Running Playwright Tests: Complete Guide for Beginners

Sydney Antoni January 16, 2026

Introduction

Have you used kiteto to automatically generate tests for your web application and now want to run them? This guide shows you step by step how to get the generated Playwright tests running on your computer—even without in-depth programming knowledge.

Note: In future versions of kiteto, you will be able to run your tests conveniently directly from the user interface without having to perform these manual steps. Until then, this guide will help you use your generated tests today.

What you will learn:

How to install Node.js and Playwright
How to add kiteto tests to your project
How to run the tests and interpret the results

Prerequisites:

Basic knowledge of using the command line (terminal)
A computer running Windows, macOS, or Linux

Estimated time: 10-15 minutes

Step 1: Install Node.js

Playwright requires Node.js to function. To check if Node.js is already installed, or to install it if necessary:

Check if Node.js is installed

Open your terminal (on Windows: PowerShell or Command Prompt) and enter:

node --version

If a version number appears (e.g., v23.6.1), Node.js is already installed. Then skip to Step 2.

Install Node.js (if not available)

Visit nodejs.org
Download the Node.js installer
Run the installer and follow the instructions
Check the installation with node --version

Step 2: Set up the project

Create a new project directory

Create a folder for your tests:

mkdir my-playwright-tests
cd my-playwright-tests

Step 3: Install Playwright

Install Playwright and TypeScript in your project:

npm init playwright@latest

When prompted choose:

Typescript
A name for the Tests folder name (default: tests)
Add the GitHub Actions workflow
Install the Playwright browser

Insert generated test code

Copy the TypeScript code generated by kiteto
Create a new file in the tests folder, e.g., tests/my-first-test.spec.ts
Paste the copied code and save the file

Tip: Playwright automatically recognizes all files ending with .spec.ts or .test.ts as test files.

Step 4: Run tests

Now you can run your tests!

By default tests run across Chromium, Firefox and WebKit (configurable in playwright.config). Output and aggregated results display in the terminal.

Run all tests

npx playwright test

Run a specific test

npx playwright test tests/my-first-test.spec.ts

Run tests in UI mode (recommended for beginners)

UI mode shows you a graphical interface where you can follow the tests step by step:

npx playwright test --ui

Run tests with a visible browser

By default, Playwright runs in “headless mode” (without a visible browser window). To see the browser:

npx playwright test --headed

Step 5: Understand test results

When running the tests with the default configuration the results are shown in the terminal. You can see how many tests ran, how many of them passed and how long they all took.

Running 6 tests using 5 workers
  6 passed (3.4s)

View test report

For a detailed HTML report:

npx playwright show-report

This opens an interactive report in your browser where you can filter the tests by the browser, passed, failed, skipped, flaky and more.

Next steps

Congratulations! You have successfully run your first Playwright tests. Here are some recommendations for the next steps:

Extend tests:

Generate more tests with kiteto for different features of your application
Organize tests into different files by feature area

Set up automation:

Integrate tests into your CI/CD pipeline (e.g., GitHub Actions, GitLab CI)
Set up regular test runs

Dig deeper:

Explore the Playwright documentation
Learn how to customize test reports
Use Playwright’s debugging tools for failed tests

Need help?

If you encounter problems or have questions:

Consult the Playwright documentation
Contact kiteto support

Good luck with your testing!