Locator And Assertion Defaults

Pack: playwright Parent skill: Playwright Locators Assertions And User Visible Contracts Source: playwright/playwright-locators-assertions-and-user-visible-contracts/references/locator-and-assertion-defaults.md Default locator order:

1. getByRole
2. getByLabel
3. getByPlaceholder
4. getByText
5. getByTestId only when semantics are weak or intentionally absent

Default assertion posture:

• assert user-visible outcomes
• use expect(locator) rather than manual polling
• wait on the state that matters, not on time passing

Good reasons for test IDs:

• non-semantic drag handles
• repeated controls with identical accessible names
• UI with intentionally unstable copy

Bad reasons for test IDs:

• habit
• avoiding accessible markup work
• trying to bypass unstable synchronization