Day 11 of building my Playwright framework in public 🚀
Today: Authentication Patterns - Login Once, Test Forever
The slow way (what most teams do):
Test 1: Login → Do stuff
Test 2: Login → Do stuff
Test 3: Login → Do stuff
...
Test 50: Login → Do stuff
50 logins. 50 chances to fail. 25+ minutes wasted.
The fast way (what we built today):
Setup: Login once → Save state
Test 1: Load state → Do stuff (no login)
Test 2: Load state → Do stuff (no login)
...
Test 50: Load state → Do stuff (no login)
1 login. Instant test starts. 5 minutes total.
Here's the pattern:
🔐 Global Setup
→ Runs once before all tests
→ Logs in and saves cookies/localStorage
→ Creates state files per role (admin, user, guest)
⚡ Storage State
→ Tests load pre-authenticated state
→ No login code in test files
→ Start testing immediately
👥 Role-Based Testing
→ adminPage fixture = logged in as admin
→ userPage fixture = logged in as user
→ Switch roles mid-test if needed
📁 Project Dependencies
→ "setup" project runs first
→ "tests" project depends on setup
→ Playwright handles the order
The result:
✅ Test suite: 30 min → 5 min
✅ No flaky login failures
✅ Clean test files (no login boilerplate)
✅ Easy role-based testing
This pattern works for:
- Session cookies
- JWT tokens
- OAuth/SSO
- Even MFA (with some tweaks)
One setup file. Hundreds of fast tests.
Day 11/14 ✅
---
20 years QA experience. Building production Playwright framework in 14 days.
https://enableedge.com
https://enableedge.com/ai-qa-tool
https://enableedge.com/tools
#Playwright #TestAutomation #QAAutomation #SoftwareTesting #Authentication #JavaScript #TypeScript
