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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFor Playwright Test, enable the built-in failure artifact with use.screenshot: 'only-on-failure' in playwright.config.ts. Playwright then captures a screenshot after a test fails, without custom error-handling code. Screenshots are off by default and are written with the test’s other artifacts to the configured output directory, normally test-results. Use page.screenshot() with testInfo.attach() when you need a screenshot at a specific point, and enable first-retry tracing when a CI failure needs more context than one image can provide.
1. Turn on automatic screenshots for failed tests
The shortest solution is a single Playwright Test option:
import { defineConfig } from '@playwright/test';
export default defineConfig({
use: {
screenshot: 'only-on-failure',
},
});Run your tests normally:
npx playwright testWhen a test fails, Playwright captures a screenshot after the failure and exposes it through the test reporter. The option is documented in Playwright’s configuration guide and the TestOptions API.
What the setting captures
'only-on-failure'captures after each failed test.'on-first-failure'captures only the first failure for a test that is retried.'on'captures every test, including passing tests.'off'disables screenshots and is the default.
Unless you request otherwise, the image is a viewport screenshot rather than a full-page image. Playwright also supports screenshot options such as fullPage and omitBackground; configure those when your failure artifact needs the entire document or transparency.
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Example with a project and output directory
import { defineConfig } from '@playwright/test';
export default defineConfig({
testDir: './tests',
outputDir: 'test-results',
use: {
screenshot: 'only-on-failure',
},
});Keep the output directory in CI artifacts so the image remains available after the runner is deleted. The exact display depends on your reporter, but Playwright copies screenshots and other attachments into locations reporters can expose.
2. Choose the right screenshot mode for retries
The automatic mode is applied to test outcomes, not to a JavaScript try/catch block. If a test assertion throws, Playwright records the failure and performs the configured capture. This is generally safer than placing a screenshot after an assertion, because code after a thrown assertion is never reached.
| Need | Configuration | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| A screenshot for every failed test | screenshot: 'only-on-failure' |
One failure artifact per failed test execution. |
| A screenshot only on the first failed attempt | screenshot: 'on-first-failure' |
Less duplicate output when retries are enabled. |
| A screenshot for all outcomes | screenshot: 'on' |
Passing and failing screenshots; more storage and processing. |
| No screenshots | screenshot: 'off' |
No automatic image artifact. |
Use only-on-failure when the goal is ordinary failure diagnosis. Select on-first-failure if retries are part of your CI policy and you want the first broken state rather than a second image of the retry.
3. Capture and attach an image at an exact point
Automatic capture happens at the end of a failed test. For a checkpoint—such as immediately before submitting a form—capture manually and attach the returned buffer to the test result:
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import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';
test('shows the expected result', async ({ page }, testInfo) => {
await page.goto('https://playwright.dev');
const screenshot = await page.screenshot();
await testInfo.attach('screenshot', {
body: screenshot,
contentType: 'image/png',
});
await expect(page).toHaveTitle(/Playwright/);
});page.screenshot() returns a Buffer by default. testInfo.attach() makes that buffer a named, reporter-accessible attachment. The TestInfo API is available in test functions, hooks, and test-scoped fixtures.
Save a file and attach its path
import path from 'node:path';
import { test } from '@playwright/test';
test('records a checkout checkpoint', async ({ page }, testInfo) => {
await page.goto('https://example.com/checkout');
const file = testInfo.outputPath('checkout-before-submit.png');
await page.screenshot({ path: file, fullPage: true });
await testInfo.attach('checkout-before-submit', {
path: file,
contentType: 'image/png',
});
});testInfo.outputPath() keeps the file inside the test’s isolated output folder, avoiding collisions when workers run in parallel. Use either a buffer or a path; attaching is what makes the image part of the test report.
Full-page and transparent captures
const image = await page.screenshot({
fullPage: true,
omitBackground: true,
});
await testInfo.attach('full-page-transparent', {
body: image,
contentType: 'image/png',
});Full-page mode can be substantially taller than the viewport and may include content revealed while the page is laid out. Use it for document-layout failures; use the default viewport image when the visible interaction state is more useful.
4. Why a manual screenshot can be missing
- The assertion ran first: an exception stops execution before the screenshot line. Put the checkpoint before the assertion, or use automatic failure capture.
- The page was already closed: a fixture teardown or explicit
page.close()leaves no page to capture. Capture before teardown. - The attachment is not in the report: calling
page.screenshot()alone returns or saves an image but does not attach it. CalltestInfo.attach()or configure the screenshot mode. - The wrong output folder was archived: preserve the configured
outputDir(commonlytest-results) as a CI artifact. - Parallel tests overwrite a filename: use
testInfo.outputPath()or unique names instead of a shared path.
5. Add tracing for CI failures
A screenshot shows one rendered state. A trace shows the actions and surrounding state that led there. Playwright’s Best Practices recommends Trace Viewer for CI failures and advises tracing on the first retry rather than recording every test.
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import { defineConfig } from '@playwright/test';
export default defineConfig({
retries: 1,
use: {
screenshot: 'only-on-failure',
trace: 'on-first-retry',
},
});With one retry configured, a failed first attempt produces a trace for the retry. Open it with:
npx playwright show-trace path/to/trace.zipFor a local diagnostic run, Playwright also supports:
npx playwright test --trace onThe Trace Viewer presents a timeline with actions, DOM snapshots, network requests, metadata, and attachments. When screenshots are enabled, it can show a screenshot filmstrip alongside those events. Tracing every test creates more data and is described by Playwright as performance-heavy, so reserve it for retries or targeted debugging.
