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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallPlaywright already runs test files in parallel. To test several browsers or devices at once, define named projects. To run tests within a file concurrently, enable fullyParallel or set test.describe.configure({ mode: 'parallel' }). To use several CI machines, split the suite with --shard=x/y. The right worker count depends on CPU, memory, browser capacity, CI-minute cost, and whether tests touch shared data.
Understand Playwright’s parallelism model
There are three separate levers, and confusing them is the most common cause of slow or flaky parallel runs:
- Workers: independent OS processes that execute tests. Each worker starts its own browser. The
workerssetting caps how many can run concurrently on one machine. - Projects: named browser, device, or environment configurations. Playwright runs every configured project by default;
--projectlimits a run to selected projects. - Shards: partitions of the suite sent to separate machines or CI jobs. A command such as
--shard=1/4runs the first of four partitions.
By default, test files run in parallel, while tests inside one file run in order in the same worker. Turn on test-level parallelism only when the tests are independent and their fixtures and data can safely overlap.
Configure browser and device projects
A project is a complete test configuration: browser engine, device profile, base URL, permissions, headers, or any other use option. Projects are useful for a browser matrix because the same test files can execute against Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit without duplicating the tests.
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import { defineConfig, devices } from '@playwright/test';
export default defineConfig({
fullyParallel: true,
workers: process.env.CI ? 2 : undefined,
projects: [
{ name: 'setup', testMatch: '**/*.setup.ts' },
{ name: 'chromium', use: { ...devices['Desktop Chrome'] }, dependencies: ['setup'] },
{ name: 'firefox', use: { ...devices['Desktop Firefox'] }, dependencies: ['setup'] },
{ name: 'webkit', use: { ...devices['Desktop Safari'] }, dependencies: ['setup'] },
],
});Save this as playwright.config.ts. The setup project is not a browser target in this example; it is a dependency project. Playwright completes it before the three browser projects begin. After setup passes, the dependent projects can run in parallel, and a configured teardown runs after them.
Run every project
npx playwright testThis uses all projects in the configuration. Independent projects compete for the configured worker limit.
Run one project
npx playwright test --project=firefoxUse this for a focused browser run, debugging, or a job dedicated to one environment.
Skip dependencies deliberately
npx playwright test --no-deps --project=chromium--no-deps prevents dependency projects from running. Use it only when the required state already exists; otherwise the browser tests may fail because setup-created accounts, storage state, or other prerequisites are missing.
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Control concurrency within one machine
Set the worker ceiling
npx playwright test --workers=4The CLI value overrides the configured maximum for that invocation. In a config file, workers: 1 serializes execution. A higher value is not automatically faster: every worker is a separate process with its own browser, so CPU pressure, memory use, browser startup, database capacity, and CI pricing can become the bottleneck.
Enable all-test parallelism
npx playwright test --fully-parallelOr set fullyParallel: true in the configuration. This allows individual tests, rather than only files, to be scheduled concurrently. It gives the scheduler finer-grained work and is especially useful when files contain uneven numbers of tests.
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Parallelize only a group
import { test } from '@playwright/test';
test.describe.configure({ mode: 'parallel' });
test('account can be created', async ({ page }) => {
// test body
});
test('account can be deleted', async ({ page }) => {
// test body
});Use test.describe.configure({ mode: 'parallel' }) at file or describe-group scope when the rest of the suite must retain ordered execution. Tests in the parallel group must not depend on mutations made by another test in that group.
Keep ordered tests together
Leave a file in the default mode when its tests intentionally build on one another, use a shared account, or rely on ordering. Parallel workers cannot communicate directly, and a browser context being isolated does not isolate records in your backend, files on disk, or an external service.
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Make setup and teardown parallel-safe
Dependency projects are the reliable way to prepare shared prerequisites. Put authentication or data seeding in a setup project, list it in dependencies, and let browser projects start only after setup succeeds.
- Generate a unique account, tenant, order ID, or filename from the worker or test identity.
- Give each test its own backend records instead of reusing one mutable fixture.
- Use named locks when an external system truly permits only one operation at a time.
- Lower the worker count for the project that must access a constrained shared resource.
- Keep teardown aware of all dependents; it should remove data only after those projects finish.
Do not assume that separate browser contexts solve server-side races. Two workers can still update the same database row, overwrite the same uploaded file, or consume the same single-use account.
