Make Playwright Tests Deployment Ready

[digitalrisedorset]

Goal

Allow Playwright tests to run automatically without requiring a manually started development server.

Current State

• Tests require npm run dev to be running before execution.
• A developer must start the server manually.
• Tests target a fixed localhost URL.
• Tests cannot be executed reliably from deployment pipelines.

Target State

• Playwright starts the application automatically.
• Playwright waits until the application is ready.
• Tests run against a configurable URL.
• Tests can execute locally and in CI/CD environments without manual intervention.

Acceptance Criteria

• npm run test:e2e works from a clean checkout.
• No manual server startup is required.
• Tests pass locally.
• Tests can be executed from deployment scripts.
• Application URL is configurable through environment variables.
• The test process starts and stops the application automatically.

Suggested Approach

Investigate Playwright's webServer configuration:

export default defineConfig({
    webServer: {
        command: 'npm run dev',
        url: 'http://localhost:5173',
        reuseExistingServer: !process.env.CI
    }
});