ci(playwright): discover plugin frontend specs (closes #7622)

[JohnMcLear]

Summary

Closes #7622.

Adds two new globs to Playwright's testMatch so any installed plugin shipping specs at the conventional location is picked up automatically:

• ../node_modules/ep_*/static/tests/frontend-new/specs/**/*.spec.ts — pnpm add -w workspace installs (CI's with-plugins jobs, dev workspace).
• plugin_packages/ep_*/static/tests/frontend-new/specs/**/*.spec.ts — admin-UI / live-plugin-manager installs into src/plugin_packages.

Mirrors the equivalent backend pattern that has worked for years:

mocha ... tests/backend/specs/**.ts ../node_modules/ep_*/static/tests/backend/specs/**

Change type: patch (test infra; no production behavior change).

Why this is a real gap

Plugin frontend tests have been silently dead since commit cc80db2d3 (2023-07-02), when the legacy in-page jQuery test runner was removed without a Playwright replacement. Every plugin still ships static/tests/frontend/specs/test.js (mocha + helper.padChrome$ style) and every plugin's CI runs pnpm run test-ui — but test-ui resolves to playwright test tests/frontend-new/specs --project=chromium, scoped to core only. Plugin specs are never imported by any runner, anywhere.

PR #7609 caught one direction of regression — core changes that break core's tests when plugins are loaded. This PR closes the other direction — core (or plugin) changes that break a plugin's own behavior tests. Both directions matter.

Verified locally

$ pnpm exec playwright test --list --project=chromium | tail -1
Total: 143 tests in 38 files                       # before
$ pnpm exec playwright test --list --project=chromium | tail -1
Total: 146 tests in 39 files                       # after, with one ep_headings2 spec migrated

The migrated ep_headings2 spec (3 tests) runs and produces real signal — found a real a11y bug in published v0.2.79 where #heading-selection lacks an aria-label (the fix is already in ep_headings2 master, just unreleased). That's exactly the kind of regression the existing infrastructure couldn't surface.

The ep_headings2 migration ships in a separate PR against ether/ep_headings2. After this PR lands and ep_headings2 publishes a new version, #7609's with-plugins job will start exercising plugin specs too.

Documentation

doc/PLUGIN_FRONTEND_TESTS.md documents:

• The conventional layout (static/tests/frontend-new/specs/*.spec.ts)
• How to import shared helpers (ep_etherpad-lite/tests/frontend-new/helper/padHelper)
• A mocha+helper → Playwright translation table for plugin maintainers migrating their legacy specs

Test plan

• Existing core test discovery unchanged (143 tests in 38 files before; same after the change in any without-plugins context).
• Plugin specs at the conventional location are discovered when the plugin is installed.
• Migrated ep_headings2 spec runs and produces pass/fail signal — proven locally.
• CI green on this PR (no plugins installed, so no plugin specs run; tests should match develop).
• After ep_headings2 publishes the migrated PR, ci: run frontend tests with /ether plugin set (closes #7608) #7609's chrome-with-plugins job should start running its 3 specs.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[qodo-free-for-open-source-projects]

Review Summary by Qodo

Enable automatic plugin frontend test discovery in Playwright

🧪 Tests ✨ Enhancement

Walkthroughs

Description

• Auto-discover plugin frontend specs from node_modules and plugin_packages
• Enable Playwright to run plugin tests alongside core tests
• Document plugin frontend test convention and migration guide
• Mirror existing backend plugin test discovery pattern

Diagram

flowchart LR
  A["Playwright Config"] -->|testMatch globs| B["Core Tests"]
  A -->|testMatch globs| C["Plugin Tests<br/>node_modules"]
  A -->|testMatch globs| D["Plugin Tests<br/>plugin_packages"]
  B --> E["Test Execution"]
  C --> E
  D --> E

Loading

File Changes

1. src/playwright.config.ts ⚙️ Configuration changes +24/-1

Configure Playwright to discover plugin frontend tests

• Changed testDir from scoped path to root directory to enable glob expansion
• Added testMatchGlobs array with three patterns: core tests, workspace-installed plugins, and
 admin-UI installed plugins
• Added detailed comments explaining the plugin discovery pattern and path resolution
• Mirrors backend mocha test discovery for consistency

src/playwright.config.ts

---

2. doc/PLUGIN_FRONTEND_TESTS.md 📝 Documentation +103/-0

Add plugin frontend test documentation and migration guide

• Documents conventional plugin test layout at static/tests/frontend-new/specs/**/*.spec.ts
• Provides example Playwright spec with shared helper imports from core package
• Includes migration table translating legacy mocha+helper syntax to Playwright
• Explains how to run plugin tests and references the re-enabled coverage from commit cc80db2d3

doc/PLUGIN_FRONTEND_TESTS.md

---

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Code Review by Qodo

🐞 Bugs (0) 📘 Rule violations (0) 📎 Requirement gaps (0)

