E2e Panther Playwright (Symfony)
Use when
- A flow needs a real browser: JavaScript, multi-page journeys such as login, checkout or signup.
WebTestCase cannot see the behavior because it depends on client-side rendering.- Cross-browser needs (WebKit, tracing, video) that WebDriver does not cover: run Playwright separately.
- Debugging a browser test that fails only in CI.
Default workflow
- Pick the client:
static::createPantherClient() for a real browser, static::createClient() when no JavaScript is needed.
- Install
symfony/panther and dbrekelmans/bdi, run vendor/bin/bdi detect drivers, and register ServerExtension in phpunit.dist.xml.
- Extend
PantherTestCase and drive the flow with explicit waits: waitFor(), waitForVisibility(), waitForElementToContain().
- Assert future state with
assertSelectorWillExist() or assertSelectorWillContain(), current state with assertSelectorIsVisible().
- Keep the suite in
tests/E2E and reset the database between tests (DAMADoctrineTestBundle or Foundry).
- Debug with
PANTHER_NO_HEADLESS=1 and --debug; set PANTHER_NO_SANDBOX=1 in CI.
Guardrails
- Never rely on implicit timing: every async step gets a
waitFor* or an assertSelectorWill*.
- Target
data-testid attributes, not styling classes.
- Delete the PNGs written by
takeScreenshot() or PANTHER_ERROR_SCREENSHOT_DIR; never commit them.
- E2E is slow: cover critical paths only and keep it apart from unit tests.
Progressive disclosure
- Use this file for execution posture and risk controls.
- Open references when deep implementation details are needed.
Output contract
- E2E test files, with the client type and the wait strategy used.
- Driver setup,
ServerExtension registration and the PANTHER_* variables needed locally and in CI.
- Confirmation that screenshots were cleaned up.
References
