E2E CI Debug

Debug Playwright E2E test failures from CI with automated artifact downloading, intelligent failure parsing, and local reproduction guidance.

Quick Start

Full debugging workflow:

# 1. Download artifacts from failing CI run
.cursor/skills/e2e-ci-debug/scripts/download-artifacts.sh

# 2. Parse JUnit results to identify failures
.cursor/skills/e2e-ci-debug/scripts/parse-junit.py

# 3. Run local reproduction command (shown by parse-junit.py)
cd dap-workspace && nx affected -t e2e --base=origin/main

# 4. Clean up downloaded artifacts (Important!)
.cursor/skills/e2e-ci-debug/scripts/cleanup-artifacts.sh

Output: Failing spec name, error message, file location, stack trace, and local reproduction command.

Workflow E2E Test Structure

Main Workflow E2E Tests

• Path: dap-workspace/tests/workflow/typescript/
• Config: playwright.config.ts
• Test Directory: tests/e2e/
  • builder/ – Workflow builder tests (9 spec files)
  • catalog/ – Catalog navigation tests (2 spec files)
  • visual-diff/ – Visual regression tests (1 spec file)
• Projects: sanity → setup → e2e (dependency chain)
• Reports: reports/typescript-playwright/workflow/
  • HTML: playwright-report/
  • JUnit: junit.xml
• Base URL: WORKFLOW_BASE_URL env var or http://localhost:4200

Component-Level E2E Tests

• Path: dap-workspace/libs/workflow/workflow-fe/workflow-fe-e2e/
• Config: playwright.config.ts
• Test Directory: src/
• WebServer: Auto-starts workflow-root-fe on http://localhost:4200
• Used for component-level testing within workflow libraries

CI Workflow Context

PR E2E Tests

When they run:

• Automatically on pull requests via dispatcher.yml → pr-core.yaml → pr-processor.yml
• Only affected E2E tests execute (via nx affected -t e2e)

How to find them:

# List PR checks
gh pr checks

# View specific run
gh run view <run_id> --log

# Download PR E2E artifacts
gh run download <run_id> -n <artifact-name>

Workflow chain:

1. .github/workflows/dispatcher.yml – PR entry point
2. .github/workflows/pr-core.yaml – Runs test, lint, docker, deploy jobs
3. pr-processor.yml (external) – Handles deployment and E2E execution

Local Debugging

Run workflow E2E tests locally before pushing to CI:

Run Workflow E2E Project

cd dap-workspace

# Run full workflow E2E suite (with project dependencies)
nx e2e tests-workflow-typescript --project=e2e

# Run only sanity tests
nx e2e tests-workflow-typescript --project=sanity

Run Affected E2E Tests

cd dap-workspace

# Compare against main branch
nx affected -t e2e --base=origin/main

# Compare against specific branch
nx affected -t e2e --base=origin/v4.0

Run Specific Test File

cd dap-workspace/tests/workflow/typescript

# Run single spec
npx playwright test tests/e2e/builder/workflow-builder.e2e.spec.ts

# Run specific suite
npx playwright test tests/e2e/builder

# Run with UI mode for debugging
npx playwright test --ui

# Run with headed browser
npx playwright test --headed

View Local Test Reports

cd dap-workspace

# Open HTML report for workflow tests
npx playwright show-report reports/typescript-playwright/workflow/playwright-report

PR Checks Debugging

E2E Test Failures

1. Find failing E2E job:

   gh pr checks
   # Look for "Run E2E Tests" or similar job names
   

2. Download artifacts:

   # Use the download-artifacts.sh script (auto-detects current PR)
   .cursor/skills/e2e-ci-debug/scripts/download-artifacts.sh
   
   # Or manually with run ID
   .cursor/skills/e2e-ci-debug/scripts/download-artifacts.sh <run_id>
   

3. Parse failures:

   .cursor/skills/e2e-ci-debug/scripts/parse-junit.py
   

4. Reproduce locally:

   cd dap-workspace
   nx affected -t e2e --base=origin/<base-branch>
   

Unit Test Failures

# View test job logs
gh run view <run_id> --log --job <job_id>

# Find the specific test command in logs
# Usually: nx affected -t test --base=origin/<base-branch>

# Run locally
cd dap-workspace
nx affected -t test --base=origin/main

Lint Failures

# View lint job logs
gh run view <run_id> --log --job <job_id>

# Run locally
cd dap-workspace
nx affected -t lint --base=origin/main

# Auto-fix many issues
nx affected -t lint --base=origin/main --fix

Docker Build Failures

# View docker job logs
gh run view <run_id> --log --job <job_id>

# Look for:
# - Docker build errors
# - Missing dependencies
# - Build context issues
# - Registry authentication problems

