What happens when you scaffold a Playwright framework and run installed tests using bun?

We covered in the last blog post how to install bun, a new package manager. 

In this blog post, we will look into using bun to install a new Playwright framework. 

Create the Playwright Framework

Once I installed bun on my Windows PC and was up and running I created a new folder, "bun-create-playwright".

I opened up that folder in VS Code, along with a new PowerShell terminal. In that terminal I entered:

• bun create playwright 

This activated the interactive Playwright installer that Playwright comes with. 

• I selected I wanted it to create for me a TypeScript project, placing the tests in the default folder, tests, but I decided not to add a GitHub Actions workflow. I wanted to experiment with using GitLab. 
• I chose it to set up and install all the browsers for me... which it did... using NPX, part of Node.

Wait a second, when it comes to our Playwright framework, doesn't bun replace node?

No. Bun might be a JavaScript runtime, a package manager, and a bundler shipped as a single software tool, but in our case we are simply using it as a package manager in our Playwright framework. 

Bun works alongside Node.js in the Playwright project. We still use Playwright's test runner, a Node.js program. Bun handles installations and run tasks.

Introducing bun, a new package manager and JavaScript runtime environment

New job? New toolset to explore! In this post I'll be investigating a new JavaScript package manager and runtime environment called bun.sh. 

You may have noticed on Playwright.Dev's Getting Started / Installation section there are three different ways to install a ui or api test automation framework with the latest version of Playwright:

• npm init playwright@latest
• yarn create playwright
• pnpm create playwright

For this blog post I'll be investigating a fourth way, the new toolset they just started using at work, bun.sh.

• bun create playwright

What is npm, yarn, pnpm, and bun? These are called package managers.

What is a package? Developing a project, you don't have to figure out how to code everything yourself. You can include in your projects outside libraries, or "packages" of code from from the public JavaScript registry npmjs.com. 

The problem is that these packages then need to be downloaded, installed, managed, and updated whenever they are updated. JavaScript projects can use a package manager, such as bun, to help this process. 

When putting together a Playwright automation framework based around JavaScript and TypeScript, Playwright uses the Node.js JavaScript runtime environment, to run its test runner, execute automation scripts, and manage its browser instances.(See Nodejs.org / About )

There is a division of labor: Node.js runs these internal functions like running tests. NPM, Yarn, PNPM, and now Bun handle the packages. 

Why are there so many package managers? Each has its own specialization. The original NPM is bundled already with Node.js. Yarn is a Facebook toolset that was created when NPM was found to work too slow. PNPM was created to be smaller and therefore faster. And bun was built for quick startup and installation speed, good especially if you have a CI/ CD pipeline that has a LOT of packages to install each time the tests run.

Does giving a presentation via Zoom to the Sydney Testers Meetup make me an international speaker?

If I presentation to the Sydney Testers Meetup in Australia, from my home in the Massachusetts, through Zoom, does that make me an international speaker? [ Vote in the New Poll, on LinkedIn ]

There is still time to sign up for the event at: https://www.meetup.com/sydney-testers/events/315166776


"T.J. Maher, the former organiser at Ministry of Testing Boston, blogger and speaker, will be presenting from the US on using the Detox framework to create effective test automation frameworks for React Native applications.

Achievement Unlocked: T.J. Maher Elected to the Board of Directors of the Software Quality Group of New England - SQGNE.org

I've been elected to be on the Board of Directors of the Software Quality Group of New England (sqgne.org) on the volunteer leadership committee! 

The Software Quality Group of New England (SQGNE) is an all-volunteer, nonprofit professional community in New England dedicated to software quality. Since its founding, SQGNE has brought together QA engineers, SDETs, and software quality professionals for monthly educational presentations, discussions, and networking -- covering everything from testing techniques and process improvement to the latest tools and industry trends.

I also have founded and moderate an online monthly SDET Lean Coffee discussion group, bringing together software development engineers in test, quality engineers, and automation practitioners to exchange ideas, challenges, and emerging practices.

After our hiatus during the summer, we will be meeting monthly up in Burlington, MA. Check us out!

Happy Testing!

-T.J. Maher
Software Engineer in Test

BlueSky | YouTube | LinkedIn | Articles

Testing and AI Workshop by James Bach of Rapid Software Testing - Notes

Last week, I saw that there was a new half day workshop by one of the creators of Rapid Software Testing, James Bach, Testing and AI Workshop, and that they were offering a 50% discount for anyone who was unemployed, so I just had to attend.

