microsoft/playwright

Microsoft's web automation + testing framework — Chromium, Firefox, WebKit with a single API. The modern default for cross-browser e2e testing.

What it is

A TypeScript framework + test runner that drives Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit via dedicated browser-control protocols (rather than WebDriver). Authored at Microsoft by ex-Puppeteer engineers. Provides auto-wait, network interception, screenshot/video recording, and cross-browser-parallel test execution. Has displaced Cypress and Selenium as the default for new web-testing projects.

Key features

Cross-browser: Chromium, Firefox, WebKit — same API for all three.
Auto-wait: assertions wait for elements without manual sleep.
Network mocking + interception.
Screenshots + video + trace files per test.
Multi-language: TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, Java, .NET.
VS Code extension with codegen + test debugging.
Parallel test execution + cross-machine sharding.
Apache 2.0 licensed.

Tech stack

TypeScript primary; bindings for JS, Python, Java, .NET.
Per-browser control protocols (CDP for Chromium, custom for Firefox + WebKit).

When to reach for it

You're starting new e2e tests in 2026 — Playwright is the modern default.
You need true cross-browser testing (Firefox + WebKit + Chromium).
You want multi-language support — Cypress is JS-only.

When not to reach for it

You're maintaining a Cypress test suite — migration is significant work.
You want a browser-in-browser experience like Cypress's runner — Playwright's UI is more headless-flavored.

Maturity signal

90k stars, 6k forks, Apache 2.0, actively maintained by Microsoft. Open-issues count of 164 is exceptionally low — tight team triage. 5+ years.

Alternatives

Cypress — older browser-in-browser alternative.
Selenium / WebDriver — legacy industry standard.
Puppeteer — Chromium-only predecessor.

Wiki: microsoft/playwright