Utility Scripts

All scripts are located in the skill’s scripts/ directory. After installation via npx add-skill, they’ll be at .cursor/skills/e2e-ci-debug/scripts/

download-artifacts.sh

Downloads Playwright test artifacts from GitHub Actions for the current PR.

Usage:

# Auto-detect from current PR
./download-artifacts.sh

# Specify run ID
./download-artifacts.sh <run_id>

# Specify run ID and artifact name
./download-artifacts.sh <run_id> <artifact_name>

What it does:

• Fetches Playwright report archives from GitHub Actions
• Extracts to playwright-results/ directory
• Cleans up ZIP files after extraction

parse-junit.py

Parses JUnit XML from Playwright results and extracts structured failure information, including paths to failure screenshots for AI model analysis.

Usage:

# Parse default location
./parse-junit.py

# Parse specific file
./parse-junit.py path/to/junit.xml

# Output as JSON (includes screenshot/trace/video paths)
./parse-junit.py --json

# Show screenshot paths for AI model analysis
./parse-junit.py --screenshots

# Open HTML report after parsing
./parse-junit.py --open-report

# Show help
./parse-junit.py --help

Output includes:

• Test name and status
• Error message
• File location (spec file:line number)
• Stack trace
• Screenshot paths (absolute paths for AI model to read with Read tool)
• Trace file paths (for Playwright trace viewer)
• Video paths (if video recording was enabled)
• Local reproduction command for workflow tests

Output Formats:

• Text (default): Human-readable with colors and emojis, shows artifact paths inline
• JSON (--json): Structured output with screenshots, traces, and videos arrays per failure

AI Model Integration: The screenshot paths are absolute, allowing AI models to directly read the images using the Read tool to visually analyze where Playwright failed.

find-failing-job.sh

Finds failing E2E jobs from recent PR workflow runs.

Usage:

# List recent PR workflow runs
./find-failing-job.sh

# Find specific workflow
./find-failing-job.sh "PR Deploy Core"

Output:

• Recent workflow runs with status
• Run ID and job IDs for failed E2E tests
• Command to download artifacts

cleanup-artifacts.sh

Removes all downloaded Playwright artifacts after debugging.

Usage:

./cleanup-artifacts.sh

What it removes:

• playwright-results/ directory
• *-playwright-results.zip files
• Any other temporary E2E debug files

Safety:

• Idempotent (safe to run multiple times)
• Confirms cleanup with file count and freed disk space

Common Failure Patterns

Test Timeout

Symptom: Test exceeds timeout (default: 30s for sanity, 120s for setup, 30s for e2e)

Solutions:

• Check for network delays or slow API responses
• Increase timeout in playwright.config.ts if legitimate
• Look for missing await on async operations

Element Not Found

Symptom: Selector not found or Element is not visible

Solutions:

• Verify element exists in the DOM
• Check for timing issues (add proper waits)
• Inspect for dynamic class names or IDs
• Use data-testid attributes instead of classes

Setup/Seed Failures

Symptom: setup project fails before e2e tests can run

Solutions:

• Check database seeding in tests/*/typescript/seed/*.setup.ts
• Verify API endpoints are accessible
• Ensure authentication/tokens are valid

Flaky Tests

Symptom: Test passes locally but fails in CI (or vice versa)

Solutions:

• Check for race conditions
• Avoid hard-coded waits (page.waitForTimeout())
• Use proper Playwright assertions with auto-retry
• Verify test isolation (no shared state)

Additional Resources

For detailed workflow documentation, artifact paths, and Playwright configuration details, see reference.md.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• A PR has failing E2E checks and you need to debug
• You want to reproduce CI E2E failures locally
• You need to understand E2E test structure and locations
• You’re debugging flaky or timing-related test failures in PRs