Playwright Dotnet Refactor

Playwright .NET Refactor Skill

Purpose

Turn generated Playwright .NET test code into maintainable xUnit tests while preserving the original user journey and intent.

Use This Skill When

• You have generated Playwright C# code from codegen and want production-quality tests.
• Selectors are brittle (CSS-heavy, position-dependent, implementation-coupled).
• Assertions are missing, weak, or coupled to internals instead of user-visible outcomes.
• Test flow is hard to read and would benefit from light structure.

Inputs To Gather Before Refactor

1. Raw generated Playwright C# test draft.
2. Intended user scenario in one sentence.
3. Target location for test (file/class name).
4. Existing fixture and conventions in the repo (for this repo, prefer xUnit and BrowserFixture patterns).
5. Any known app constraints (auth state, seed data, environment, flaky selectors).

Refactor Rules

1. Preserve user intent.

• Keep the same user-visible workflow and expected behavior.
• Do not silently add or remove meaningful scenario steps.

2. Prefer role-based locators.

• Prioritize GetByRole, then GetByLabel/GetByPlaceholder, then GetByText, then GetByTestId.
• Avoid brittle CSS/XPath selectors unless no better semantic locator exists.

3. Produce readable xUnit tests.

• Use clear test names describing behavior and expected outcome.
• Keep Arrange/Act/Assert intent obvious through structure and naming.
• Minimize incidental complexity in the main test body.

4. Extract helpers only when readability improves.

• Extract repeated or noisy interaction sequences.
• Keep helpers small and intention-revealing.
• Do not introduce abstractions that hide simple steps.

5. Avoid implementation-detail assertions.

• Assert only user-observable behavior (visible text, accessible state, navigation outcome, enabled/disabled controls, etc.).
• Do not assert internal IDs, hidden DOM structure, CSS class internals, or framework-specific plumbing unless user-visible behavior depends on them.

6. Keep tests deterministic.

• Prefer Playwright assertions and explicit waits tied to user-visible conditions.
• Avoid arbitrary sleeps.

Output Contract

Return:

1. Refactored C# xUnit test code.
2. Optional helper/page object code only if it materially improves readability.
3. Short rationale list covering:

• Locator improvements made.
• Assertion improvements made.
• Helper extraction decisions.
• Any uncertainty or assumptions.

Quality Gate Checklist

• User intent preserved.
• Locators are semantic and stable.
• Assertions are user-observable.
• Test reads clearly top-to-bottom.
• No unnecessary abstraction introduced.
• No arbitrary waits or timing hacks.

Prompt Starter

Use assets/refactor-prompt-template.md as the reusable Level 2 prompt.