Debug with Playwright Screenshots
Debug E2E tests by taking screenshots at key points to visually inspect application state.
Arguments
$ARGUMENTS: (Optional) Specific E2E test file to debug (e.g.,main.spec.tsore2e-tests/main.spec.ts). If not provided, will ask the user which test to debug.
Background
Dyad uses Electron + Playwright for E2E tests. Because Playwright's built-in screenshot: "on" option does NOT work with Electron (see https://github.com/microsoft/playwright/issues/8208), you must take screenshots manually via page.screenshot().
The test fixtures in e2e-tests/helpers/fixtures.ts already auto-capture a screenshot on test failure and attach it to the test report. But for debugging, you often need screenshots at specific points during test execution.
Instructions
- Identify the test to debug: If
$ARGUMENTSis empty, ask the user which test file they want to debug.
- If provided without the e2e-tests/ prefix, add it - If provided without the .spec.ts suffix, add it
- Read the test file: Read the test file to understand what it does and where it might be failing.
- Add debug screenshots to the test: Add
page.screenshot()calls at key points in the test to capture visual state. Access the page from thepofixture: `// Get the page from the electronApp fixture const page = await electronApp.firstWindow(); // Or if you only havepo, access the page directly: // po is a PageObject which has apageproperty**Screenshot patterns for debugging:**import * as fs from "fs"; import * as path from "path"; // Create a debug screenshots directory const debugDir = path.join(__dirname, "debug-screenshots"); if (!fs.existsSync(debugDir)) {fs.mkdirSync(debugDir, {recursive: true});} // Take a full-page screenshot await page.screenshot({path: path.join(debugDir, "01-before-action.png"),}); // Take a screenshot of a specific element const element = page.locator('[data-testid="chat-input"]'); await element.screenshot({path: path.join(debugDir, "02-chat-input.png"),}); // Take a screenshot after some action await po.sendPrompt("hi"); await page.screenshot({path: path.join(debugDir, "03-after-send.png"),});**Important:** The test fixture signature provides{electronApp, po}`. To get the page: Add screenshots before and after the failing step to understand what the UI looks like at that point.
- Use await electronApp.firstWindow() to get the page - Or use po.page if PageObject exposes it
- Build the app (if needed): E2E tests run against the built binary. If you made any application code changes:
npm run buildIf you only changed test files, you can skip this step. - Run the test:
PLAYWRIGHT_RETRIES=0 PLAYWRIGHT_HTML_OPEN=never npm run e2e -- e2e-tests/<testfile>.spec.ts - View the screenshots: Use the Read tool to view the captured PNG screenshots. Claude Code can read and display images directly:
Read the PNG files in e2e-tests/debug-screenshots/Analyze the screenshots to understand:
- Is the expected UI element visible? - Is there an error dialog or unexpected state? - Is a loading spinner still showing? - Is the layout correct?
- Check the Playwright trace (for additional context): The Playwright config has
trace: "retain-on-failure". If the test failed, a trace file will be intest-results/. You can reference this for additional debugging context. - Iterate: Based on what you see in the screenshots:
- Add more targeted screenshots if needed - Fix the issue in the test or application code - Re-run to verify
- Clean up: After debugging is complete, remove the debug screenshots and any temporary screenshot code you added to the test:
rm -rf e2e-tests/debug-screenshots/Remove anypage.screenshot()calls you added for debugging purposes. - Report findings: Tell the user:
- What the screenshots revealed about the test failure - What fix was applied (if any) - Whether the test now passes