Adding Video Recording Feature to Playwright Tests in Java

Introduction: Automated testing plays a crucial role in ensuring the quality and reliability of software applications. Playwright, a powerful browser automation library, offers a wide range of features to streamline the testing process. One such feature is the ability to record videos of your tests, which can be immensely helpful for debugging and analysis. In this post, we will explore how to add video recording capabilities to your Playwright tests using Java.

Step 1: Set Up Your Project Before we dive into the code, make sure you have the necessary dependencies set up for your Java project. Include the Playwright library in your project's dependencies, either manually or using a build tool like Maven or Gradle. Make sure you have the required Playwright Java bindings installed.

Step 2: Import the Required Packages In your Java file, start by importing the necessary Playwright packages:

import com.microsoft.playwright.Browser;
import com.microsoft.playwright.Locator;
import com.microsoft.playwright.Page;
import com.microsoft.playwright.Playwright;
import com.microsoft.playwright.options.AriaRole;

import java.nio.file.Paths;
import java.util.regex.Pattern;

import static com.microsoft.playwright.assertions.PlaywrightAssertions.assertThat;

Step 3: Add Video Recording Code Next, let's modify our Playwright code to enable video recording. Within the main method, add the following lines:

var playwright = Playwright.create();
var browser = playwright.chromium().launch();
var context = browser.newContext(new Browser.NewContextOptions()
        .setRecordVideoDir(Paths.get("videos/")) // Set the video recording directory
        .setRecordVideoSize(800, 600)); // Set the video recording dimensions (optional)
var page = context.newPage();

In this code snippet, we create a Playwright instance, launch a Chromium browser, and create a new context with video recording options. The setRecordVideoDir method specifies the directory where the recorded videos will be saved. You can customize this directory path according to your preferences. Additionally, the setRecordVideoSize method allows you to set the dimensions of the recorded videos (optional).

Step 4: Perform Automated Actions Now, you can continue writing your Playwright automation code as usual. For example, let's navigate to a website, assert the page title, locate an element, and perform a click action:

page.navigate("http://playwright.dev");
assertThat(page).hasTitle(Pattern.compile("Playwright"));
Locator getStarted = page.getByRole(AriaRole.LINK, new Page.GetByRoleOptions().setName("Get Started"));
assertThat(getStarted).hasAttribute("href", "/docs/intro");
getStarted.click();
assertThat(page).hasURL(Pattern.compile(".*intro"));

Feel free to modify these actions according to your specific testing scenario.

Step 5: Close the Browser and Playwright Instances Once your test execution is complete, it's important to clean up and close the browser and Playwright instances properly. Add the following lines at the end of your code:

context.close();
playwright.close();

These lines ensure that all resources are released and your automation script gracefully exits.

Conclusion: By adding video recording capabilities to your Playwright tests, you gain an additional tool for debugging and analysis. You can observe the test execution in action, capture any unexpected behavior, and analyze it later. With Playwright's flexibility and the added video recording feature, you can enhance the reliability and quality of your automated tests.

Remember to leverage the setRecordVideoDir and setRecordVideoSize methods when creating a new context to define the video recording directory and dimensions