Playwright Automation Testing Tutorial: Complete Beginner to Advanced Guide (2026)
Playwright has quietly turned test automation from a daily grind into something closer to a smooth orchestration. In 2026, it is no longer just another testing library. It is a modern, opinionated, and production-ready testing framework that many teams are actively choosing over Selenium. This guide is written for beginners who want clarity, as well as experienced automation engineers and QA managers who want depth, trade-offs, and real-world guidance. This blog covers Playwright automation testing end to end : from architecture and installation to debugging, CI/CD, and honest advice on when not to use Playwright. What Is Playwright? Playwright is an open-source browser automation framework developed by Microsoft. It enables reliable end-to-end testing for modern web applications across Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit using a single API. Unlike older tools, Playwright was designed with modern web realities in mind: SPAs, async rendering, flaky networks, and CI-first execution. Why Pl...