• Visit James Bach's Satisfice.com Download Page to download PDFs on topics such as Responsible Work (May 2026), AI Writing Policy (April 2026), Heuristic Test Strategy Model (December 2024), Rapid Software Testing Explored Class Appendices (December 2024) Why Testers? (Oct 2024) and ChatGPT Sucks at Being a Testing Expert (August 2023)
• YouTube Channel: Rapid Software Testing
• Check out James Bach's Classes at https://www.satisfice.com/classes (50% discount if unemployed)
• The next Testing and AI Workshop will be July 6, 2026

"In each session, the instructors will first perform a live 'testopsy.' This is a demonstration of AI-assisted testing (using both assistive and agentic modes of AI) on a real product, accompanied by an analysis and explanation of what happened during the demo. During this part of the workshop, you may ask questions or offer critique.

"Next the instructors will challenge you to perform a similar process or solve a similar problem with the help of AI. You will have two hours. You will be able to work alone or in groups, as you like.

"Finally, the instructors will review and critique your work, if you choose to share it. At the end of the event, you will get to keep the videos".

I really enjoyed the class! It involved an hour-and-a-half webinar, where James Bach walks people though how he uses AI, a few hours where you can work on your own project for the course, then another hour-and-a-half webinar where course attendees could review what they came up with to analyze a site. 

New Position Unlocked: Senior SDET at AAA Life Insurance, starting Monday, June 15th, 2026!

I have two announcements: I've accepted a job offer as a Senior SDET role at AAA Life Insurance Company, and will be starting Monday, June 15th! And I have been nominated to be one of the volunteer Directors on the leadership board of the Software Quality Group of New England.

Man, the job market is brutal! It took me four months of job searching in 2025 to find SELF Id when MassMutual outsourced its technology department. And it took me four months of near constant job searching in 2026 to find AAA Life when I was caught up in the second round of SELF's layoffs in the end of January.

SDET Lean Coffee #1: With AI, what is useful testing and what is workslop? SQGNE, June 2, 2026

With AI, what is useful when it comes to testing and what is workslop? How do you create workflows in AI? With AI producing massive amounts of code, how can a tester keep up?

These are some of the topics attendees decided to talk about in our first ever SDET Lean Coffee, as part of the Software Quality Group of New England ( sqgne.org ). We exchanged war stories, horror stories, shared insights, and provided a bit of group therapy as we talked about the stress involved being the main support role of the software development team.

A surprise guest was Lisa Crispin (LisaCrispin.com), author of "Agile Testing: A Practical Guide for Testers and Agile Teams". Lisa has been working with DORA, Google Cloud's DevOps Research and Assessment division.

Recently, Lisa gave a talk teaming up with the "Beyond Quality" podcast, sharing what she has been doing "AI, testing, and the DORA AI Capabilities Model" at Lisa's site at https://lisacrispin.com/2026/04/20/ai-testing-and-the-dora-ai-capabilities-model/ discussing:

• The Dora AI Capabilitues Model
• How we need to test AI agents since AI agents can degrade over time

What is a "Lean Coffee"?

"Lean Coffee is a structured, but agenda-less meeting. Participants gather, build an agenda, and begin talking. Conversations are directed and productive because the agenda for the meeting was democratically generated". This format arose over fifteen years ago, when "Jim Benson and Jeremy Lightsmith wanted to start a group that would discuss Lean techniques in knowledge work – but didn’t want to start a whole new cumbersome organization with steering committees, speakers, and such. They wanted a group that did not rely on anything other than people showing up and wanting to learn or create", according to LeanCoffee.org.

When Is The Next SDET Lean Coffee? 

SDET Lean Coffees for the SQGNE will (usually) be held the first Tuesday of each month at 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm EDT.

Interested in attending the next session Tuesday, July 7th?

Register at the Software Quality Group of New England website at https://www.sqgne.org/

Happy Testing!
-T.J. Maher
Software Engineer in Test

BlueSky | YouTube | LinkedIn | Articles

Come join us at the next SQGNE Meeting! Open-Source Malware: Defending Your Software Supply Chain From Evolving Threats - June 17, 2026

"Open-Source Malware: Defending Your Software Supply Chain From Evolving Threats" will be the topic of the next Software Quality Group of New England (sqgne.org) meeting.

