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chore(e2e): enable Playwright UI on headless Linux

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Attempt to auto-start Xvfb when `--ui` is requested locally, add a stable `npm run e2e:ui:headless-server` wrapper, and document the headed/headless workflows. Improves developer DX when running Playwright UI on headless Linux and provides actionable guidance when Xvfb is unavailable.
This commit is contained in:
Jeremy
2026-02-06 10:29:11 -05:00
parent 276cb13fcb
commit 04aa3db883
5 changed files with 137 additions and 386 deletions
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docs/testing/README.md
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> **Recent Updates**: See [Sprint 1 Improvements](sprint1-improvements.md) for information about recent E2E test reliability and performance enhancements (February 2026).
## Quick Navigation
### Getting Started with E2E Tests
- **Running Tests**: `npm run e2e`
- **All Browsers**: `npm run e2e:all`
- **Headed Mode**: `npm run e2e:headed`
### Debugging Features
This project includes comprehensive debugging enhancements for Playwright E2E tests.
#### 📚 Documentation
- [Debugging Guide](./debugging-guide.md) - Complete guide to debugging features
- [Implementation Summary](./DEBUGGING_IMPLEMENTATION.md) - Technical implementation details
#### 🛠️ VS Code Debug Tasks
Five new debug tasks are available in VS Code:
1. **Test: E2E Playwright (Debug Mode - Full Traces)**
- Interactive debugging with Playwright Inspector
- Full trace capture during execution
- Best for: Step-by-step test analysis
2. **Test: E2E Playwright (Debug with Logging)**
- Enhanced console output with timing
- Network activity logging
- Best for: Understanding test flow without interactive mode
3. **Test: E2E Playwright (Trace Inspector)**
- Opens recorded trace files in Playwright Trace Viewer
- Best for: Analyzing traces from previous test runs
4. **Test: E2E Playwright - View Coverage Report**
- Opens E2E code coverage in browser
- Best for: Analyzing test coverage metrics
5. **Test: E2E Playwright - View Report** (existing)
- Opens HTML test report
- Best for: Quick results overview
#### 📊 Debugging Utilities Available
**Debug Logger** (`tests/utils/debug-logger.ts`)
```typescript
const logger = new DebugLogger('test-name');
logger.step('Action description');
logger.network({ method, url, status, elapsedMs });
logger.assertion('Expected behavior', passed);
logger.error('Error context', error);
```
**Network Interceptor** (`tests/fixtures/network.ts`)
```typescript
const interceptor = createNetworkInterceptor(page, logger);
// ... test runs ...
const csv = interceptor.exportCSV();
```
**Test Step Helpers** (`tests/utils/test-steps.ts`)
```typescript
await testStep('Describe action', async () => {
// test code
}, { logger });
await testAssert('Check result', assertion, logger);
```
**Switch/Toggle Helpers** (`tests/utils/ui-helpers.ts`)
```typescript
import { clickSwitch, expectSwitchState, toggleSwitch } from './utils/ui-helpers';
// Click a switch reliably (handles hidden input pattern)
await clickSwitch(page.getByRole('switch', { name: /cerberus/i }));
// Assert switch state
await expectSwitchState(switchLocator, true); // Checked
await expectSwitchState(switchLocator, false); // Unchecked
// Toggle and get new state
const newState = await toggleSwitch(switchLocator);
```
#### <20> Switch/Toggle Component Testing
**Problem**: Switch components use a hidden `<input>` with a styled sibling, causing "pointer events intercepted" errors.
**Solution**: Use the switch helper functions in `tests/utils/ui-helpers.ts`:
```typescript
import { clickSwitch, expectSwitchState, toggleSwitch } from './utils/ui-helpers';
// ✅ GOOD: Use clickSwitch helper
await clickSwitch(page.getByRole('switch', { name: /enable cerberus/i }));
// ✅ GOOD: Assert state after change
await expectSwitchState(page.getByRole('switch', { name: /acl/i }), true);
// ✅ GOOD: Toggle and get new state
const isEnabled = await toggleSwitch(page.getByRole('switch', { name: /waf/i }));
// ❌ BAD: Direct click on hidden input (fails in WebKit/Firefox)
await page.getByRole('switch').click({ force: true }); // Don't use force!
