error (server didn't start, migration failed) vs. a test logic error

Step 2: Check infrastructure issues

Common infrastructure errors and fixes:

• "table already exists" → Stale worker DBs. Run rm -f db-test-e2e-*.sqlite3
• "Server on port X did not start within timeout" → Port conflict or app build error. Check ports with lsof -i :<port> and check for build errors
• "MinIO failed to start" → Docker not running or compose issue. Check docker info
• Seed-related errors → Run pnpm run test:e2e:generate-seeds

Step 3: Reduce to single debug worker

If the error is unclear, re-run with debug output and a single worker to see server logs:

E2E_DEBUG=true E2E_WORKERS=1 pnpm exec playwright test e2e/<failing-test>.spec.ts

This shows stdout/stderr from the test server, which is hidden by default.

Step 4: Examine trace artifacts

Playwright is configured with trace: "retain-on-failure". After a failure, view the trace:

pnpm exec playwright show-trace test-results/<test-folder>/trace.zip

Test pattern reference

Every test follows this pattern — use these imports from ./helpers/playwright, NOT raw Playwright APIs:

import { expect, impersonate, navigate, seed, test } from "./helpers/playwright";

test.describe("Feature", () => {
  test("does something", async ({ page }) => {
    await seed(page);                    // Reset DB to a known seed state
    await impersonate(page, USER_ID);    // Log in as a specific user (default: admin)
    await navigate({ page, url: "..." });// Navigate (waits for hydration)
    // ... interact with the page ...
    await submit(page);                  // Submit a form (waits for POST response)
  });
});

Key rules:

• Use navigate() instead of page.goto() — it waits for hydration
• Use submit() instead of clicking submit buttons directly — it waits for the POST response
• Use seed(page, variation?) to reset the database. Available variations: DEFAULT, NO_TOURNAMENT_TEAMS, REG_OPEN, SMALL_SOS, NZAP_IN_TEAM, NO_SCRIMS, NO_SQ_GROUPS
• Use impersonate(page, userId?) to authenticate. Default is admin (ADMIN_ID)
• Avoid page.waitForTimeout — use assertions or waitFor patterns instead
• Import test from ./helpers/playwright (not from @playwright/test) — it includes worker port fixtures

Environment variables

Variable	Purpose	Default
E2E_WORKERS	Number of parallel workers	4
E2E_DEBUG	Show server stdout/stderr when "true"	unset
PORT	Base port for dev server (e2e adds 500)	5173