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What is the E2E Testing Agent?

The E2E Testing Agent is Zencoder’s specialized agent for creating and executing end-to-end tests for web applications. As part of the Zentester platform, it leverages Playwright to automate browser interactions, enabling comprehensive testing across different scenarios and user flows. The agent can simulate user actions like scrolling, clicking, filling forms, and even taking snapshots to verify your application behaves correctly.

To use the E2E Testing Agent, simply invoke it with /e2e-test followed by your testing requirements in the chat interface.

We use Playwright for automating browser interactions, but our agent can write scripts for various tetsing frameworks, just ask it to do so.

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How To Use It

The E2E Testing Agent seamlessly integrates with your development workflow:

1

Invoke the E2E Testing Agent

Type /e2e-test followed by a description of the testing scenario you want to create in plain English - no need to understand Playwright’s API

2

Playwright installation

Upon first use, if Playwright isn’t already available in your environment, the agent will automatically set it up for you

3

Test script generation

Based on your requirements, the agent generates a complete test script that includes all necessary actions and assertions

4

Test execution and repair

Execute the tests directly within Zencoder or export them to integrate with your CI/CD pipeline

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How E2E Testing Works

The E2E Testing Agent operates by mimicking human behavior and perception when interacting with web applications:

1

Visual navigation

The agent uses a combination of technologies to understand your application:

  • Browser Automation - Controls a web browser to navigate and interact with your app
  • Visual Understanding - Captures and analyzes screenshots to identify UI elements
  • DOM Analysis - Takes DOM snapshots to understand the structure of the page
  • Combined Perception - Sends both visual and DOM information to LLMs to gain a complete understanding of the interface
2

Intelligent scenario execution

When given a user scenario to test, the agent:

  • Navigates through your application step-by-step, executing your scenario
  • Makes real-time decisions about how to interact with elements
  • Uses both visual cues and contextual understanding of the user flow
  • Adapts to different states and conditions it encounters
3

Adaptive test creation

As it executes scenarios, the agent:

  • Generates comprehensive test artifacts capturing both actions and expected outcomes
  • Creates tests designed to be maintainable and less prone to breaking as your application evolves
  • Produces scripts that can be run repeatedly locally or in CI/CD pipelines
  • Reduces the need to run scenarios with AI each time, making testing faster and more cost-effective
4

Best practice integration

Our E2E agent also automatically incorporates established E2E testing best practices:

  • Use of Page Objects - Use of test helpers for repetitive functionality and reuse of existing ones
  • Proper Wait Strategies - Intelligently handles timing issues to prevent flaky tests
  • Error Handling - Adds robust error handling to improve test reliability

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Technical Capabilities

Natural language test creation

Describe test scenarios in plain English, no need to learn specific framework syntax

Real user emulation

Interacts with applications as users do - clicking buttons, filling forms, navigating complex flows

UI and backend validation

Validates both UI state and backend responses to ensure complete functionality

Visual testing

Takes screenshots for visual comparison and verification across test runs

Cross-browser compatibility

Runs tests in multiple browsers in the background to verify consistent behavior across different browsers

CI/CD Integration

Runs in both your IDE and CI/CD pipelines and actions for continuous validation

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Zentester Platform Integration

The E2E Testing Agent is a key component of our Zentester platform, which provides comprehensive testing coverage throughout the software development lifecycle.

Learn more about Zentester platform

Discover how Zentester integrates unit testing and E2E testing to transform quality assurance from a bottleneck into an accelerator.

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Tips and Tricks

For optimal testing performance, we recommend running your application on localhost in a separate terminal window. This prevents interference with the terminal used by the E2E Testing Agent and ensures more reliable test execution.

Here are some effective ways to use the E2E Testing Agent:

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Integration with CI/CD

The E2E tests generated by the agent can be seamlessly integrated into your continuous integration and deployment pipelines:

Use test scripts

Save the generated test scripts to your project repository for version control and integration with your test suite

Zencoder for CI

Run tests automatically in your CI/CD pipeline or using Zencoder for CI, enabling continuous validation without manual intervention

Multiple test executions

Scale testing across multiple environments and browsers for faster feedback

Failure reporting

Get detailed failure reports with screenshots and DOM snapshots to quickly identify and fix issues

Other agents and features that complement the E2E Testing Agent:

Unit Testing Agent

Creates comprehensive tests for individual components and functions

Coding Agent

Generates and modifies application code that can be tested with the E2E Testing Agent