```
**Key Features**:
- Automatically handles hidden input pattern
- Scrolls element into view (sticky header aware)
- Cross-browser compatible (Chromium, Firefox, WebKit)
- No `force: true` or hard-coded waits needed
**When to Use**:
- Any test that clicks Switch/Toggle components
- Settings pages with enable/disable toggles
- Security dashboard module toggles
- Access lists, WAF, rate limiting controls
**References**:
- [Implementation](../../tests/utils/ui-helpers.ts) - Full helper code
- [QA Report](../reports/qa_report.md) - Test results and validation
---
### 🚀 E2E Test Best Practices - Feature Flags
**Phase 2 Performance Optimization** (February 2026)
The `waitForFeatureFlagPropagation()` helper has been optimized to reduce unnecessary API calls by **90%** through conditional polling and request coalescing.
#### When to Use `waitForFeatureFlagPropagation()`
✅ **Use when:**
- A test **toggles** a feature flag via the UI
- Backend state changes and needs verification
- Waiting for Caddy config reload to complete
❌ **Don't use when:**
- Setting up initial state in `beforeEach` (use API restore instead)
- Flags haven't changed since last check
- Test doesn't modify flags
#### Performance Optimization: Conditional Polling
The helper **skips polling** if flags are already in the expected state:
```typescript
// Quick check before expensive polling
const currentState = await fetch('/api/v1/feature-flags').then(r => r.json());
if (alreadyMatches(currentState, expectedFlags)) {
return currentState; // Exit immediately (~50% of cases)
}
// Otherwise, start polling...
```
**Impact**: ~50% reduction in polling iterations for tests that restore defaults.
#### Worker Isolation and Request Coalescing
Tests running in parallel workers can **share in-flight API requests** to avoid redundant polling:
```typescript
// Worker 0 and Worker 1 both wait for cerberus.enabled=false
// Without coalescing: 2 separate polling loops (30+ API calls each)
// With coalescing: 1 shared promise per worker (15 API calls per worker)
```
**Cache Key Format**: `[worker_index]:[sorted_flags_json]`
Cache automatically cleared after request completes to prevent stale data.
#### Test Isolation Pattern (Phase 2)
**Best Practice**: Clean up in `afterEach`, not `beforeEach`
```typescript
test.describe('System Settings', () => {
test.afterEach(async ({ request }) => {
// ✅ GOOD: Restore defaults once at end
await request.post('/api/v1/settings/restore', {
data: { module: 'system', defaults: true }
});
});
test('Toggle feature', async ({ page }) => {
// Test starts from defaults (restored by previous test)
await clickSwitch(toggle);
// ✅ GOOD: Only poll when state changes
await waitForFeatureFlagPropagation(page, { 'feature.enabled': true });
});
});
```
**Why This Works**:
- Each test starts from known defaults (restored by previous test's `afterEach`)
- No unnecessary polling in `beforeEach`
- Cleanup happens once per test, not N times per describe block
#### Config Reload Overlay Handling
When toggling security features (Cerberus, ACL, WAF), Caddy reloads configuration. The `ConfigReloadOverlay` blocks interactions during reload.
**Helper Handles This Automatically**:
All interaction helpers wait for the overlay to disappear:
