webapp-testing

Original source / Raw SKILL.md

---
name: webapp-testing
description: Toolkit for interacting with and testing local web applications using Playwright. Supports verifying frontend functionality, debugging UI behavior, capturing browser screenshots, and viewing browser logs.
license: Complete terms in LICENSE.txt
---

# Web Application Testing

To test local web applications, write native Python Playwright scripts.

**Helper Scripts Available**:
- `scripts/with_server.py` - Manages server lifecycle (supports multiple servers)

**Always run scripts with `--help` first** to see usage. DO NOT read the source until you try running the script first and find that a customized solution is abslutely necessary. These scripts can be very large and thus pollute your context window. They exist to be called directly as black-box scripts rather than ingested into your context window.

## Decision Tree: Choosing Your Approach

```
User task → Is it static HTML?
    ├─ Yes → Read HTML file directly to identify selectors
    │         ├─ Success → Write Playwright script using selectors
    │         └─ Fails/Incomplete → Treat as dynamic (below)
    │
    └─ No (dynamic webapp) → Is the server already running?
        ├─ No → Run: python scripts/with_server.py --help
        │        Then use the helper + write simplified Playwright script
        │
        └─ Yes → Reconnaissance-then-action:
            1. Navigate and wait for networkidle
            2. Take screenshot or inspect DOM
            3. Identify selectors from rendered state
            4. Execute actions with discovered selectors
```

## Example: Using with_server.py

To start a server, run `--help` first, then use the helper:

**Single server:**
```bash
python scripts/with_server.py --server "npm run dev" --port 5173 -- python your_automation.py
```

**Multiple servers (e.g., backend + frontend):**
```bash
python scripts/with_server.py \
  --server "cd backend && python server.py" --port 3000 \
  --server "cd frontend && npm run dev" --port 5173 \
  -- python your_automation.py
```

To create an automation script, include only Playwright logic (servers are managed automatically):
```python
from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright

with sync_playwright() as p:
    browser = p.chromium.launch(headless=True) # Always launch chromium in headless mode
    page = browser.new_page()
    page.goto('http://localhost:5173') # Server already running and ready
    page.wait_for_load_state('networkidle') # CRITICAL: Wait for JS to execute
    # ... your automation logic
    browser.close()
```

## Reconnaissance-Then-Action Pattern

1. **Inspect rendered DOM**:
   ```python
   page.screenshot(path='/tmp/inspect.png', full_page=True)
   content = page.content()
   page.locator('button').all()
   ```

2. **Identify selectors** from inspection results

3. **Execute actions** using discovered selectors

## Common Pitfall

❌ **Don't** inspect the DOM before waiting for `networkidle` on dynamic apps
✅ **Do** wait for `page.wait_for_load_state('networkidle')` before inspection

## Best Practices

- **Use bundled scripts as black boxes** - To accomplish a task, consider whether one of the scripts available in `scripts/` can help. These scripts handle common, complex workflows reliably without cluttering the context window. Use `--help` to see usage, then invoke directly. 
- Use `sync_playwright()` for synchronous scripts
- Always close the browser when done
- Use descriptive selectors: `text=`, `role=`, CSS selectors, or IDs
- Add appropriate waits: `page.wait_for_selector()` or `page.wait_for_timeout()`

## Reference Files

- **examples/** - Examples showing common patterns:
  - `element_discovery.py` - Discovering buttons, links, and inputs on a page
  - `static_html_automation.py` - Using file:// URLs for local HTML
  - `console_logging.py` - Capturing console logs during automation

---

## Referenced Files

> The following files are referenced in this skill and included for context.

### scripts/with_server.py

```python
#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""
Start one or more servers, wait for them to be ready, run a command, then clean up.

Usage:
    # Single server
    python scripts/with_server.py --server "npm run dev" --port 5173 -- python automation.py
    python scripts/with_server.py --server "npm start" --port 3000 -- python test.py

    # Multiple servers
    python scripts/with_server.py \
      --server "cd backend && python server.py" --port 3000 \
      --server "cd frontend && npm run dev" --port 5173 \
      -- python test.py
"""

import subprocess
import socket
import time
import sys
import argparse

def is_server_ready(port, timeout=30):
    """Wait for server to be ready by polling the port."""
    start_time = time.time()
    while time.time() - start_time < timeout:
        try:
            with socket.create_connection(('localhost', port), timeout=1):
                return True
        except (socket.error, ConnectionRefusedError):
            time.sleep(0.5)
    return False


def main():
    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description='Run command with one or more servers')
    parser.add_argument('--server', action='append', dest='servers', required=True, help='Server command (can be repeated)')
    parser.add_argument('--port', action='append', dest='ports', type=int, required=True, help='Port for each server (must match --server count)')
    parser.add_argument('--timeout', type=int, default=30, help='Timeout in seconds per server (default: 30)')
    parser.add_argument('command', nargs=argparse.REMAINDER, help='Command to run after server(s) ready')

    args = parser.parse_args()

    # Remove the '--' separator if present
    if args.command and args.command[0] == '--':
        args.command = args.command[1:]

    if not args.command:
        print("Error: No command specified to run")
        sys.exit(1)

    # Parse server configurations
    if len(args.servers) != len(args.ports):
        print("Error: Number of --server and --port arguments must match")
        sys.exit(1)

    servers = []
    for cmd, port in zip(args.servers, args.ports):
        servers.append({'cmd': cmd, 'port': port})

    server_processes = []

    try:
        # Start all servers
        for i, server in enumerate(servers):
            print(f"Starting server {i+1}/{len(servers)}: {server['cmd']}")

            # Use shell=True to support commands with cd and &&
            process = subprocess.Popen(
                server['cmd'],
                shell=True,
                stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
                stderr=subprocess.PIPE
            )
            server_processes.append(process)

            # Wait for this server to be ready
            print(f"Waiting for server on port {server['port']}...")
            if not is_server_ready(server['port'], timeout=args.timeout):
                raise RuntimeError(f"Server failed to start on port {server['port']} within {args.timeout}s")

            print(f"Server ready on port {server['port']}")

        print(f"\nAll {len(servers)} server(s) ready")

        # Run the command
        print(f"Running: {' '.join(args.command)}\n")
        result = subprocess.run(args.command)
        sys.exit(result.returncode)

    finally:
        # Clean up all servers
        print(f"\nStopping {len(server_processes)} server(s)...")
        for i, process in enumerate(server_processes):
            try:
                process.terminate()
                process.wait(timeout=5)
            except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
                process.kill()
                process.wait()
            print(f"Server {i+1} stopped")
        print("All servers stopped")


if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()
```