Cross-Browser Testing with Playwright and TestNG

Cross-browser testing with Playwright and TestNG provides Java automation testers with a powerful and efficient way to verify that web applications work seamlessly across multiple browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. It ensures consistent performance and user experience regardless of the browser your customers use. In this Playwright TestNG cross-browser tutorial, you will learn how to set up Playwright with TestNG, execute tests across different browsers, and configure your framework for reliable browser compatibility testing. The TestNG Playwright integration not only simplifies cross-browser execution but also enables better scalability through parallel testing and flexible configurations.

Why You Need Cross-Browser Testing in 2025

In 2025, web users access applications from a wide range of browsers and devices, each with its own rendering engine and behavior. Ensuring your web application looks and functions the same across all of them is no longer optional; it is essential for maintaining credibility and user trust. That is where cross-browser testing becomes crucial.

Browser compatibility testing helps verify that your website performs consistently across major browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. Without it, users may face layout issues, broken elements, or slow performance on certain browsers, all of which can negatively affect engagement and conversions.

Each browser uses a different rendering engine: Chromium (used by Chrome and Edge), Gecko (used by Firefox), and WebKit (used by Safari). These engines interpret HTML, CSS, and JavaScript differently, which often leads to visual or functional inconsistencies. A button that works perfectly in Chrome might behave unexpectedly in Safari because of these variations.

By performing cross-browser tests, you can detect such issues early in the development cycle. This not only ensures a smoother and more consistent user experience but also reduces the risk of production bugs and post-release failures. In the end, comprehensive browser compatibility testing strengthens product quality, improves customer satisfaction, and helps your application stand out in an increasingly competitive digital world.

Why TestNG Works for Playwright Integration

TestNG is one of the most powerful and flexible testing frameworks available for Java automation, making it a perfect companion for Playwright. When combined, they create a strong foundation for building scalable, maintainable, and efficient cross-browser test suites.

One of the main benefits of using TestNG is its structured and annotation-driven approach to test organization. It supports test grouping, dependencies, and prioritization, which helps teams manage large Playwright automation suites with ease. With its detailed reporting and built-in assertions, TestNG simplifies tracking test results and debugging issues quickly.

Another advantage is parallel execution. TestNG allows you to run multiple test classes or methods simultaneously, significantly reducing total execution time. This feature pairs perfectly with Playwright’s ability to launch multiple browser instances independently. By combining Playwright’s multi-browser capabilities with TestNG’s parallel execution, teams can achieve fast and reliable cross-browser testing without compromising accuracy.

Additionally, TestNG supports parameterization, enabling you to pass browser names, URLs, or environment details directly from an XML configuration file. This makes it easy to run the same Playwright test cases across different browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, and WebKit with minimal code changes.

There is growing evidence of Playwright and TestNG being used together in real-world projects. Many QA engineers and organizations have adopted this integration to leverage the best of both tools — Playwright’s modern automation features and TestNG’s test management and reporting capabilities. The Playwright Java documentation and community tutorials also demonstrate how seamlessly TestNG can be integrated into Playwright projects for robust and efficient browser testing.

Project Setup: Playwright + TestNG in Maven/Gradle

Before starting with cross-browser execution, you need a basic Playwright Java setup along with TestNG integration. If you have not configured Playwright yet, follow the complete step-by-step installation guide in these articles:
Install Playwright Java: Step-by-Step Setup Guide and Run Playwright Test Using TestNG

Once your Playwright environment is ready, you just need to add the TestNG dependency to your project and configure a test suite for execution. Below is a sample pom.xml snippet showing both Playwright and TestNG dependencies together:

<dependencies>
    <!-- Playwright Java Dependency -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>com.microsoft.playwright</groupId>
        <artifactId>playwright</artifactId>
        <version>1.55.0</version>
    </dependency>

    <!-- TestNG Dependency -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.testng</groupId>
        <artifactId>testng</artifactId>
        <version>7.10.2</version>
        <scope>test</scope>
    </dependency>
</dependencies>

Your project structure should look like this:

PlaywrightTestNGDemo/
 ├── pom.xml
 ├── src
 │   ├── main
 │   │   └── java
 │   └── test
 │       └── java
 │           └── tests
 │               └── SampleTest.java
 └── testng.xml

After adding the dependencies, ensure Playwright browser binaries are installed by running the following Maven command in your project root (e.g., PlaywrightTestNGDemo):

mvn exec:java -e -Dexec.mainClass="com.microsoft.playwright.CLI" -Dexec.args="install"

This setup ensures your Maven project is ready for Playwright + TestNG integration, allowing you to create and execute cross-browser tests efficiently.

Configuring Playwright Multi-Browser Support with TestNG

When you perform cross-browser testing, you need to run the same test cases across multiple browsers like Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit. With Playwright Java and TestNG, this can be easily achieved by passing browser names as parameters from the testng.xml file.

