Selenium, the open-source tool for test automation, relies only on JavaScript being executed in the browser. It has helped many companies to achieve good coverage in automation. In most cases, there are still concerns about its speed, synchronization, and flakiness.
Testing types and tools have evolved with the rise of Node and JavaScript-based apps. New frameworks that support testing libraries inbuilt (for example, Jest for React, Protractor for Angular, etc.) The trend is to use a variety of libraries for continuous testing and end-to-end UI testing. Multiple libraries are emerging for end-to-end UI and constant testing, including PhantomJS, Puppeteer Cypress, and PollyJS.
With its exposure to Chrome Dev Tools’ API, Puppeteer has created new possibilities for test automation. When it comes to automated testing of websites, Puppeteer and Selenium are the two most popular names. The latter is making a lot of noise for all the right reasons.
This blog will introduce Puppeteer and show you how to use it to transform continuous testing.
What is Puppeteer exactly
Puppeteer, a Node-based library, is used to test Chrome browsers. On the other hand, Puppeteer runs default headless Chrome or Chromium instances, hence why these are mentioned together. Puppeteer testing is critical in today’s world, where SaaS applications are the norm.
Puppeteer is a simple API that allows you to control Chromium instances. It will enable you to perform everyday tasks like typing in inputs, clicking on buttons, testing website usability, and even scraping web pages. Puppeteer, a Chrome Team official platform, uses the Chrome Remote Debug Protocol like Chrome Dev Tools. This library supports the modern JavaScript syntax that is available in Google Chrome.
What is the best way to get started with Puppeteer
Installation
Use npm to install Puppeteer or yarn add Puppeteer.
It is important to note that Puppeteer downloads the latest version of Chromium when it installs (170MB for Mac, 282MB for Linux, 280MB for Windows), which ensures API compatibility.
Environment Variables
Puppeteer searches for environmental variables that can help it in its operation. These variables may not be found during installation, so a lowercase version from the npm configuration will be used.
HTTP_PROXY (HTTPS_PROXY), NO_PROXY (NO_PROXY) – Use these to set HTTP proxy settings and to download & launch Chromium
PUPPETEER_SKIP_CHROMIUM_DOWNLOAD – Do not download bundled Chromium during the installation step
PUPPETEER_DOWNLOAD_HOST – Overwrite URL prefix used to download Chromium
You should be aware that the path prefix and protocol are included. It defaults to https://storage.googleapis.com.
PUPPETEER_CHROMIUM_REVISION – Specify a specific version of Chromium you’d like Puppeteer to use.
PUPPETEER_EXECUTABLE_PATH – Specify an executable path to be used in Puppeteer. Launch.
You should know that Puppeteer will only work with the Chromium included in the bundle. Use at your discretion.
Puppeteer-core
We have published the Puppeteer core package since version 1.7.0. This is a version of Puppeteer that does not automatically download Chromium. Puppeteer core is a lightweight version that can be installed using npm I puppeteercore# or yarn add puppeteer core. It can be used to launch a browser installation already in place or to connect remotely.
Check that the version you install of puppeteer core is compatible with the web browser to which you plan to connect.
What is the role of a puppeteer
Puppeteer is known for its ability to launch a browser without a user interface. However, this is not the only thing that makes it an excellent choice for test automation. Other unique features make it enhance software testing. Let’s have a look at a few of them.
Easy Automating: Although many tools are available for web automation, Puppeteer is the best. It is the best tool for web automation because it only works with one browser – Headless Chrome. It is compatible with popular unit-testing libraries like Mocha or Jasmine.
Screenshot Test: This feature is essential for any automated task of web testing. Screenshots are a great way to track how elements interact on a website. Puppeteer also has libraries such as Puppeteer – Screenshot Tester, which allows screenshots to be compared. Puppeteer is not only capable of generating screenshots for testing, but it can also generate PDFs based on the tested web pages.
Performance Test: Chrome offers De Tools, which allows recording the performance timeline of web pages. Puppeteer also takes advantage of De Tools. Puppeteer allows you to capture timeline traces for websites to analyze performance issues. Puppeteer has high-level API controls over Chrome Developers Tools Protocol. This allows users to test caching and control, service workers.
Puppeteer, as you can see, is ready to revolutionize the world of automated testing. Puppeteer’s success with Chrome is not only due to its efficiency. Its Google backing is another reason for its global acceptance and recognition. This software also offers a high-level API for controlling the Chrome browser using the Dev Tools protocol. We can create solutions using Puppeteer to automate, whether for quality assurance, productivity improvements, or data aggregation.
Testing pipelines are crucial to the success of today’s digital world. They provide faster and more reliable feedback, which depends on agile principles.
Contact us if you want to know more about Software Testing. You can also read our document on performance testing capabilities to find out how we assisted a client in conducting Performance Testing.
