Configure UX Testing

/configure:ux-testing

Check and configure UX testing infrastructure with Playwright as the primary tool for E2E, accessibility, and visual regression testing.

When to Use This Skill

Context

• Package manager: !find . -maxdepth 1 \( -name 'package.json' -o -name 'bun.lock' -o -name 'bun.lockb' \)
• Playwright config: !find . -maxdepth 1 -name 'playwright.config.*'
• Playwright installed: !find . -maxdepth 1 -name 'package.json' -exec grep -l '@playwright/test' {} +
• Axe-core installed: !find . -maxdepth 1 -name 'package.json' -exec grep -l '@axe-core/playwright' {} +
• E2E test dir: !find . -maxdepth 2 -type d \( -name 'e2e' -o -name 'tests' \)
• Visual snapshots: !find . -maxdepth 4 -type d -name '__snapshots__'
• MCP config: !find . -maxdepth 1 -name '.mcp.json'
• CI workflow: !find . -path '*/.github/workflows/*' -maxdepth 3 -name 'e2e*'

UX Testing Stack:

• Playwright - Cross-browser E2E testing (primary tool)
• axe-core - Automated accessibility testing (WCAG compliance)
• Playwright screenshots - Visual regression testing
• Playwright CLI - Browser automation via CLI (preferred for AI agents with shell access)
• Playwright MCP - Browser automation via MCP (fallback for sandboxed environments)

Parameters

Parse from command arguments:

• --check-only: Report status without offering fixes
• --fix: Apply all fixes automatically without prompting
• --a11y: Focus on accessibility testing configuration
• --visual: Focus on visual regression testing configuration

Execution

Execute this UX testing configuration check:

Step 1: Fetch latest tool versions

Verify latest versions before configuring:

1. @playwright/test: Check playwright.dev or npm
2. @axe-core/playwright: Check npm
3. @playwright/cli: Check npm
4. playwright MCP: Check npm

Use WebSearch or WebFetch to verify current versions.

Step 2: Detect existing UX testing infrastructure

Run the detection script to scan the project for Playwright / axe-core signals (package.json deps + config globs), the e2e dir / __snapshots__ / e2e workflow, and the playwright MCP-server entry:

bash "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/configure-ux-testing.sh" --home-dir "$HOME" --project-dir "$(pwd)"

Parse STATUS= and the ISSUES: block from the output. The KEY=VALUE lines report PLAYWRIGHT_CONFIG, PLAYWRIGHT_DEP, AXE_CORE_DEP, E2E_DIR, VISUAL_SNAPSHOTS, E2E_WORKFLOW, PLAYWRIGHT_MCP, and the rollup PLAYWRIGHT_DETECTED / UX_SIGNALS_PRESENT.

Step 3: Generate compliance report

Print a formatted compliance report showing status for Playwright core, accessibility testing, visual regression, and MCP integration.

If --check-only is set, stop here.

For the compliance report format, see REFERENCE.md.

Step 4: Install dependencies (if --fix or user confirms)

# Core Playwright
bun add --dev @playwright/test

# Accessibility testing
bun add --dev @axe-core/playwright

# Install browsers
bunx playwright install

Step 5: Create Playwright configuration

Create playwright.config.ts with:

• Desktop browser projects (Chromium, Firefox, WebKit)
• Mobile viewport projects (Pixel 5, iPhone 13)
• Dedicated a11y test project (Chromium only)
• WebServer auto-start for local dev
• Trace/screenshot/video on failure settings
• JSON and JUnit reporters for CI

For the complete playwright.config.ts template, see REFERENCE.md.

Step 6: Create accessibility test helper

Create tests/e2e/helpers/a11y.ts with:

• expectNoA11yViolations(page, options) - Assert no WCAG violations
• getA11yReport(page, options) - Generate detailed a11y report
• Configurable WCAG level (wcag2a, wcag2aa, wcag21aa, wcag22aa)
• Rule include/exclude support
• Formatted violation output

For the complete a11y helper code, see REFERENCE.md.

Step 7: Create example test files

Create example tests:

1. tests/e2e/homepage.a11y.spec.ts - Homepage accessibility tests (WCAG 2.1 AA violations, post-interaction checks, full report)
2. tests/e2e/visual.spec.ts - Visual regression tests (full page screenshots, component screenshots, responsive layouts, dark mode)

For complete example test files, see REFERENCE.md.

Step 8: Add npm scripts

Update package.json with test scripts:

{
  "scripts": {
    "test:e2e": "playwright test",
    "test:e2e:headed": "playwright test --headed",
    "test:e2e:debug": "playwright test --debug",
    "test:e2e:ui": "playwright test --ui",
    "test:a11y": "playwright test --project=a11y",
    "test:visual": "playwright test visual.spec.ts",
    "test:visual:update": "playwright test visual.spec.ts --update-snapshots",
    "playwright:codegen": "playwright codegen http://localhost:3000",
    "playwright:report": "playwright show-report"
  }
}

Step 9: Configure browser automation (optional)

Choose the appropriate browser automation approach based on the agent's environment:

Option A: Playwright CLI (preferred when shell access is available)

Playwright CLI (@playwright/cli) is 4-10x more token-efficient than MCP for AI agent browser automation (~27K vs ~114K tokens per task). Snapshots and screenshots are saved to disk instead of injected into context.

# Global install
npm install -g @playwright/cli@latest

# Or project-local
bun add --dev @playwright/cli

This enables Claude to navigate pages, take screenshots, fill forms, click elements, and capture page snapshots via CLI commands. See the playwright-cli skill for command reference.

Option B: Playwright MCP (for sandboxed environments without shell access)

Use MCP when running in environments without shell access (Claude Desktop, browser-based agents):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "playwright": {
      "command": "bunx",
      "args": ["-y", "@playwright/mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

Step 10: Create CI/CD workflow

Create .github/workflows/e2e.yml with parallel jobs for:

• E2E tests (all browsers)
• Accessibility tests (Chromium only)
• Artifact upload for reports and failure screenshots

For the complete CI workflow template, see REFERENCE.md.

Step 11: Update standards tracking

Update .project-standards.yaml:

components:
  ux_testing: "2025.1"
  ux_testing_framework: "playwright"
  ux_testing_a11y: true
  ux_testing_a11y_level: "wcag21aa"
  ux_testing_visual: true
  ux_testing_cli: true
  ux_testing_mcp: false

Step 12: Report configuration results

Print a summary of configuration applied, scripts added, and CI/CD setup. Include next steps for starting the dev server, running tests, updating snapshots, and opening the interactive UI.

For the results report format, see REFERENCE.md.

Agentic Optimizations

Flags

Error Handling

• No package manager found: Cannot install dependencies, provide manual steps
• Dev server not configured: Warn about manual baseURL configuration
• Browsers not installed: Prompt to run bunx playwright install
• Existing config conflicts: Preserve user config, suggest merge

See Also

• /configure:tests - Unit and integration testing configuration
• /configure:all - Run all compliance checks
• Skills: playwright-testing, playwright-cli, accessibility-implementation
• Agents: ux-implementation for implementing UX designs
• Playwright documentation: https://playwright.dev
• axe-core documentation: https://www.deque.com/axe