Step 1: Launch Different Browsers in Playwright Java

Playwright’s Java API provides separate methods for launching different browsers.

browser = playwright.chromium().launch(new BrowserType.LaunchOptions().setHeadless(false));
browser = playwright.firefox().launch(new BrowserType.LaunchOptions().setHeadless(false));
browser = playwright.webkit().launch(new BrowserType.LaunchOptions().setHeadless(false));

You can dynamically decide which browser to launch based on the value passed from TestNG.

Step 2: Use TestNG Parameter for Browser Name

You can pass the browser name from testng.xml and read it in your test setup method using the @Parameters annotation.

Example: MultiBrowserTest.java

package com.example.test;

import com.microsoft.playwright.*;
import org.testng.annotations.*;

public class MultiBrowserTest {
	Playwright playwright;
	Browser browser;
	Page page;

	@Parameters("browser")
	@BeforeClass
	public void setUp(String browserName) {
		playwright = Playwright.create();

		switch (browserName.toLowerCase()) {
		case "chromium":
			browser = playwright.chromium().launch(new BrowserType.LaunchOptions().setHeadless(false));
			break;
		case "firefox":
			browser = playwright.firefox().launch(new BrowserType.LaunchOptions().setHeadless(false));
			break;
		case "webkit":
			browser = playwright.webkit().launch(new BrowserType.LaunchOptions().setHeadless(false));
			break;
		default:
			throw new IllegalArgumentException("Unsupported browser: " + browserName);
		}

		page = browser.newPage();
		page.navigate("https://google.com");
	}

	@Test
	public void testTitle() {
		System.out.println("Page title: " + page.title());
	}

	@AfterClass
	public void tearDown() {
		browser.close();
		playwright.close();
	}
}

Step 3: Define Browser Parameter in testng.xml

To avoid the TestNGException (Parameter ‘browser’ is required but not defined), you must define the parameter in your TestNG suite file.

Example: testng.xml

<!DOCTYPE suite SYSTEM "https://testng.org/testng-1.0.dtd" >
<suite name="Playwright Cross-Browser Suite" parallel="tests" thread-count="3">

    <test name="Chromium Test">
        <parameter name="browser" value="chromium" />
        <classes>
            <class name="com.example.test.MultiBrowserTest" />
        </classes>
    </test>

    <test name="Firefox Test">
        <parameter name="browser" value="firefox" />
        <classes>
            <class name="com.example.test.MultiBrowserTest" />
        </classes>
    </test>

    <test name="WebKit Test">
        <parameter name="browser" value="webkit" />
        <classes>
            <class name="com.example.test.MultiBrowserTest" />
        </classes>
    </test>
</suite>

Step 4: Run the TestNG Suite

Execute your suite using the following Maven command:

mvn test -DsuiteXmlFile=testng.xml

Or, Right-click on the testng.xml file and select Run As > TestNG Suite to execute the tests directly from your IDE.

Explanation

• Each <test> tag in the testng.xml file defines a separate browser execution.
• The @Parameters("browser") annotation in your Java test reads this value before running tests.
• The parallel="tests" setting allows all three browsers to execute simultaneously.

This setup ensures your Playwright + TestNG integration can perform true cross-browser testing efficiently and consistently across Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit.

Once your Playwright multi-browser configuration is ready, you can easily run the same tests across different browsers by defining parameters in your TestNG suite file. This setup allows you to reuse a single test class for all browsers, making your automation cleaner and more maintainable.

Browser Compatibility Testing: Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit (Safari) with TestNG

After configuring browser parameters in TestNG, the next step is to validate that your application works correctly on all major browser engines including Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit.

One of the strongest advantages of Playwright TestNG integration is its ability to run the same test on multiple browser engines such as Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit, ensuring complete browser compatibility for your web application.

Why WebKit Testing Matters

WebKit is the browser engine that powers Safari on macOS and iOS devices. Many automation frameworks find it difficult to test Safari accurately, but Playwright provides native WebKit support, allowing you to test Safari-like behavior on any operating system, including Windows and Linux. This means you can verify layout rendering, CSS styles, and JavaScript functionality without needing a Mac machine.

Running Playwright WebKit testing with TestNG helps ensure your application performs well for Safari users, who represent a large portion of mobile and desktop traffic in regions like the United States and the United Kingdom.

How WebKit Testing Works with TestNG

Using the same Playwright API, you can launch Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit browsers through TestNG parameters. The @Parameters("browser") annotation in your TestNG class allows you to dynamically specify which browser to launch at runtime.

Example TestNG parameters:

<parameter name="browser" value="chrome" />
<parameter name="browser" value="firefox" />
<parameter name="browser" value="webkit" />

Each parameter value tells your test which browser engine to use when creating a new Playwright instance.

Example Parameter Values

When defining browsers in your testng.xml suite file, you can use the following values:

• “chrome” for launching the Chromium-based browser (Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge equivalent)
• “firefox” for launching the Mozilla Firefox engine
• “webkit” for launching the WebKit engine (Safari equivalent)

This configuration gives you reliable automated browser coverage across all major rendering engines while keeping your code consistent and maintainable.

