# Playwright Pipelines · PW-09

This document describes standards for running Playwright tests in pipelines.

## Standard Metadata

- Area: Playwright
- Owner: Technical Leadership group
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-07
- Next review due from: 2026-12-01
- Enforcement: Code review
- Status: Active

## Playwright pipelines should publish screenshots and traces of failing tests · PW-09.1 · **SHOULD** · **TEST**

Configure Playwright to take screenshots and traces of failing tests, and publish them from the pipeline. This improves debugging and makes it easier to raise bug cards for regressions.

1. In `playwright.config.ts`, set `screenshot: 'only-on-failure'` and `trace: 'retain-on-failure'` so that screenshots and traces of failing tests are saved to the `test-results` folder. Traces show every step, network call and page snapshot of a failing test.

   ```ts
   export default defineConfig({
     use: {
       screenshot: 'only-on-failure',
       trace: 'retain-on-failure',
     },
   });
   ```

2. Add a `PublishPipelineArtifact` step to the pipeline YAML, with `condition: always()` so that it runs even when tests fail:

   ```yaml
   - task: PublishPipelineArtifact@1
     displayName: 'Publish Failure Screenshots - ${{ parameters.environmentName }}'
     inputs:
       targetPath: test-results
       artifact: playwright-E2E-failure-screenshots
       publishLocation: 'pipeline'
     condition: always()
   ```

Traces can capture credentials as they are typed, so only publish them as pipeline artifacts, as described in [do not commit or log credentials](/standards/engineering/coding-standards/playwright/credential-management#do-not-commit-or-log-playwright-test-credentials).