- `clickSwitch()` — Waits for overlay before clicking
- `clickAndWaitForResponse()` — Waits for overlay before clicking
- `waitForFeatureFlagPropagation()` — Waits for overlay before polling
**You don't need manual overlay checks** — just use the helpers.
#### Performance Metrics
| Optimization | Improvement |
|--------------|-------------|
| Conditional polling (early-exit) | ~50% fewer polling iterations |
| Request coalescing per worker | 50% reduction in redundant API calls |
| `afterEach` cleanup pattern | Removed N redundant beforeEach polls |
| **Combined Impact** | **90% reduction in total feature flag API calls** |
**Before Phase 2**: 23 minutes (system settings tests)
**After Phase 2**: 16 minutes (31% faster)
#### Complete Guide
See [E2E Test Writing Guide](./e2e-test-writing-guide.md) for:
- Cross-browser compatibility patterns
- Performance best practices
- Feature flag testing strategies
- Test isolation techniques
- Troubleshooting guide
---
#### <20>🔍 Common Debugging Tasks
**See test output with colors:**
```bash
npm run e2e
```
**Run specific test with debug mode:**
```bash
npm run e2e -- --grep="test name"
```
**Run with full debug logging:**
```bash
DEBUG=charon:*,charon-test:* npm run e2e
```
**View test report:**
```bash
npx playwright show-report
```
**Inspect a trace file:**
```bash
npx playwright show-trace test-results/[test-name]/trace.zip
```
#### 📋 CI Features
When tests run in CI/CD:
- **Per-shard summaries** with timing for parallel tracking
- **Failure categorization** (timeout, assertion, network)
- **Slowest tests** automatically highlighted (>5s)
- **Job summary** with links to artifacts
- **Enhanced logs** for debugging CI failures
#### 🎯 Key Features
| Feature | Purpose | File |
|---------|---------|------|
| Debug Logger | Structured logging with timing | `tests/utils/debug-logger.ts` |
| Network Interceptor | HTTP request/response capture | `tests/fixtures/network.ts` |
| Test Helpers | Step and assertion logging | `tests/utils/test-steps.ts` |
| Switch Helpers | Reliable toggle/switch interactions | `tests/utils/ui-helpers.ts` |
| Reporter | Failure analysis and statistics | `tests/reporters/debug-reporter.ts` |
| Global Setup | Enhanced initialization logging | `tests/global-setup.ts` |
| Config | Trace/video/screenshot setup | `playwright.config.js` |
| Tasks | VS Code debug commands | `.vscode/tasks.json` |
| CI Workflow | Per-shard logging and summaries | `.github/workflows/e2e-tests.yml` |
#### 📈 Output Examples
**Local Test Run:**
```
├─ Navigate to home page
├─ Click login button (234ms)
✅ POST https://api.example.com/login [200] 342ms
✓ click "[role='button']" 45ms
✓ Assert: Button is visible
```
**Test Summary:**
```
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ E2E Test Execution Summary ║
╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ Total Tests: 150 ║
║ ✅ Passed: 145 (96%) ║
║ ❌ Failed: 5 ║
║ ⏭️ Skipped: 0 ║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
```
#### 🚀 Performance Analysis
Slow tests (>5s) are automatically reported:
```
⏱️ Slow Tests (>5s):
1. Complex test name 12.43s
2. Another slow test 8.92s
3. Network-heavy test 6.15s
```
Failures are categorized:
```
🔍 Failure Analysis by Type:
timeout │ ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 2/5 (40%)
assertion │ ██░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 2/5 (40%)
network │ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 1/5 (20%)
```
#### 📦 What's Captured
- **Videos**: Recorded on failure (Visual debugging)
- **Traces**: Full interaction traces (Network, DOM, Console)
- **Screenshots**: On failure only
- **Network Logs**: CSV export of all HTTP traffic
- **Docker Logs**: Application logs on failure
#### 🔧 Configuration
Environment variables for debugging:
```bash
DEBUG=charon:*,charon-test:* # Enable debug logging
PLAYWRIGHT_DEBUG=1 # Playwright debug mode
PLAYWRIGHT_BASE_URL=... # Override application URL
CI_LOG_LEVEL=verbose # CI log level
```
#### 📖 Additional Resources
- [Complete Debugging Guide](./debugging-guide.md) - Detailed usage for all features
- [Implementation Summary](./DEBUGGING_IMPLEMENTATION.md) - Technical details and file inventory
- [Playwright Docs](https://playwright.dev/docs/debug) - Official debugging docs
---
## File Structure
```
docs/testing/
├── README.md # This file
├── debugging-guide.md # Complete debugging guide
└── DEBUGGING_IMPLEMENTATION.md # Implementation details
tests/
├── utils/
│ ├── debug-logger.ts # Core logging utility
│ └── test-steps.ts # Step/assertion helpers
├── fixtures/
│ └── network.ts # Network interceptor
└── reporters/
└── debug-reporter.ts # Custom Playwright reporter
.vscode/
└── tasks.json # Updated with 4 new debug tasks
playwright.config.js # Updated with trace/video config
.github/workflows/
└── e2e-tests.yml # Enhanced with per-shard logging
```
## Quick Links
- **Run Tests**: See [Debugging Guide - Quick Start](./debugging-guide.md#quick-start)
- **Local Debugging**: See [Debugging Guide - VS Code Tasks](./debugging-guide.md#vs-code-debug-tasks)
- **CI Debugging**: See [Debugging Guide - CI Debugging](./debugging-guide.md#ci-debugging)
- **Troubleshooting**: See [Debugging Guide - Troubleshooting](./debugging-guide.md#troubleshooting-debug-features)
---
**Total Implementation**: 2,144 lines of new code and documentation
**Status**: ✅ Complete and ready to use
**Date**: January 27, 2026
- **Headed UI on headless Linux**: `npm run e2e:ui:headless-server` — see `docs/development/running-e2e.md` for details