In this section, we will guide you through setting up your development environment for working with Playwright and TypeScript. This setup is crucial for ensuring that you can efficiently write, run, and debug your Playwright scripts using TypeScript.

Before we begin, ensure you have the following installed on your system:

• Node.js: Version 12 or higher. You can download it from nodejs.org.
• npm: This is included with Node.js, and it will be used to install Playwright and other dependencies.
• A Code Editor: We recommend Visual Studio Code for its excellent TypeScript support.

• Verify Installation: Open your terminal or command prompt and run the following commands to verify that Node.js and npm are installed correctly:

  node -v
  npm -v
  

  You should see the version numbers of Node.js and npm. If not, please install them from the Node.js website.

• Create a Project Directory: Choose a location on your computer and create a new directory for your Playwright project. For example:

  mkdir playwright-typescript-course
  cd playwright-typescript-course
  

• Initialize a Node.js Project: Inside your project directory, run the following command to create a package.json file:

  npm init -y
  

  This command initializes a new Node.js project with default settings.

• Install Playwright: Use npm to install Playwright as a development dependency:

  npm install playwright --save-dev
  

  This command will download and install Playwright along with its dependencies.

• Install TypeScript: Similarly, install TypeScript as a development dependency:

  npm install typescript --save-dev
  

• Initialize TypeScript Configuration: Create a tsconfig.json file to configure TypeScript for your project:

  npx tsc --init
  

  This command generates a tsconfig.json file with default settings. You can customize it later as needed.

• Install Type Definitions for Node.js: To ensure TypeScript can understand Node.js modules, install the type definitions:

  npm install @types/node --save-dev
  

• Visual Studio Code Extensions: If you're using Visual Studio Code, consider installing the following extensions for a better development experience:
  • ESLint: For linting JavaScript and TypeScript code.
  • Prettier: For code formatting.
  • Playwright Test for VSCode: For running and debugging Playwright tests directly from the editor.

You have now set up your development environment for Playwright and TypeScript. This setup will allow you to write and execute Playwright scripts using TypeScript, leveraging the powerful features of both tools. In the next section, we will introduce you to TypeScript and its basic syntax, which will be essential for writing robust Playwright tests.