[v2] end-to-end testing?

[tassa-yoniso-manasi-karoto]

I was looking for ways to test my app and GPT suggested E2E testing:

End-to-end (E2E) testing is a methodology that verifies the full workflow of an application from the user's perspective. It simulates real user interactions—from launching the app and navigating through its interface to triggering backend processes—and checks that every component, including the communication between the frontend and the Go backend via the Wails runtime, functions as expected. This type of testing ensures that all layers of the application work together seamlessly, providing a holistic validation of the system's behavior.

But after further consideration I realized I can't use the frontend's developement localhost address in a browser because it isn't connected to the backend functionality.

Come to think about it, using go-rod in dev builds to control the browser could be a basis for these tests, but go-rod need a WebSocket URL for chromium devtools, and I'm not sure if Edge Webview can provide one.

Any insights on this?

[gerbil]

I got this covered by starting backend with cypress as e2e testing tool running from edge browser.

[tassa-yoniso-manasi-karoto]

I got this covered by starting backend with cypress as e2e testing tool running from edge browser.

I hadn't heard about cypress, thanks. But this setup can't communicate with the go backend right?

[gerbil]

Yeap, thats only for frontend part

[symball]

When you run wails in dev mode, you can access the full app (backend bindings included) from within a web browser which would allow you to perform e2e testing with a tool like Cypress.

To develop in the browser and call your bound Go methods from Javascript, navigate to: http://localhost:34115

[khwong-c]

I assume we can use wails dev and run Playwright against http://localhost:34115 for E2E testing.
It would be helpful to have a run-through guide.

[baldr9]

I would agree it would benefit the Wails community if there was a guide or howto on using Playwright with Wails.

[symball]

I could do a more thorough writeup and add to the docs if there is really demand but, here's the summary version of what you need (assuming you are using pnpm as your frontend package manager)

1. Set up playwright in your project

# From the source of your frontend project
pnpm create playwright
# Follow the onscreen instructions choosing TS / JS, the tests folder, etc.

2. Write your first test

(optional) delete the example tests created for you

Let's create a simple test assuming, on the first page of your Wails app, there is a button with the contents "Click here to get started!" which will lead to an onboarding page asking for user details

# in tests/basic.spec.ts
import { test, expect } from "@playwright/test"

test("Start the onboarding experience", async ({ page }) => {
    // Navigate to your Wails application's development URL
    await page.goto("http://localhost:34115");

    // Locate the getting started button
    const getStartedButton = page.locator("text=Click here to get started!"); // Assuming your button has the text "Greet"

    // Click the button
    await getStartedButton.click();

    // Assert that the onboarding experience has started
    await expect(page.getByText("What is your name?")).toBeVisible();
});

3. Start your wails instance in dev mode

wails dev

This will allow you to access your project (by default) at http://localhost:34115

4. Run the tests

Now we can run the playwright tests. Open a new terminal windowand navigate to your frontend root

# non-interactive
pnpm exec playwright test
pnpm exec playwright show-report

# In UI mode
pnpm exec playwright test --ui

[No-Cash-7970]

@symball What browser(s) do you use for Playwright? Can you post an example playwright.config.js?

[gerbil]

Yeap, but thats only web testing.. i think; how we can test wails app features?

[symball]

For the given instructions, when running the `pnpm create playwright` command, a configuration will be automatically created and you will be prompted to automatically download a version of chrome. This should be enough to get you up and running.

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