Migrating Cypress to Playwright Made Easy

Although Cypress is a widely used tool for end-to-end testing, many QA engineers find it limiting due to flaky tests, slow CI/CD execution, and complex command patterns. Its lack of full async/await support and limited parallel execution make testing frustrating and time-consuming. Additionally, Cypress’s unique command chaining can be confusing, and running tests in parallel often require workarounds, slowing down development. These challenges highlight the need for a faster, more reliable, and scalable testing solution—this is where Playwright emerges as a better alternative. Whether you’re looking for improved test speed, better browser support, or a more efficient workflow, migrating Cypress to Playwright will help you achieve a more effective testing strategy.

If you have not yet made the decision to migrate to Playwright, we will first cover the primary reasons why Playwright is better and then take a deep dive into the Migration strategy that you can use if you are convinced.

Why Playwright Emerges as a Superior Alternative to Cypress

When it comes to front-end testing, Cypress has long been a favorite among developers for its simplicity, powerful features, and strong community support. However, Playwright, a newer entrant developed by Microsoft, is quickly gaining traction as a superior alternative. But what makes Playwright stand out? Here are 6 aspects that we feel will make you want to migrate from Cypress to Playwright.

1. Cross-Browser Support

• Playwright supports Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit (Safari) natively, allowing you to test your application across all major browsers with minimal configuration.
• This is a significant advantage over Cypress, which primarily focuses on Chromium-based browsers and has limited support for Firefox and Safari

Why It Matters:

• Cross-browser compatibility is critical for ensuring your application works seamlessly for all users.
• With Playwright, you can test your app in a real Safari environment (via WebKit) without needing additional tools or workarounds.

2. Superior Performance and Parallel Execution

• Playwright is designed for speed and efficiency. It runs tests in parallel by default, leveraging multiple browser contexts to execute tests faster.
• Additionally, Playwright operates outside the browser’s event loop, which reduces flakiness and improves reliability.
• Cypress, while it supports parallel execution, requires additional setup such as integrating with the Cypress Dashboard Service or configuring CI/CD for parallel runs.

Why It Matters:

• For large test suites, faster execution times mean quicker feedback loops and more efficient CI/CD pipelines.
• Playwright’s parallel execution capabilities can significantly reduce the time required to run your tests, making it ideal for teams with extensive testing needs.

3. Modern and Intuitive API

• Playwright’s API is built with modern JavaScript in mind, using async/await to handle asynchronous operations.
• This makes the code more readable and easier to maintain compared to Cypress’s chaining syntax.
• Playwright also provides a rich set of built-in utilities, such as automatic waiting, network interception, and mobile emulation.

Why It Matters:

• A modern API reduces the learning curve for new team members and makes it easier to write complex test scenarios.
• Playwright’s automatic waiting eliminates the need for manual timeouts, resulting in more reliable tests.

4. Advanced Debugging Tools

Playwright comes with a suite of advanced debugging tools, including:

• Trace Viewer: A visual tool to go through test execution and inspect actions, network requests, and more.
• Playwright Inspector: An interactive tool for debugging tests in real time.
• Screenshots and Videos: Automatic capture of screenshots and videos for failed tests.

Cypress also provides screenshots and videos, but Playwright offers deeper debugging with tools.

Why It Matters:

Debugging flaky or failing tests can be time-consuming. Playwright’s debugging tools make it easier to diagnose and fix issues, reducing the time spent on troubleshooting.

5. Built-In Support for Modern Web Features

• Playwright is designed to handle modern web technologies like shadow DOM, service workers, and Progressive Web Apps (PWAs).
• It provides first-class support for these features, making it easier to test cutting-edge web applications.
• Cypress has limited or workaround-based support for features like shadow DOM and service workers, often requiring custom plugins or additional effort.

Why It Matters:

• As web applications become more complex, testing tools need to keep up. Playwright’s built-in support for modern web features ensures that you can test your app thoroughly without needing a workaround.

6. Native Mobile Emulation

• Playwright offers native mobile emulation, allowing you to test your application on a variety of mobile devices and screen sizes.
• This is particularly useful for ensuring your app is responsive and functions correctly on different devices.
• Cypress does not provide true mobile emulation. While it supports viewport resizing, it lacks built-in device emulation capabilities such as touch events or mobile-specific user-agent simulation.

Why It Matters:

• With the increasing use of mobile devices, testing your app’s responsiveness is no longer optional.
• Playwright’s mobile emulation capabilities make it easier to catch issues early and ensure a consistent user experience across devices.

Strategy for Migrating Cypress to Playwright

Before migrating Cypress to Playwright or any type of migration, having a clear strategy is key. Start by assessing your Cypress test suite’s complexity, and identifying custom commands, helper functions, and dependencies. If your tests are tightly linked, adjustments may be needed for a smoother transition. Also, check for third-party plugins and find Playwright alternatives if necessary.

Creating a realistic timeline will make the transition easier. Set clear goals, break the migration into smaller steps, and move test files or modules gradually. Ensure your team has enough time to learn Playwright’s API and best practices. Proper planning will minimize issues and maximize efficiency, making the switch seamless.

Sample Timeline

Migrating from Cypress to Playwright: Step-by-Step Process

Now that we have a timeline in place, let’s see what steps you need to follow to migrate from Cypress to Playwright. Although it can seem daunting, breaking the process into clear, actionable steps makes it manageable and less overwhelming.

Step 1: Evaluate Your Current Cypress Test Suite

Before starting the migration, it’s crucial to analyze existing Cypress tests to identify dependencies, custom commands, and third-party integrations. Categorizing tests based on their priority and complexity helps in deciding which ones to migrate first.

1. Inventory Your Tests:

• List all your Cypress tests, including their purpose and priority.
• Categorize tests as critical, high-priority, medium-priority, or low-priority.

