Run Playwright Tests at Scale on Azure

Azure Playwright Workspaces SDK for TypeScript

Run Playwright tests at scale with cloud-hosted browsers and integrated Azure portal reporting.

Migration Notice: @azure/microsoft-playwright-testing is retired on March 8, 2026. Use @azure/playwright instead. See migration guide.

Installation

# Recommended: Auto-generates config
npm init @azure/playwright@latest

# Manual installation
npm install @azure/playwright --save-dev
npm install @playwright/test@^1.47 --save-dev
npm install @azure/identity --save-dev

Requirements:

• Playwright version 1.47+ (basic usage)
• Playwright version 1.57+ (Azure reporter features)

Environment Variables

PLAYWRIGHT_SERVICE_URL=wss://eastus.api.playwright.microsoft.com/playwrightworkspaces/{workspace-id}/browsers

Authentication

Microsoft Entra ID (Recommended)

# Sign in with Azure CLI
az login

// playwright.service.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from "@playwright/test";
import { createAzurePlaywrightConfig, ServiceOS } from "@azure/playwright";
import { DefaultAzureCredential } from "@azure/identity";
import config from "./playwright.config";

export default defineConfig(
  config,
  createAzurePlaywrightConfig(config, {
    os: ServiceOS.LINUX,
    credential: new DefaultAzureCredential(),
  })
);

Custom Credential

import { ManagedIdentityCredential } from "@azure/identity";
import { createAzurePlaywrightConfig } from "@azure/playwright";

export default defineConfig(
  config,
  createAzurePlaywrightConfig(config, {
    credential: new ManagedIdentityCredential(),
  })
);

Core Workflow

Service Configuration

// playwright.service.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from "@playwright/test";
import { createAzurePlaywrightConfig, ServiceOS } from "@azure/playwright";
import { DefaultAzureCredential } from "@azure/identity";
import config from "./playwright.config";

export default defineConfig(
  config,
  createAzurePlaywrightConfig(config, {
    os: ServiceOS.LINUX,
    connectTimeout: 30000,
    exposeNetwork: "<loopback>",
    credential: new DefaultAzureCredential(),
  })
);

Run Tests

npx playwright test --config=playwright.service.config.ts --workers=20

With Azure Reporter

import { defineConfig } from "@playwright/test";
import { createAzurePlaywrightConfig, ServiceOS } from "@azure/playwright";
import { DefaultAzureCredential } from "@azure/identity";
import config from "./playwright.config";

export default defineConfig(
  config,
  createAzurePlaywrightConfig(config, {
    os: ServiceOS.LINUX,
    credential: new DefaultAzureCredential(),
  }),
  {
    reporter: [
      ["html", { open: "never" }],
      ["@azure/playwright/reporter"],
    ],
  }
);

Manual Browser Connection

import playwright, { test, expect, BrowserType } from "@playwright/test";
import { getConnectOptions } from "@azure/playwright";

test("manual connection", async ({ browserName }) => {
  const { wsEndpoint, options } = await getConnectOptions();
  const browser = await (playwright[browserName] as BrowserType).connect(wsEndpoint, options);
  const context = await browser.newContext();
  const page = await context.newPage();

  await page.goto("https://example.com");
  await expect(page).toHaveTitle(/Example/);

  await browser.close();
});

Configuration Options

type PlaywrightServiceAdditionalOptions = {
  serviceAuthType?: "ENTRA_ID" | "ACCESS_TOKEN";  // Default: ENTRA_ID
  os?: "linux" | "windows";                        // Default: linux
  runName?: string;                                // Custom run name for portal
  connectTimeout?: number;                         // Default: 30000ms
  exposeNetwork?: string;                          // Default: <loopback>
  credential?: TokenCredential;                    // REQUIRED for Entra ID
};

ServiceOS Enum

import { ServiceOS } from "@azure/playwright";

// Available values
ServiceOS.LINUX   // "linux" - default
ServiceOS.WINDOWS // "windows"

ServiceAuth Enum

import { ServiceAuth } from "@azure/playwright";

// Available values
ServiceAuth.ENTRA_ID      // Recommended - uses credential
ServiceAuth.ACCESS_TOKEN  // Use PLAYWRIGHT_SERVICE_ACCESS_TOKEN env var

CI/CD Integration

GitHub Actions

name: playwright-ts
on: [push, pull_request]

permissions:
  id-token: write
  contents: read

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Azure Login
        uses: azure/login@v2
        with:
          client-id: ${{ secrets.AZURE_CLIENT_ID }}
          tenant-id: ${{ secrets.AZURE_TENANT_ID }}
          subscription-id: ${{ secrets.AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID }}

      - run: npm ci
      
      - name: Run Tests
        env:
          PLAYWRIGHT_SERVICE_URL: ${{ secrets.PLAYWRIGHT_SERVICE_URL }}
        run: npx playwright test -c playwright.service.config.ts --workers=20

Azure Pipelines

- task: AzureCLI@2
  displayName: Run Playwright Tests
  env:
    PLAYWRIGHT_SERVICE_URL: $(PLAYWRIGHT_SERVICE_URL)
  inputs:
    azureSubscription: My_Service_Connection
    scriptType: pscore
    inlineScript: |
      npx playwright test -c playwright.service.config.ts --workers=20
    addSpnToEnvironment: true

Key Types

import {
  createAzurePlaywrightConfig,
  getConnectOptions,
  ServiceOS,
  ServiceAuth,
  ServiceEnvironmentVariable,
} from "@azure/playwright";

import type {
  OsType,
  AuthenticationType,
  BrowserConnectOptions,
  PlaywrightServiceAdditionalOptions,
} from "@azure/playwright";

Migration from Old Package

Old (@azure/microsoft-playwright-testing)	New (@azure/playwright)
getServiceConfig()	createAzurePlaywrightConfig()
timeout option	connectTimeout option
runId option	runName option
useCloudHostedBrowsers option	Removed (always enabled)
@azure/microsoft-playwright-testing/reporter	@azure/playwright/reporter
Implicit credential	Explicit credential parameter

Before (Old)

import { getServiceConfig, ServiceOS } from "@azure/microsoft-playwright-testing";

export default defineConfig(
  config,
  getServiceConfig(config, {
    os: ServiceOS.LINUX,
    timeout: 30000,
    useCloudHostedBrowsers: true,
  }),
  {
    reporter: [["@azure/microsoft-playwright-testing/reporter"]],
  }
);

After (New)

import { createAzurePlaywrightConfig, ServiceOS } from "@azure/playwright";
import { DefaultAzureCredential } from "@azure/identity";

export default defineConfig(
  config,
  createAzurePlaywrightConfig(config, {
    os: ServiceOS.LINUX,
    connectTimeout: 30000,
    credential: new DefaultAzureCredential(),
  }),
  {
    reporter: [
      ["html", { open: "never" }],
      ["@azure/playwright/reporter"],
    ],
  }
);

Best Practices

1. Use Entra ID auth - More secure than access tokens
2. Provide explicit credential - Always pass credential: new DefaultAzureCredential()
3. Enable artifacts - Set trace: "on-first-retry", video: "retain-on-failure" in config
4. Scale workers - Use --workers=20 or higher for parallel execution
5. Region selection - Choose region closest to your test targets
6. HTML reporter first - When using Azure reporter, list HTML reporter before Azure reporter

When to Use

This skill is applicable to execute the workflow or actions described in the overview.

Limitations

• Use this skill only when the task clearly matches the scope described above.
• Do not treat the output as a substitute for environment-specific validation, testing, or expert review.
• Stop and ask for clarification if required inputs, permissions, safety boundaries, or success criteria are missing.