A visual-testing baseline is the approved screenshot reference your tool uses to identify later changes. To manage baselines across branches, first understand how your tool chooses that reference, review each proposed visual change before approving it, and sync long-running feature branches with the integration branch. Keep the screenshot environment stable, too: otherwise harmless rendering differences can look like application regressions.
What a visual-testing baseline represents
A baseline is an accepted reference image for a page, component, story, or test state. A visual test compares a new capture with that reference and presents the difference. The comparison only tells you that pixels changed; your review determines whether the change is intended. Accepting an intentional change updates the reference used for future comparisons.
That approval policy is as important as the screenshot tool. If references refresh automatically without review, a real regression can become the new expected image. Treat baseline updates as reviewable changes, and make clear who is responsible for approving them.
Choose a baseline model that fits your workflow
Tools do not all choose or update baselines the same way. Decide whether you want reference files committed with tests, approvals for an entire CI build, or approvals for individual snapshots in branch-specific histories.
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| Approach | How comparison and approval work | Useful when | Consideration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Playwright screenshot references | Reference snapshots live in a directory next to tests; commit and review them in version control. | You want to keep visual tests and reference artifacts in your existing Playwright workflow. | Rendering can vary across host environments; generate and compare screenshots in a stable, matching environment. |
| Percy Git | Finds a base-branch build through Git commit history and compares against it. Approve or reject the build as a whole. | CI runs visual tests on feature branches and build-level approval fits your pull-request process. | Approval applies to the complete build rather than selected individual snapshots. |
| Percy Visual Git | Maintains a branchline of approved snapshots for each branch. An approved snapshot can become the next baseline; teams can sync from or merge into the central baseline. | Tests run separately from commit-based CI, or reviewers need snapshot-level approval. | Understand the difference between syncing from the baseline and merging branchline snapshots into it. |
| Chromatic UI Tests and UI Review | UI Tests use accepted baselines associated with a branch. UI Review compares snapshots from two branches using their Git merge base rather than the same baseline method. | You work with Storybook or Playwright snapshots and want branch-aware visual review. | Builds on relevant branches and the effects of branch syncs or history rewrites matter. |
These models reflect official product documentation accessed on October 3, 2026; product behavior and options can change. Choose based on where you want references stored, how much a reviewer should approve at once, whether selection depends on Git history, and whether your review compares to an ancestor baseline or a merge-base changeset. No one model is best for every team.
Set up references and approvals deliberately
1. Capture a known-good starting point
Begin with an application state that the team has reviewed. Keep the relevant capture setup with the project: browser and version, operating system or container, viewport, fonts, test data, and rendering configuration. This makes later differences easier to interpret.
2. Decide who owns baseline changes
Document whether your team reviews committed reference files in code, approves whole CI builds, or approves snapshots individually in a hosted branchline workflow. Require an explanation for intentional changes, and investigate unexpected ones before accepting or regenerating references.
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3. Run builds where the comparison needs them
For Chromatic UI Review, builds must exist on both the head and base branches to produce a changeset. More generally, confirm which branch builds your selected tool needs; a pull-request build alone may not provide the comparison you expect.
4. Sync feature branches and inspect the result
Periodically merge or rebase the latest base or integration branch into a long-running feature branch. Then review the visual differences: a diff may represent your feature, an upstream change already approved elsewhere, or a real regression. Do not approve it solely because it appeared after a sync.
How branch history affects the selected baseline
Chromatic: branch-specific accepted snapshots
Chromatic UI Tests maintain baselines by branch. A new branch inherits from the point where it branched, then develops its own accepted baseline. An accepted change on one branch does not automatically update every other branch. Consequently, a feature branch can show differences for upstream changes that have already been approved on the integration branch. Sync the feature branch and review those diffs rather than assuming they are new feature regressions.
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When a merge presents multiple candidate snapshots, Chromatic generally chooses the most recently approved change. Its preferMergedBaselines option can make accepted baselines from an incoming integration branch take precedence, using the baseline from the last sync point. A branch substantially behind the base should be synced before relying on this behavior.
Rebases, squash merges, and other history rewrites need a check that the selected baseline is still the intended one. Chromatic retains accepted baselines from the latest build on the current branch even if Git ancestry changes; its stored history can therefore diverge from the commits Git currently shows. Run Chromatic after a rewrite so it can update its view. The documentation also says it detects squash or rebase merges with provider APIs and uses accepted baselines from the pull-request head when the merge build runs. See Chromatic’s branch and Git history documentation.
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In Percy Git mode, the comparison build is located from Git commit history and approval or rejection applies to the whole build. In Visual Git mode, approved snapshots live in branchlines; teams can sync snapshots from the central baseline or merge branchline snapshots into it. Choose the strategy that matches your CI and review granularity rather than treating the names as interchangeable. See BrowserStack’s Percy baseline-strategy comparison and its Visual Git workflow documentation.
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Playwright: reference files follow the repository
Playwright stores screenshot references in a directory next to the test and recommends committing and reviewing those files. That makes baseline changes visible as repository changes, but the image still depends on the machine and browser environment used to render it. See Playwright’s visual comparisons guidance.
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Playwright identifies operating system, browser version and settings, hardware, power source, and headless mode as sources of rendering variation. Its guidance is to use the same environment that generated the reference screenshots. Standardize the capture environment as far as practical, and record it so that a diff can be reproduced.
As additional engineering controls, keep viewport, fonts, locale, timezone, test data, animations, and network-dependent UI consistent where they affect the captured page. These are practical ways to reduce variation, not a claim that every tool requires a particular setting. If a screenshot changes only in one environment, compare the rendering setup before changing the application or accepting a new baseline.
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Troubleshoot surprising diffs and baseline selection
- Diffs appear after another branch approved a change: the feature branch may still use its own older baseline. Sync the latest base branch, then determine whether the diff is the upstream change or a genuine feature change.
- A merge picks an unexpected snapshot: check which branch was last synced and which candidate was most recently approved. For Chromatic, sync a substantially lagging branch before relying on
preferMergedBaselines. - Results change between local runs and CI: compare operating system, browser version and settings, hardware, power source, and headless mode. Reproduce in the environment used to create the references.
- A rebase or squash merge changes what the tool compares: verify that the selected baseline is the intended one. For Chromatic, run a build after the history rewrite so its stored view can update.
- A proposed update contains unexplained changes: deny or hold the update and investigate the rendering environment, test data, and application behavior. Do not refresh references just to make a failing comparison disappear.
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Quick Recap
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