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When screenshots are missing from an Argos CI build, first determine which stage failed: the test may not have captured the image, the reporter or uploader may not have sent it, CI authentication may have failed, or Argos may have received it without a matching baseline. Check the test output and files in the CI workspace before changing configuration. The steps below use Argos’s Playwright integration for concrete examples; other frameworks use their own SDK configuration.
Why are my screenshots missing from the Argos CI build?
“Missing” can describe three different outcomes. Distinguishing them prevents you from treating a capture problem as an upload problem—or a baseline mismatch as a missing file.
| What you find | Likely stage to investigate |
|---|---|
| No intended screenshot file in the CI workspace | Test execution, filtering, or screenshot capture |
| File exists, but the Argos build has no corresponding screenshot | Reporter or uploader execution, file selection, or authentication |
| Screenshot appears as added or has no comparison to the expected image | Baseline availability or screenshot naming |
Start with the CI test command, its exit status, and its output. Then check the Argos build and whether the expected image exists in the job workspace. Argos’s Playwright quickstart is an end-to-end example of capture, upload, and baseline setup.
1. Confirm the test captured the intended image
Inspect the exact CI job and test run that should produce the screenshot. Verify that the test was not skipped by a filter, conditional, or failed prerequisite, and that the test command reached the relevant capture call.
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In the documented Playwright setup, a named Argos snapshot is created by calling argosScreenshot(page, "name"). The helper writes screenshots to ./screenshots by default. Check that the call runs in the test path you expect and that the CI job is running the same test configuration as your local run.
Do not confuse Playwright’s failure-only screenshots with named Argos snapshots. The quickstart configures screenshot: "only-on-failure" for Playwright debugging and separately uses the Argos reporter and argosScreenshot helper for visual snapshots. Failure-only screenshots alone do not establish that an Argos snapshot was captured.
Inspect the workspace before changing the uploader
- Look for the expected file in the CI workspace after the test command completes.
- Record its actual path and extension; do not assume it is a PNG or is in the repository root.
- If no file exists, focus on test execution and capture configuration before investigating upload globs.
2. Verify the Argos reporter and CI upload condition
For the Playwright integration, verify that playwright.config.ts includes the Argos reporter alongside any reporters the project already uses. The quickstart imports @argos-ci/playwright/reporter and configures it with createArgosReporterOptions({ uploadToArgos: !!process.env.CI }).
import { createArgosReporterOptions } from "@argos-ci/playwright/reporter";
export default {
reporter: [
["@argos-ci/playwright/reporter", createArgosReporterOptions({
uploadToArgos: !!process.env.CI,
})],
],
};This is a Playwright example, not a universal configuration for every framework or CI provider. If local builds work but CI builds do not, check whether the test process actually receives CI. In this example, a false or unset value makes uploadToArgos false. Also inspect project-specific overrides that might disable upload.
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Argos says its reporter uploads automatically when it detects a CI environment. Do not assume an arbitrary runner or environment variable is detected identically across SDKs. The official JavaScript SDK repository lists integrations for Playwright, Cypress, Puppeteer, WebdriverIO, Storybook, Vitest, CLI, and core; consult the documentation for the integration actually in use: Argos JavaScript SDKs.
3. Check CI authentication and workflow execution
A reporter can run and still be unable to authenticate an upload. In the Playwright quickstart, the project token is available in Argos under Settings → General → Token, and the GitHub Actions example assigns it to ARGOS_TOKEN for the test step.
ARGOS_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.ARGOS_TOKEN }}
# The quickstart's test command:
npx playwright testVerify that the token is configured for the exact job and step that runs tests, and inspect upload logs for authentication errors. Confirm availability without printing or sharing the secret value. For pull requests from forks, check the repository’s own secret-protection rules; the available Argos guidance does not establish how every provider or repository handles secrets.
Argos documents OIDC or tokenless authentication as options for GitHub Actions. Follow Argos’s current setup for the selected method rather than substituting an unverified environment variable or workflow configuration.
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4. Check uploader paths, working directory, and file selection
If the image exists in CI but not in Argos, compare the uploader’s root directory and file pattern with the file’s actual location. The Argos core SDK example uses a root of ./screenshots, selects **/*.png, and defaults to process.env.ARGOS_TOKEN.
import { upload } from "@argos-ci/core";
await upload({
root: "./screenshots",
files: ["**/*.png"],
});This is an example, not a required directory layout. Confirm the CI working directory when the upload runs, then make the configured root and glob match the paths and extensions found in the workspace. For example, a glob for PNG files will not select images written as JPEG or WebP. The Playwright helper’s default output directory and the core SDK’s example root are useful starting points, but a project can configure different paths. See the Argos core SDK documentation.
If uploading manually, avoid relying on the standalone argos-cli repository as the default current route: it is marked deprecated and points to argos-javascript. Use the current SDK documentation for the integration you have installed.
5. Check whether the build has a baseline to match
An uploaded screenshot can be present without comparing against the image you expected. Argos reports an unmatched screenshot as added. A build on the default branch establishes a baseline; if no default-branch build has completed, pull-request builds may be marked orphan instead of showing the expected comparison.
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Check the default-branch build first, then compare the snapshot name in the current build with the name used by the baseline. A renamed screenshot can be a new unmatched image rather than a visual change to the old one.
Use fallback names for variants when appropriate
Argos’s fallback-baseline feature lets a screenshot try names in priority order: first its own variant name, then a fallback snapshot name. That can let a variant use its own baseline after one exists while comparing with the fallback initially. The fallback-baselines guide documents the configuration.
For SDK-free metadata upload, the guide uses transient.baseName. Names include file extensions and, for Playwright projects, may include a project prefix such as chromium/home.png. Inspect the mapping shown on the Argos build page rather than guessing which baseline name was selected.
6. Capture a useful debugging report
If the basic checks do not identify the break, collect the evidence from the same CI run before changing multiple settings. This makes it easier to isolate capture, upload, and matching problems.
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- Commit, branch, CI provider, and job name
- Test framework and SDK version
- Test command, exit status, and relevant test output
- Whether screenshot files exist in the CI workspace, including paths and extensions
- Reporter configuration and any upload condition, such as
CI - Whether the credential is available to the job, without exposing its value
- Upload logs or error messages
- Argos build link and its displayed status
If files exist but remain absent from the build after checking reporter execution, authentication, root, and glob, the next useful evidence is the specific framework SDK version and its upload error or log output. Without the workflow, logs, framework, and files, the precise failure cannot be identified from the symptom alone.
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