Speaker: Bryan Whyte, CISSP Director, Solutions Engineering @Sonatype

Date: June 17, 2026 @ 6:00 pm

Join us on Zoom or in person at Burlington, MA ( Register Here )

"Bryan Whyte breaks down the latest wave of open source malware, explains how these threats diverge from traditional vulnerabilities, and shares actionable steps for organizations to defend mission-critical software. 

"As organizations deepen their reliance on open-source software, evolving security threats are reshaping the landscape at an unprecedented pace. 

"Threat actors are now increasingly targeting development pipelines and trusted ecosystems like npm to orchestrate supply chain attacks with significant downstream impact. Incidents such as the 2025 Shai-Hulud npm campaign, the XZ Utils backdoor, and the widespread compromise of over 23,000 GitHub repositories illustrate how open-source malware has quickly become a critical, top-tier threat built to evade legacy scanning and exploit trust woven into modern delivery pipelines. 

"--The shifting tactics of threat actors targeting npm, PyPi, GitHub, and development pipelines 

"--Key differences between open-source malware and traditional malware or vulnerabilities 

"--The most prevalent malware types and tactics driving today's software supply chain attacks 

"After spending 20 years in software development, Bryan started his journey into Application Security in 2015 with the AppScan tool suite for Static, Dynamic and Mobile Application Security Testing. In 2018, he expanded his Cybersecurity proficiency, earning the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP). In 2019, he was excited to join Sonatype due to the explosive growth of open-source software, which has made Software Composition Analysis (SCA) a critical aspect of Application Security".

See you there!

Happy Testing!

-T.J. Maher
Software Engineer in Test
BlueSky | YouTube | LinkedIn | Articles

Need a speaker at your Software Testing Meetup? How about a talk about putting together a React Native mobile testing framework?

Are any software testing Meetups looking for a speaker? I have a talk, all ready to go!

After surviving the first round of layoffs last December, I scrambled to organize my research notes on building a mobile automation framework into a presentation. I managed to finish it days before I was hit by the second round of layoffs at the end of this January.

So far, I have given my presentation, Building a React Mobile Automated Test Framework Using Detox + TypeScript to:

• TestGuild.com Automation Guild 2026 via Zoom (4/6/2026)
• Software Quality Group of New England ( SQGNE ) @ SCRUM.org, Burlington, MA - https://tinyurl.com/detox-demo-sqgne (5/20/2026)
• Sydney Testers Meetup via Zoom (scheduled on 6/30/2026)

Two Questions:

• If I give a talk to a software testing Meetup in Australia via Zoom, even though I never left my home office in Massachusetts, would I be considered an "International Speaker"?
• Does anyone else want me to volunteer to speak at their software testing meetup? The SQGNE season is ending for the summer, so I will have some time available.

Happy Testing!

-T.J. Maher
Software Engineer in Test

BlueSky | YouTube | LinkedIn | Articles

Practicing Playwright: API Testing, Intercepting Network Requests, and Mocking APIs

How would you intercept a network request and use the data for assertions? Mock a network request using those assertions? And make sure that all data is loaded in the UI before making your assertions, and that all tests can pass when run? 

We will be walking through Butch Mayhew's code that answers all of these questions, part of his LinkedIn Learning course: Playwright Essential Training. We will be examining the shopping cart test site PracticeSoftwareTesting.com and looking at code on Butch's companion GitHub site on how to mock out the API and use them in the UI tests. 

Playwright has a lot of features when it comes to API testing. You can intercept network requests, aborting, modifying, and mocking network requests. You can also simulate a slow network. This is all done through the Playwright methods:  page.route.

A route is the specific path or URL a client uses to request data or trigger a function on a server.  GET /product would be an API call that gets everything from the address string called products, which then retrieves all products from the API endpoint called "products". The endpoint is "products" and the route is the name that accesses the endpoint.  

The Playwright API has a method called route, which allows Playwright to monitor and modify browser network traffic. 

• Playwright.dev / Docs / Network: https://playwright.dev/docs/network
• Playwright and page.route: https://playwright.dev/docs/api/class-route
• Playwright Mocking API Guide: https://playwright.dev/docs/mock