Introduction
In the dynamic landscape of software testing, maximizing browser capabilities is more than a convenience - it’s a strategic necessity, crucial not only for comprehensive visual regression but also for capturing error messages and essential details when tests fail.
This principle is exemplified in the Pytest fixtures provided as part of my Playwright Python example project, developed in collaboration with Elias Shourosh.
The problem
Compounding the challenge is an existing feature request on Playwright’s GitHub repository, dating back to 2020, highlighting the community’s demand for a native full-screen mode functionality. However, this request remains unfulfilled, leaving a gap in Playwright’s capabilities that must be addressed.
Implementing the Solution
The solution code can be found here.
This Pytest fixture is designed to set up the arguments for a Playwright browser context, specifically in the context of a session. Let’s break down the code:
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@pytest.fixture(scope=“session”): This is a Pytest decorator that defines a fixture, which is essentially a way to set up or configure resources before running tests. The scope=“session” parameter means that this fixture will be executed once per test session.
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browser_context_args: This is a parameter that represents the default browser context arguments. It’s a common practice to pass existing context arguments to the fixture to extend or modify them.
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“no_viewport”: True: This tells Playwright not to create a viewport for the browser context, allowing it to launch in full-screen mode
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The return statement line combines the existing browser context arguments with an additional argument for the viewport. It uses the ** (dictionary unpacking) syntax to merge dictionaries.
This Pytest fixture is designed to set up the launch arguments for a Playwright browser, specifically in the context of a session. Let’s break down the code:
-
@pytest.fixture(scope=“session”): This is a Pytest decorator that defines a fixture, which is essentially a way to set up or configure resources before running tests. The scope=“session” parameter means that this fixture will be executed once per test session.
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browser_type_launch_args: This is a parameter that represents the default browser-type launch arguments. It’s a common practice to pass existing context arguments to the fixture to extend or modify them.
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The browser_type_launch_args fixture adds the —start-maximized argument, guaranteeing that the browser window starts in a maximized state for all tests using this fixture.
Together, these settings combinations enable full-screen testing with Playwright Python and pytest.
In Conclusion
Maximizing browser capabilities is essential for comprehensive software testing, particularly in scenarios requiring visual regression and error message capture. Despite existing challenges such as the absence of native full-screen mode functionality in tools like Playwright, solutions like the Pytest fixtures presented here offer a way forward. By leveraging such techniques, Automation engineers can enhance their testing processes, improving test coverage and a more thorough assessment of application quality.
Happy testing!