From test-automation-skills-agents
Plans, organizes, and optimizes Playwright regression test suites for web apps using TypeScript. Covers change-based test selection, sharding, parallel execution, GitHub Actions CI/CD, flaky test management, and suite monitoring.
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
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/test-automation-skills-agents:playwright-regression-testingThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
Strategy and best practices for automated regression testing of web applications using Playwright with 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.
| 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 |
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
| 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 | 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 |
| 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 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. |
| 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 |
After completing this skill's workflow, confirm:
@smoke tests run in under 2 minutesnpx claudepluginhub fugazi/test-automation-skills-agents --plugin test-automation-skills-agentsImplements end-to-end testing workflows with Playwright for browser automation, visual regression, cross-browser testing, and CI/CD integration.
Sets up Playwright test projects with installation commands, basic/advanced playwright.config.ts configurations, multi-browser projects, and webServer for scalable test suites.
Guides Playwright end-to-end testing: selectors, assertions, fixtures, auth, parallelism, CI, visual regression, and flake hunting. Activate with playwright/e2e/playwright config topics.