1. test-ui path filters plugins ☑ 📎 Requirement gap ≡ Correctness

Description

The Playwright config adds plugin testMatch globs, but pnpm run test-ui runs `npx playwright
test tests/frontend-new/specs`, which restricts discovery to core specs and can prevent plugin-owned
frontend specs from running in CI.

Code

src/playwright.config.ts[R22-34]

+const testDirRoot = '.';
+const testMatchGlobs = [
+    'tests/frontend-new/specs/**/*.spec.ts',
+    // Plugins installed via `pnpm add -w ep_*` (CI / dev workspace).
+    '../node_modules/ep_*/static/tests/frontend-new/specs/**/*.spec.ts',
+    // Plugins installed via the admin UI / live-plugin-manager land
+    // here instead of node_modules.
+    'plugin_packages/ep_*/static/tests/frontend-new/specs/**/*.spec.ts',
+];
+
export default defineConfig({
-    testDir: './tests/frontend-new/',
+    testDir: testDirRoot,
+    testMatch: testMatchGlobs,

Evidence

PR Compliance ID 1 requires plugin-owned frontend tests to actually execute in CI. The PR adds
plugin testMatch globs in src/playwright.config.ts, but the test-ui script still passes
tests/frontend-new/specs as a positional filter, which can exclude plugin spec paths (for example
../node_modules/ep_*/...) from execution.

Plugin-owned frontend tests must actually run in CI (not only core frontend-new specs)
src/playwright.config.ts[22-30]
src/package.json[153-154]
doc/PLUGIN_FRONTEND_TESTS.md[10-13]

Agent prompt

The issue below was found during a code review. Follow the provided context and guidance below and implement a solution

## Issue description
Plugin frontend specs may still not run in CI because the `test-ui` script passes `tests/frontend-new/specs` to `playwright test`, which can filter out plugin spec paths added via `testMatch`.
## Issue Context
The PR’s goal (Compliance ID 1) is that plugin-owned Playwright specs (for example under `../node_modules/ep_*/static/tests/frontend-new/specs/**`) execute when plugins are installed. This requires the CI entrypoint (`pnpm run test-ui`) to not restrict discovery to core-only paths.
## Fix Focus Areas
- src/package.json[153-154]
- src/playwright.config.ts[22-34]
- doc/PLUGIN_FRONTEND_TESTS.md[10-13]

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---

2. Admin tests excluded ☑ 🐞 Bug ≡ Correctness

Description

src/playwright.config.ts now defines an explicit testMatch that does not include
tests/frontend-new/admin-spec, so the admin Playwright suite will not be discovered. This breaks
pnpm run test-admin and the frontend-admin-tests GitHub Actions workflow (likely “No tests found” /
missing coverage).

Code

src/playwright.config.ts[R22-35]

+const testDirRoot = '.';
+const testMatchGlobs = [
+    'tests/frontend-new/specs/**/*.spec.ts',
+    // Plugins installed via `pnpm add -w ep_*` (CI / dev workspace).
+    '../node_modules/ep_*/static/tests/frontend-new/specs/**/*.spec.ts',
+    // Plugins installed via the admin UI / live-plugin-manager land
+    // here instead of node_modules.
+    'plugin_packages/ep_*/static/tests/frontend-new/specs/**/*.spec.ts',
+];
+
export default defineConfig({
-    testDir: './tests/frontend-new/',
+    testDir: testDirRoot,
+    testMatch: testMatchGlobs,
 /* Run tests in files in parallel */

Evidence

The new Playwright configuration limits discovery to core frontend specs and plugin spec locations
only, omitting the admin-spec directory. The repo’s test-admin script and CI workflow rely on
discovering tests under tests/frontend-new/admin-spec, and those tests exist as *.spec.ts files, so
they will not match the configured globs.

src/playwright.config.ts[22-35]
src/package.json[144-156]
.github/workflows/frontend-admin-tests.yml[71-92]
src/tests/frontend-new/admin-spec/adminsettings.spec.ts[1-6]

Agent prompt

The issue below was found during a code review. Follow the provided context and guidance below and implement a solution