Scale out with CI sharding
Workers increase concurrency on one machine. Sharding divides the suite across machines, so each CI job can have its own worker pool.
npx playwright test --shard=1/4Run the same command in four jobs, changing the shard number to 1/4, 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4. Each job needs the project dependencies and test environment it uses. Sharding is an execution strategy, not a data-isolation strategy: every job still needs unique or coordinated backend data.
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How the work is divided
- With
fullyParallel: true, Playwright can balance at test level, giving the scheduler smaller units of work. - Without full parallelism, sharding is file-level. A few unusually large files can therefore make one shard much slower than the others.
Use shards when one machine cannot provide enough CPU, memory, or browser capacity, or when CI time is more valuable than the cost of additional machines. The official documentation provides examples such as four shards, but no universal speedup percentage; actual gains depend on suite shape and infrastructure.
A generic CI matrix pattern
# Each CI job sets SHARD_INDEX to a different value from 1 through SHARD_TOTAL.
npx playwright test --shard="$SHARD_INDEX/$SHARD_TOTAL"Collect the reports from all jobs as one build artifact in your CI system. The exact matrix syntax differs by provider, so keep the Playwright command and shard values in the provider’s job definition.
Choose a worker count without creating flakiness
Start with a conservative value that leaves headroom for the operating system and browser processes, then increase it while watching run time and failure rate. There is no generally correct number. A useful decision sequence is:
- Measure capacity: note available CPU cores, memory, browser concurrency limits, database connections, and CI-minute limits.
- Check isolation: confirm that tests use unique records, files, credentials, and external-service identifiers.
- Run a baseline: compare the default worker setting with a small explicit value such as
--workers=2. - Increase gradually: test a higher value only if the machine remains below its resource limits and failures do not rise.
- Separate constrained projects: keep a low worker count for a shared-resource project instead of slowing every project.
In the sample configuration, process.env.CI ? 2 : undefined deliberately uses two workers in CI while leaving the local setting to Playwright’s normal behavior. Treat that number as a starting policy, not a benchmark or recommendation for every repository.
Common parallel-run failures and fixes
Tests pass alone but fail in parallel
Cause: tests share an account, backend row, file, or external resource. Fix: create unique data per test or worker, add a named lock around the non-shareable operation, or reduce workers for that project.
Only one browser project runs
Cause: the command includes --project. Fix: remove the selector to run all configured projects, or pass the project name you intended.
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Browser tests start before authentication or seed data exists
Cause: setup is not declared as a dependency, or dependencies were skipped with --no-deps. Fix: add dependencies: ['setup'] to each dependent project and run without --no-deps when setup is required.
One CI shard takes much longer than the others
Cause: file-level sharding placed large files together. Fix: enable fullyParallel so balancing can occur at test level, or reorganize unusually large files.
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Cause: CPU, memory, browser, database, or network contention. Fix: lower workers, move to more capable CI machines, or shard across machines rather than oversubscribing one host.
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If your goal is simply to obtain clean website screenshots from a parallel test or content pipeline, ScreenshotNeo provides a single HTTP request instead of requiring you to manage browser workers. Its API can return PNG, JPEG, WebP, or PDF; the examples below use WebP.
See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for request options and authentication.
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curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webpimport requests
r = requests.get("https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot", params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://stripe.com"}, timeout=90)
open("shot.webp", "wb").write(r.content)const q = new URLSearchParams({ access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY', url: 'https://stripe.com' });
const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);- Cookie and consent banners, newsletter popups, and chat widgets are removed before the shot.
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FAQ
Can projects use different worker limits?
The worker limit is a run-level control. If one project needs stricter serialization because of a shared resource, isolate that workload in its own command or CI job and set a lower worker value there.
Should every project depend on the same setup project?
Only projects that require the setup state should list it in dependencies. Independent projects can start without that gate.
Is sharding a replacement for workers?
No. Shards distribute work across machines; workers distribute work within each machine. They can be combined when both the suite and the infrastructure justify the extra concurrency.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFrequently Asked Questions
Can projects use different worker limits?
The worker limit is a run-level control. Put a resource-constrained project in its own command or CI job and give that run a lower worker value.
Should every project depend on the same setup project?
Only projects that need the setup state should list it in dependencies; independent projects can run without that gate.
Is sharding a replacement for workers?
No. Shards distribute work across machines, while workers distribute work within each machine; they can be combined.
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