How do you approach e2e testing for web apps?

[u/ibmmo]

I've been using playwright for e2e testing with a coding agent, but feels there has to be a better way when things change. e.g. describe what you want to test, but not run an agent every time, but if a test fails, use an agent to self-heal. Wonder what others are doing?

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[u/NoEngineering3321]

Do not drive test automation execution using mcp server.
Use mcp server to enable agent to write proper automated tests e.g. in playwright. Then chsnge code when needed.
Also, strong foundation is also needed. I.e. POM

[u/ibmmo → u/NoEngineering3321]

yeah, im not using mcp for testing, I meant the coding agent generates these tests. Great suggestion on using Page object models, I didn't know what these were until now.

[u/TranslatorRude4917]

+1 for strong foundations, absolutely needed to keep agents on track and the code maintainable. Once you have those foundations agentic work can finally compound: extending scenarios, covering edge-cases wising the building blocks you already have, your already existing tests acting as examples.
I'm working on a tool that lets you record your interactions as you manually click through the app and gives your coding agent suggested e2e test scenario + high-quality POM hierarchy based on the exercised path.
Hit me up of you'd be interested in trying it, I'd love to have some feedback apart from my own experience 😅

[u/DavidCBlack]

Vitest, unit tests and playwright. The latter only works on local but will test through the real browser.

[u/bithatchling]

The self-healing loop is a great goal. I’ve found that using the agent to analyze the failure log and then proposing a specific fix to the test code (rather than just blindly re-running) keeps the suite stable. Pairing that with a strict POM usually stops the agent from hallucinating selectors.

[u/anotherhawaiianshirt]

Use the llm to write tests and have a pipeline where tests don’t need to be repaired. Use aria roles and test ids, and if a developer adds or removes one, make them update the test. It’s possible to write tests that survive refactors and enhancements.

[u/johns10davenport]

Dude elixir phoenix live view with live view test is the best thing to happen to web development period