Do not confuse Test tracing with the low-level tracing API
browserContext.tracing records browser operations and network activity, but it does not record Playwright Test assertions. For complete test failure traces, configure the Playwright Test trace option as shown above. The distinction is covered in the Tracing API reference.
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6. A practical configuration for local runs and CI
import { defineConfig } from '@playwright/test';
export default defineConfig({
testDir: './tests',
outputDir: 'test-results',
retries: process.env.CI ? 1 : 0,
reporter: process.env.CI ? [['list'], ['html']] : 'list',
use: {
screenshot: 'only-on-failure',
trace: 'on-first-retry',
},
});This keeps local runs lightweight while adding a retry trace in CI. After a local failure, inspect the HTML report with npx playwright show-report if you selected the HTML reporter. In a CI system, upload test-results and the HTML report as job artifacts before the job cleans its workspace.
7. Troubleshooting common errors
“I enabled screenshots but no image appears”
Confirm the test actually failed, the configuration file is the one loaded by the command, and the reporter or CI job is retaining test-results. Screenshots are disabled by default; a project-level use block can also override a higher-level setting.
“The image is only the visible viewport”
That is the default behavior. Use fullPage: true for a manual capture, or set the relevant screenshot options in the project configuration supported by your installed Playwright version.
“The screenshot is blank or shows a loading page”
The image reflects the page state at capture time. Wait for a stable locator or URL before a manual checkpoint, for example await expect(page.getByRole('heading', { name: 'Dashboard' })).toBeVisible(). For an end-of-test failure, investigate the preceding timeout or navigation error rather than masking it with an extra delay.
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“Retries produced too many artifacts”
Change only-on-failure to on-first-failure, or keep screenshots on every failure and archive only the report you need. Pairing first-retry tracing with first-failure screenshots limits duplication while preserving context.
“The trace is huge”
Do not enable tracing globally for every test unless you accept the storage and runtime overhead. on-first-retry records the diagnostic run most likely to explain a CI-only failure.
8. Performance, reliability, and retention choices
- Capture only failures by default: it avoids image work for passing tests and keeps reports readable.
- Use full-page selectively: long pages produce larger files and are harder to scan than a viewport image.
- Prefer isolated output paths: Playwright workers can run concurrently, so per-test paths prevent races.
- Retain artifacts deliberately: configure CI retention to match the time your team investigates failures; do not assume a hosted runner keeps files after the job.
- Use traces for context, images for quick visual evidence: a trace can explain timing, DOM, and network state that a screenshot cannot.
Or skip the browser setup
If you need a rendered image of a URL rather than a Playwright test artifact, ScreenshotNeo provides a single-request screenshot API. It accepts consent banners before capture, removes more than 60 known consent platforms along with newsletter popups and chat widgets, and lets each cleanup step be disabled. Bot checks, CAPTCHAs, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits are not billed; each response identifies the result with X-Page-Verdict and X-Billed headers.
Using the ScreenshotNeo API documentation:
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://playwright.dev -o shot.webpThe same request in Python:
import requests
r = requests.get(
"https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot",
params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://playwright.dev"},
timeout=90,
)
r.raise_for_status()
open("shot.webp", "wb").write(r.content)And in Node.js:
const q = new URLSearchParams({ access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY', url: 'https://playwright.dev' });
const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Screenshot failed: ${res.status}`);
const fs = await import('node:fs/promises');
await fs.writeFile('shot.webp', Buffer.from(await res.arrayBuffer()));ScreenshotNeo also offers an MCP server with take_screenshot, get_page_info, and capture_pdf for Claude, Cursor, and other MCP clients. Its 63 options include full-page capture with lazy images loaded, CSS-selector element capture, dark mode, device presets and custom viewports, retina scale, PDFs, custom CSS and JavaScript, click-before-capture, waits, request blocking, headers and cookies, user-agent and authorization, timezone and geolocation, transparent backgrounds, resizing, configurable-TTL caching, signed links, asynchronous jobs with signed webhooks, bulk capture of up to 100 URLs per call, a usage API, and an OpenAPI specification. Common parameter names used by other screenshot APIs also work.
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9. Which approach should you use?
| Situation | Best choice | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Every failed Playwright test needs a visual artifact | use.screenshot: 'only-on-failure' |
Minimal configuration and no custom error path. |
| You need a named image at a checkpoint | page.screenshot() plus testInfo.attach() |
Exact timing and reporter-visible naming. |
| A CI failure needs actions, DOM, and network context | trace: 'on-first-retry' |
Trace Viewer adds context around the image. |
| You need screenshots of arbitrary URLs outside a test run | ScreenshotNeo | Clean captures, only clean shots billed, MCP access, and a $5 paid plan. |
10. Final implementation checklist
- Add
screenshot: 'only-on-failure'to the active Playwright Test configuration. - Choose
on-first-failurewhen retries make duplicate images unhelpful. - Use
testInfo.attach()for checkpoints that must appear in reports. - Use
testInfo.outputPath()for files created by parallel tests. - Enable
trace: 'on-first-retry'for CI diagnosis and retain the trace archive. - Use
fullPageonly when a viewport image cannot answer the debugging question. - Verify that your CI system archives
test-resultsand any HTML report.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I capture a screenshot from a Playwright fixture?
Yes. Test-scoped fixtures receive TestInfo, so they can call page.screenshot() and testInfo.attach() just like a test or hook.
Does a failure screenshot prove why the test failed?
No. It records the rendered state after failure. Assertions, logs, and a first-retry trace may be needed to establish the cause.
Can I use the low-level tracing API instead of Playwright Test tracing?
You can, but browserContext.tracing does not record test assertions. Playwright Test’s trace option is the more complete choice for test failures.
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