Playwright interview questions for freshers (0–1 year) focus on fundamentals: what Playwright is and how it works, locators, auto-waiting and web-first assertions, and enough TypeScript to read and write a test. These 55 questions have short answers you can say out loud and expand with your own example.
55 questions with concise answers. Focus: testing fundamentals, Playwright basics, locators, assertions, TS basics.
Testing Fundamentals
What is software testing?
Verifying software behaves as expected and finding defects before users do.
Manual vs automation testing?
Manual = human executes; automation = scripts execute repeatedly, faster and more reliably for regression.
Why automate tests?
Speed, repeatability, early regression detection, coverage, and freeing humans for exploratory testing.
What should you NOT automate?
One-off checks, rapidly changing UI, exploratory/usability testing, and cases where automation cost exceeds value.
Functional vs non-functional testing?
Functional = what the system does; non-functional = how it performs (speed, security, usability).
Smoke vs regression testing?
Smoke = quick check that core features work; regression = broad check that changes didn’t break existing features.
What is a test case?
A defined set of steps, inputs, and expected results to verify a feature.
What is a test suite?
A collection of related test cases run together.
Positive vs negative testing?
Positive = valid input works; negative = invalid input is handled/rejected correctly.
What is a defect/bug?
A deviation between actual and expected behavior.
What is the STLC?
Software Testing Life Cycle: requirement analysis → planning → design → environment setup → execution → closure.
What is a test plan?
A document defining scope, approach, resources, and schedule of testing.
What is E2E testing?
Validating a complete user journey across the whole system.
What is unit vs integration vs E2E?
Unit = single function; integration = modules together; E2E = full user flow.
What is the test pyramid?
Many unit tests, fewer integration, fewest E2E — balancing speed and confidence.
Playwright Basics
What is Playwright?
A modern open-source framework by Microsoft for reliable web automation across Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit.
Which languages does Playwright support?
TypeScript/JavaScript, Python, Java, and .NET.
Why Playwright over Selenium?
Auto-waiting, web-first assertions, trace viewer, cross-browser via one API, faster and less flaky.
What browsers does it support?
Chromium, Firefox, WebKit (Safari engine).
What is auto-waiting?
Playwright waits for elements to be actionable before acting — reducing flakiness without manual waits.
How do you install Playwright?
npm init playwright@latest (scaffolds config + browsers) or npm i -D @playwright/test + npx playwright install.
How do you run tests?
npx playwright test; add --headed, --project, -g, --debug as needed.
What is headless mode?
Running the browser without a visible UI — the CI default; faster.
What is page in Playwright?
An object representing a single browser tab you interact with.
What is a BrowserContext?
An isolated browser session (own cookies/storage) — like a fresh incognito profile.
How do you navigate to a URL?
await page.goto('https://...') (or /path with a baseURL).
What file holds configuration?
playwright.config.ts.
What is the HTML report?
A built-in visual report of results; open with npx playwright show-report.
Locators
What is a locator?
A lazy, auto-retrying reference to element(s) on the page.
Preferred locator order?
getByRole > getByLabel > getByText > getByPlaceholder > getByTestId > CSS > XPath.
Why prefer getByRole?
It mirrors how users/assistive tech find elements and resists refactors.
How to locate a button by text?
page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Submit' }).
What is getByTestId?
Locates by a data-testid attribute — a stable hook for volatile UI.
CSS vs XPath — which first?
CSS; XPath only when necessary. Prefer semantic locators over both.
What is strict mode?
If a locator matches multiple elements, actions error — forcing unique locators.
How to handle multiple matches intentionally?
Narrow with .filter()/getByRole({name}), or .first()/.nth() when appropriate.
How to click an element?
await locator.click().
How to type into a field?
await locator.fill('text').
Assertions
What is an assertion?
A check that a condition holds; failure fails the test.
What are web-first assertions?
expect(locator).toBeVisible() etc. that auto-retry until true or timeout.
Why prefer web-first assertions?
They remove timing races — no manual waits needed.
How to assert text?
await expect(locator).toHaveText('...') or toContainText('...').
How to assert visibility?
await expect(locator).toBeVisible().
How to assert URL/title?
await expect(page).toHaveURL(/.../) / toHaveTitle(/.../).
How to assert a value?
await expect(locator).toHaveValue('...').
What is a soft assertion?
expect.soft(...) continues the test after failure, reporting all issues at the end.
toBeVisible vs isVisible()?
toBeVisible auto-retries (assertion); isVisible() returns an instant boolean (no wait).
TypeScript Basics
Why TypeScript for automation?
Type safety catches errors early and improves IDE autocomplete/refactoring.
let vs const?
const for values that don’t reassign; let for those that do.
What is async/await?
Syntax to write asynchronous code sequentially; Playwright APIs return Promises you await.
What is an interface?
A type describing an object’s shape (e.g., a User with typed fields).
What is an array method you’d use in tests?
map/filter — e.g., convert cell texts to numbers, filter results.
Practical/Behavioral
How do you debug a failing test?
Use --debug/--ui, read the trace viewer, and check the DOM snapshot at the failing step.
What makes a good automated test?
Independent, deterministic, readable, fast, with clear assertions and stable locators.
How do you keep tests non-flaky as a beginner?
Web-first assertions, semantic locators, no waitForTimeout, unique data.
Tip: For each answer, be ready to show a one-line code example — interviewers love “explain and demonstrate.”
FAQs
Is Playwright good for freshers?
Yes. It is modern, well documented and auto-waits, so beginners write stable tests quickly; the core concepts transfer to Selenium and other tools.
Should freshers learn Playwright with TypeScript or Java?
TypeScript gets the most out of the Playwright Test runner; Java is a good choice if the company already uses Java with Selenium. Learn the concepts once and they apply to both.