## Issue description
Playwright config now sets an explicit `testMatch` list that excludes `tests/frontend-new/admin-spec/**/*.spec.ts`, so admin UI tests are no longer discovered.
### Issue Context
`pnpm run test-admin` (and `.github/workflows/frontend-admin-tests.yml`) runs Playwright against `tests/frontend-new/admin-spec`, which depends on config-based test discovery.
### Fix Focus Areas
- src/playwright.config.ts[22-30]
### Suggested change
Add an additional glob for admin tests, e.g.:
- `tests/frontend-new/admin-spec/**/*.spec.ts`
Optionally, consolidate with a brace pattern for readability:
- `tests/frontend-new/{specs,admin-spec}/**/*.spec.ts`

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---

3. test-ui runs admin project ☑ 🐞 Bug ☼ Reliability

Description

src/package.json now runs npx playwright test with no path or project filter, so it will execute
all configured projects including chromium-admin. The admin specs require extra setup (admin UI
enabled, admin frontend built) that is not part of the regular frontend test setup, causing
failures/flakes when pnpm run test-ui is run without --project.

Code

src/package.json[R153-154]

+    "test-ui": "cross-env NODE_ENV=production npx playwright test",
+    "test-ui:ui": "cross-env NODE_ENV=production npx playwright test --ui",

Evidence

The test-ui script no longer scopes to tests/frontend-new/specs, and the Playwright config now
defines three projects, including a dedicated chromium-admin project that matches admin specs. The
repo’s CI workflows demonstrate that admin tests require additional setup steps (enabling Admin UI
tests and building the admin frontend) that are not done for regular frontend tests, so running all
projects together from test-ui can break in environments that previously only ran pad-editor
specs.

src/package.json[144-156]
src/playwright.config.ts[49-70]
.github/workflows/frontend-admin-tests.yml[66-92]
.github/workflows/frontend-tests.yml[49-66]

Agent prompt

The issue below was found during a code review. Follow the provided context and guidance below and implement a solution

## Issue description
`pnpm run test-ui` now runs `npx playwright test` without limiting projects, so it can execute the `chromium-admin` project (admin specs) in contexts that do not prepare the Admin UI environment.
### Issue Context
Admin specs require setup that regular frontend runs do not do (enabling admin UI tests, building admin assets). CI avoids this by explicitly passing `--project=chromium`/`--project=firefox` for frontend and using a separate workflow/script for admin.
### Fix Focus Areas
- src/package.json[153-156]
- src/playwright.config.ts[49-70]
### Suggested change
Update the `test-ui` / `test-ui:ui` scripts to explicitly run only the frontend projects (e.g., `--project=chromium --project=firefox`), keeping `test-admin` as the only entry point that runs `chromium-admin`. Alternatively, move admin specs into a separate Playwright config and have `test-admin` pass `-c` to avoid including the admin project in the default config.

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---

4. testMatchGlobs uses 4-space indent ☑ 📘 Rule violation ⚙ Maintainability

Description

New/modified lines in src/playwright.config.ts use 4-space indentation, but the repository’s
.editorconfig requires 2-space indentation.

Code

src/playwright.config.ts[R23-34]

+const testMatchGlobs = [
+    'tests/frontend-new/specs/**/*.spec.ts',
+    // Plugins installed via `pnpm add -w ep_*` (CI / dev workspace).
+    '../node_modules/ep_*/static/tests/frontend-new/specs/**/*.spec.ts',
+    // Plugins installed via the admin UI / live-plugin-manager land
+    // here instead of node_modules.
+    'plugin_packages/ep_*/static/tests/frontend-new/specs/**/*.spec.ts',
+];
+
export default defineConfig({
-    testDir: './tests/frontend-new/',
+    testDir: testDirRoot,
+    testMatch: testMatchGlobs,

Evidence

PR Compliance ID 8 requires 2-space indentation for changed/added code. .editorconfig sets
indent_size = 2, but the added/modified config lines are indented with 4 spaces.

.editorconfig[3-8]
src/playwright.config.ts[23-34]
Best Practice: Repository guidelines

Agent prompt

The issue below was found during a code review. Follow the provided context and guidance below and implement a solution

## Issue description
Changed/added code in `src/playwright.config.ts` does not follow the repository’s required 2-space indentation.
## Issue Context
`.editorconfig` specifies `indent_size = 2` for all files by default.
## Fix Focus Areas
- src/playwright.config.ts[23-52]
- .editorconfig[3-8]

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---

[JohnMcLear]

/review

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Persistent review updated to latest commit 89c6186