Identify Dependencies:

• Note any Cypress-specific plugins, custom commands, or fixtures your tests rely on.
• Determine if Playwright has built-in alternatives or if you’ll need to implement custom solutions.

Assess Test Complexity:

• Identify simple tests (e.g., basic UI interactions) and complex tests (e.g., tests involving API calls, third-party integrations, or custom logic).

Step 2: Set Up Playwright in Your Project

Installing Playwright and configuring its test environment is the next step. Unlike Cypress, Playwright requires additional setup for managing multiple browsers, but this one-time effort results in greater flexibility for cross-browser testing.

1) Install Playwright:

Run the following command to install Playwright:

npm init playwright@latest

Run the install command and do the following to get started:

• You’ll be asked to pick TypeScript (default) or JavaScript as your test language.
• Name your tests folder (default is tests or e2e if tests already exists).
• Optionally, Playwright will offer to add a GitHub Actions workflow so you can easily run your tests in Continuous Integration (CI).
• Finally, it will install the necessary Playwright browsers (this is enabled by default).

2) Configure Playwright:

The playwright.config is where you can add configuration for Playwright including modifying which browsers you would like to run Playwright on

playwright.config.js
package.json
package-lock.json
tests/
  example.spec.js
tests-examples/
  demo-todo-app.spec.js

Step 3: Migrate Tests Incrementally

Instead of rewriting everything at once, tests should be migrated in phases. This involves replacing Cypress-specific commands with their Playwright equivalents and validating that each test runs successfully before proceeding further.

Update Basic Commands

Step 4: Convert a Cypress Test to Playwright

A direct one-to-one mapping of test cases is necessary to ensure a smooth transition. This step involves modifying test syntax, replacing assertions, and adapting test structures to Playwright’s async/await model.

Cypress Example

describe('Login Test', () => {

  it('should log in successfully', () => {

    cy.visit('https://example.com');
    cy.get('#username').type('user123');
    cy.get('#password').type('password123');
    cy.get('#login-btn').click();
    cy.url().should('include', '/dashboard');

  });
});

Playwright Equivalent

const { test, expect } = require('@playwright/test');

test('Login Test', async ({ page }) => {

  await page.goto('https://example.com');
  await page.fill('#username', 'user123');
  await page.fill('#password', 'password123');
  await page.click('#login-btn');
  await expect(page).toHaveURL(/dashboard/);

});

Step 5: Handle API Requests

Since Cypress and Playwright have different approaches to API testing, existing Cypress API requests need to be converted using Playwright’s API request methods, ensuring compatibility.

Cypress API Request

cy.request('GET', 'https://api.example.com/data')
  .then((response) => {
    expect(response.status).to.eq(200);
  });

Playwright API Request

const response = await page.request.get('https://api.example.com/data');
expect(response.status()).toBe(200);

Step 6: Replace Cypress Fixtures with Playwright

Cypress’s fixture mechanism is replaced with Playwright’s direct JSON data loading approach, ensuring smooth integration of test data within the Playwright environment.

Cypress uses fixtures like this:

cy.fixture('data.json').then((data) => {
  cy.get('#name').type(data.name);
});

In Playwright, use:

const data = require('./data.json');
await page.fill('#name', data.name);

Step 7: Parallel & Headless Testing

One of Playwright’s biggest advantages is native parallel execution. This step involves configuring Playwright to run tests faster and more efficiently across different browsers and environments.

Run Tests in Headed or Headless Mode

npx playwright test --headed

or

npx playwright test --headless

Run Tests in Multiple Browsers Modify playwright.config.js:

use: {
  browserName: 'chromium', // Change to 'firefox' or 'webkit'
}

Step 8: Debugging & Playwright Inspector

Debugging in Playwright is enhanced through built-in tools like Trace Viewer and Playwright Inspector, making it easier to troubleshoot failing tests compared to Cypress’s traditional debugging.

Debugging Tools:

Run tests with UI inspector:

npx playwright test --debug

Slow down execution:

use: { slowMo: 1000 }

Step 9: CI/CD Integration

Integrating Playwright with CI/CD ensures that automated tests are executed consistently in development pipelines. Since Playwright supports multiple browsers, teams can run tests across different environments with minimal configuration.

name: Playwright Tests
on: [push, pull_request]
jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - name: Install dependencies
        run: npm install
      - name: Install Playwright Browsers
        run: npx playwright install --with-deps
      - name: Run tests
        run: npx playwright test

Each step in this migration process ensures a smooth and structured transition from Cypress to Playwright, minimizing risks and maintaining existing test coverage. Instead of migrating everything at once, an incremental approach helps teams adapt gradually without disrupting workflows.

By first evaluating the Cypress test suite, teams can identify complexities and dependencies, making migration more efficient. Setting up Playwright lays the groundwork, while migrating tests in phases helps catch and resolve issues early. Adapting API requests, fixtures, and debugging methods ensures a seamless shift without losing test functionality.

With parallel execution and headless testing, Playwright significantly improves test speed and scalability. Finally, integrating Playwright into CI/CD pipelines ensures automated testing remains stable and efficient across different environments. This approach allows teams to leverage Playwright’s advantages without disrupting development.

Conclusion:

Migrating from Cypress to Playwright enhances test automation efficiency with better performance, cross-browser compatibility, and advanced debugging tools. By carefully planning the migration, assessing test suite complexity, and following a step-by-step process, teams can ensure a smooth and successful transition. At Codoid, we specialize in automation testing and help teams seamlessly migrate to Playwright. Our expertise ensures optimized test execution, better coverage, and high-quality software testing, enabling organizations to stay ahead in the fast-evolving tech landscape

Frequently Asked Questions

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