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To add Applitools Eyes visual checks to a JavaScript Playwright project, install @applitools/eyes-playwright, run its setup tool, configure an Applitools API key, and call the eyes fixture’s check() method at the point in a test where you want a visual checkpoint. This guide follows Applitools’ documented JavaScript Playwright test-runner workflow; the steps are not India-specific, and the available information here does not establish local prices, payment options, or data-residency terms.
What you need before adding Eyes to Playwright
The example below uses JavaScript, Node.js, and the Playwright Test runner. Applitools also lists Playwright SDK paths for Java, C#, and Python, so do not copy the JavaScript package and import into a project written in another language. Check Applitools’ SDK selection guidance for the language-specific path.
- A Playwright project with Node.js and Playwright Test installed, or a project you are ready to set up.
- Basic JavaScript familiarity. Test Automation University’s Playwright with JavaScript course identifies JavaScript familiarity as recommended and Node.js and an IDE among the tools for following along.
- An Applitools account and API key for running visual tests against the Applitools cloud. The official Playwright workshop specifies the
APPLITOOLS_API_KEYenvironment variable.
Keep the API key out of source control. Set it in your shell or your CI provider’s secret store instead of writing the real value into a committed config file.
How do I install the Applitools Playwright SDK?
From the root of the JavaScript Playwright project, install the package as a development dependency, then run the interactive setup tool described on the Applitools Eyes Playwright npm page:
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npm install -D @applitools/eyes-playwright
npx eyes-setupReview the setup tool’s changes in your project rather than treating them as invisible configuration. The package page says the CLI can add settings to Playwright configuration, attempt to update imports, and add a demo test. It also notes that a manual import adjustment can still be needed if an import cannot be changed automatically. The SDK and setup commands can evolve, so consult the package page if the CLI output differs from what you expect.
Provide the API key through an environment variable. For a local macOS or Linux shell, for example:
export APPLITOOLS_API_KEY="your_api_key"Use the equivalent environment-variable configuration for your shell or CI system; do not commit a key or paste it into a test file.
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How do I add a visual checkpoint?
Applitools’ current documented fixture pattern imports test from @applitools/eyes-playwright/fixture, then uses the injected eyes fixture in a Playwright test. The following is a documentation-based example, not a report of an independently executed test:
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import { test } from '@applitools/eyes-playwright/fixture';
test('homepage visual check', async ({ page, eyes }) => {
await page.goto('https://example.com');
await eyes.check('Homepage', {
fully: true,
matchLevel: 'Strict'
});
});Replace https://example.com with the page under test. The checkpoint name, Homepage, identifies this visual checkpoint in the results. fully: true requests a full-page capture rather than just the currently visible viewport. matchLevel: 'Strict' selects strict visual matching; choose a matching behavior appropriate to the interface and the changes your team considers meaningful. Applitools documents these options in its Playwright integration guide.
If the setup tool has not added or adjusted the fixture import, make the import in the test file yourself and confirm that the project is using the documented fixture path. For a larger suite, the integration guide also shows an enhanced HTML reporter and organizing checks in page-object methods. Those are optional project-structure choices, not requirements for a single checkpoint.
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Should a checkpoint cover the whole page or one region?
Use a whole-page checkpoint when the page’s full layout and content are part of the intended comparison. Choose a region or element checkpoint when the question is specifically whether one component renders correctly, or when the rest of the page is outside the test’s purpose. The integration guide documents element-region checks as an alternative to full-page checks.
A checkpoint can also ignore a changing area, such as genuinely unpredictable content. Use ignoreRegions narrowly. Masking a large section can hide a real layout regression along with the dynamic content. The documented pattern uses a Playwright locator to identify an area to ignore; consult the integration guide for the precise option syntax that matches your installed SDK version.
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How do I review visual diffs?
When a visual comparison reports differences, use the enhanced report to inspect the images side by side and decide whether the change matches the intended design. The report supports accepting or rejecting changes. Accepting saves the changed rendering as a new baseline; it does not prove the change is correct. Compare it with the design or approved implementation before replacing a baseline. Reject an unexpected difference and investigate the page or test before treating the existing baseline as authoritative.
For an intentional design update, accept only the specific changes that have been reviewed. For an unexplained change, do not accept it just to clear the report: check whether the page loaded as expected, whether content or layout changed, and whether an ignored dynamic area or checkpoint scope needs adjustment.
Troubleshooting setup and visual checks
- The fixture import cannot be resolved: Confirm that
@applitools/eyes-playwrightis installed in the project where Playwright runs. Useimport { test } from '@applitools/eyes-playwright/fixture';for the documented fixture workflow, and manually correct imports if the setup tool did not do so. - The setup tool did not make the expected project changes: Inspect the CLI output and the Playwright config, imports, and demo-test changes it attempted. The package documentation allows for manual import adjustment where automatic changes are not possible.
- The visual test cannot connect to Applitools: Check that
APPLITOOLS_API_KEYis present in the environment of the process running Playwright and that it contains the intended key. The workshop identifies this variable as required for cloud connection. Do not solve the issue by committing the key to the repository. - A checkpoint shows differences in changing content: Decide whether the content is truly unpredictable and outside the test’s purpose. If so, narrowly ignore that region; otherwise, investigate the change rather than masking it.
- The report flags a change after a deliberate redesign: Review the changed visual against the intended design, then accept it as the new baseline only if it is correct. A baseline update is an approval decision, not an automatic fix.
What is specific to QA teams in India?
The documented SDK and fixture workflow does not have a separate India-specific variant. This tutorial does not establish India-specific subscription prices, plan limits, payment methods, regional availability, or data-residency terms. Check Applitools directly for current account and contractual details before making a purchasing or data-handling decision; do not infer them from the JavaScript setup steps.
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If your immediate goal is to get a website screenshot from an API rather than add visual checkpoints to Playwright, ScreenshotNeo is a separate option. It does not replace Applitools Eyes’ visual comparison workflow. Its one-call GET request returns a screenshot or PDF; this cURL example saves a WebP screenshot:
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webpSee the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for request options. Before capture, it accepts cookie or consent banners like a visitor and removes more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets; each of those steps can be turned off. Bot checks or CAPTCHAs, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits cost nothing, and response headers report the page verdict and whether the request was billed. ScreenshotNeo also provides an MCP server for AI agents with take_screenshot, get_page_info, and capture_pdf tools. Its free plan includes 1,000 screenshots per month without a card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 screenshots.
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