Combining Desktop and Mobile Viewports

You can extend this setup to simulate mobile viewports using Playwright’s browser.newContext() with predefined device descriptors. This helps you test responsive layouts and confirm that your application behaves correctly on both desktop and mobile devices, including Safari mobile emulation on Windows using WebKit.

By integrating Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit testing with TestNG, you can achieve full browser coverage while maintaining a unified Java test structure.

Parallel Execution with Playwright and TestNG

Once your tests run correctly on individual browsers, you can take it a step further by enabling parallel execution. Running Playwright tests in parallel with TestNG helps speed up execution and improves cross-browser coverage efficiency.

Parallel execution is one of the most powerful features when using Playwright with TestNG. It allows you to run multiple tests or browser sessions at the same time, which significantly improves test speed and cross-browser coverage. This approach ensures faster feedback and better scalability in your automation suite.

Why Parallel Execution Matters for Cross-Browser Testing

When testing across different browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, running them sequentially can take a lot of time. By enabling parallel execution, you can:

• Reduce total test execution time.
• Validate the same functionality across multiple browsers simultaneously.
• Get quicker insights into browser-specific issues.

This is why many testers search for “Playwright parallel execution with TestNG” to boost test efficiency.

How to Configure TestNG XML for Parallel Tests

TestNG provides multiple ways to control parallelism through the testng.xml configuration file. You can set the parallel and thread-count attributes in the <suite> tag.

Below are the common parallel modes:

• parallel="tests" – Runs each <test> tag in parallel.
• parallel="classes" – Runs each test class in parallel.
• parallel="methods" – Runs test methods in parallel within the same class.

Tips to Avoid Flaky Tests in Parallel Execution

When running tests in parallel, it’s important to maintain proper isolation between test instances. Here are a few best practices:

• Use separate browser contexts or pages for each test to prevent session conflicts.
• Avoid sharing static variables across threads.
• Close browser instances properly after each test to release resources.
• Add synchronization or waits when interacting with dynamic web elements.

By following these tips, you can ensure stable and reliable parallel execution with Playwright and TestNG while maximizing performance and test coverage.

Playwright vs Selenium for Cross-Browser Testing

When comparing Playwright vs Selenium for cross-browser testing, both tools are powerful, but they work differently internally. Selenium uses the WebDriver protocol to communicate with browsers. It sends commands through browser drivers such as ChromeDriver or GeckoDriver. While this model has been reliable for years, it can introduce latency and synchronization issues.

Playwright communicates directly with browser engines through native APIs. This eliminates the need for separate drivers and makes Playwright faster, lighter, and more consistent for test execution.

Ease of Configuration and Multi-Browser Support

Playwright is easier to set up because it comes with built-in support for Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit. There is no need to install or manage drivers separately. When combined with TestNG, you can run tests on multiple browsers simply by defining parameters in your testng.xml file. This provides a clean and flexible setup for Playwright cross-browser testing.

Selenium, while mature and widely supported, often requires additional setup and driver management. It also lacks native WebKit support, which means testing Safari or iOS environments can be more complex.

Speed and Reliability

Playwright’s direct communication with browsers makes it faster and more stable. It can handle modern web technologies, such as Shadow DOM, iframes, and single-page applications, more efficiently. It also includes automatic waiting mechanisms that help reduce flaky tests, which are common in Selenium-based frameworks.

When You Might Still Choose Selenium

You might still choose Selenium if your team already has a large automation framework built on it, or if you depend on BrowserStack or other third-party integrations. Selenium’s ecosystem is mature, with extensive community support, plugins, and integrations that remain valuable for long-established testing pipelines.

Why Java Teams Are Moving to Playwright with TestNG

For Java automation teams, adopting Playwright with TestNG brings major benefits. It offers faster execution, simpler configuration, and native multi-browser support, all without the need for additional drivers. TestNG adds structured test management, parameterization, and parallel execution, making it an excellent companion for Playwright.

In summary, the choice of Playwright vs Selenium for cross-browser testing depends on your project’s needs. Selenium is ideal for legacy systems with existing setups, while Playwright with TestNG provides a modern, efficient, and future-focused approach for Java-based automation.

Conclusion

By combining Playwright with TestNG, you get a powerful and flexible solution for cross-browser testing in Java. This setup allows you to manage tests efficiently, run them in parallel, and validate your web application across multiple browsers with minimal configuration.

With Cross-Browser Testing with Playwright and TestNG, you can ensure consistent browser compatibility, improve test coverage, and significantly speed up your testing cycles. Playwright’s built-in multi-browser support, along with TestNG’s structured test management and reporting, creates a complete framework for modern automation teams.

If you are planning your next automation project, this is the perfect time to implement the setup described in this tutorial. It will help you deliver high-quality, browser-compatible applications faster and with greater confidence.