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Locators

Introduction​

Locators are the central piece of Playwright's auto-waiting and retry-ability. In a nutshell, locators represent a way to find element(s) on the page at any moment.

Quick Guide​

These are the recommended built-in locators.

page.get_by_label("User Name").fill("John")

page.get_by_label("Password").fill("secret-password")

page.get_by_role("button", name="Sign in").click()

expect(page.get_by_text("Welcome, John!")).to_be_visible()

Locating elements​

Playwright comes with multiple built-in locators. To make tests resilient, we recommend prioritizing user-facing attributes and explicit contracts such as page.get_by_role().

For example, consider the following DOM structure.

http://localhost:3000
<button>Sign in</button>

Locate the element by its role of button with name "Sign in".

page.get_by_role("button", name="Sign in").click()
note

Use the code generator to generate a locator, and then edit it as you'd like.

Every time a locator is used for an action, an up-to-date DOM element is located in the page. In the snippet below, the underlying DOM element will be located twice, once prior to every action. This means that if the DOM changes in between the calls due to re-render, the new element corresponding to the locator will be used.

locator = page.get_by_role("button", name="Sign in")

locator.hover()
locator.click()

Note that all methods that create a locator, such as page.get_by_label(), are also available on the Locator and FrameLocator classes, so you can chain them and iteratively narrow down your locator.

locator = page.frame_locator("my-frame").get_by_role("button", name="Sign in")

locator.click()

Locate by role​

The page.get_by_role() locator reflects how users and assistive technology perceive the page, for example whether some element is a button or a checkbox. When locating by role, you should usually pass the accessible name as well, so that the locator pinpoints the exact element.

For example, consider the following DOM structure.

http://localhost:3000

Sign up


<h3>Sign up</h3>
<label>
  <input type="checkbox" /> Subscribe
</label>
<br/>
<button>Submit</button>

You can locate each element by its implicit role:

expect(page.get_by_role("heading", name="Sign up")).to_be_visible()

page.get_by_role("checkbox", name="Subscribe").check()

page.get_by_role("button", name=re.compile("submit", re.IGNORECASE)).click()

Role locators include buttons, checkboxes, headings, links, lists, tables, and many more and follow W3C specifications for ARIA role, ARIA attributes and accessible name. Note that many html elements like <button> have an implicitly defined role that is recognized by the role locator.

Note that role locators do not replace accessibility audits and conformance tests, but rather give early feedback about the ARIA guidelines.

When to use role locators

We recommend prioritizing role locators to locate elements, as it is the closest way to how users and assistive technology perceive the page.

Locate by label​

Most form controls usually have dedicated labels that could be conveniently used to interact with the form. In this case, you can locate the control by its associated label using page.get_by_label().

For example, consider the following DOM structure.

http://localhost:3000
<label>Password <input type="password" /></label>

You can fill the input after locating it by the label text:

page.get_by_label("Password").fill("secret")
When to use label locators

Use this locator when locating form fields.

Locate by placeholder​

Inputs may have a placeholder attribute to hint to the user what value should be entered. You can locate such an input using page.get_by_placeholder().

For example, consider the following DOM structure.

http://localhost:3000
<input type="email" placeholder="name@example.com" />

You can fill the input after locating it by the placeholder text:

page.get_by_placeholder("name@example.com").fill("playwright@microsoft.com")
When to use placeholder locators

Use this locator when locating form elements that do not have labels but do have placeholder texts.

Locate by text​

Find an element by the text it contains. You can match by a substring, exact string, or a regular expression when using page.get_by_text().

For example, consider the following DOM structure.

http://localhost:3000
Welcome, John
<span>Welcome, John</span>

You can locate the element by the text it contains:

expect(page.get_by_text("Welcome, John")).to_be_visible()

Set an exact match:

expect(page.get_by_text("Welcome, John", exact=True)).to_be_visible()

Match with a regular expression:

expect(page.get_by_text(re.compile("welcome, john", re.IGNORECASE))).to_be_visible()
note

Matching by text always normalizes whitespace, even with exact match. For example, it turns multiple spaces into one, turns line breaks into spaces and ignores leading and trailing whitespace.

When to use text locators

We recommend using text locators to find non interactive elements like div, span, p, etc. For interactive elements like button, a, input, etc. use role locators.

You can also filter by text which can be useful when trying to find a particular item in a list.

Locate by alt text​

All images should have an alt attribute that describes the image. You can locate an image based on the text alternative using page.get_by_alt_text().

For example, consider the following DOM structure.

http://localhost:3000
playwright logo
<img alt="playwright logo" src="/img/playwright-logo.svg" width="100" />

You can click on the image after locating it by the text alternative:

page.get_by_alt_text("playwright logo").click()
When to use alt locators

Use this locator when your element supports alt text such as img and area elements.

Locate by title​

Locate an element with a matching title attribute using page.get_by_title().

For example, consider the following DOM structure.

http://localhost:3000
25 issues
<span title='Issues count'>25 issues</span>

You can check the issues count after locating it by the title text:

expect(page.get_by_title("Issues count")).to_have_text("25 issues")
When to use title locators

Use this locator when your element has the title attribute.

Locate by test id​

Testing by test ids is the most resilient way of testing as even if your text or role of the attribute changes, the test will still pass. QA's and developers should define explicit test ids and query them with page.get_by_test_id(). However testing by test ids is not user facing. If the role or text value is important to you then consider using user facing locators such as role and text locators.

For example, consider the following DOM structure.

http://localhost:3000
<button data-testid="directions">Itinéraire</button>

You can locate the element by its test id:

page.get_by_test_id("directions").click()
When to use testid locators

You can also use test ids when you choose to use the test id methodology or when you can't locate by role or text.

Set a custom test id attribute​

By default, page.get_by_test_id() will locate elements based on the data-testid attribute, but you can configure it in your test config or by calling selectors.set_test_id_attribute().

Set the test id to use a custom data attribute for your tests.

playwright.selectors.set_test_id_attribute("data-pw")

In your html you can now use data-pw as your test id instead of the default data-testid.

http://localhost:3000
<button data-pw="directions">Itinéraire</button>

And then locate the element as you would normally do:

page.get_by_test_id("directions").click()

Locate by CSS or XPath​

If you absolutely must use CSS or XPath locators, you can use page.locator() to create a locator that takes a selector describing how to find an element in the page. Playwright supports CSS and XPath selectors, and auto-detects them if you omit css= or xpath= prefix.

page.locator("css=button").click()
page.locator("xpath=//button").click()

page.locator("button").click()
page.locator("//button").click()

XPath and CSS selectors can be tied to the DOM structure or implementation. These selectors can break when the DOM structure changes. Long CSS or XPath chains below are an example of a bad practice that leads to unstable tests:

page.locator(
    "#tsf > div:nth-child(2) > div.A8SBwf > div.RNNXgb > div > div.a4bIc > input"
).click()

page.locator('//*[@id="tsf"]/div[2]/div[1]/div[1]/div/div[2]/input').click()
When to use this

CSS and XPath are not recommended as the DOM can often change leading to non resilient tests. Instead, try to come up with a locator that is close to how the user perceives the page such as role locators or define an explicit testing contract using test ids.

Locate in Shadow DOM​

All locators in Playwright by default work with elements in Shadow DOM. The exceptions are:

Consider the following example with a custom web component:

<x-details role=button aria-expanded=true aria-controls=inner-details>
  <div>Title</div>
  #shadow-root
    <div id=inner-details>Details</div>
</x-details>

You can locate in the same way as if the shadow root was not present at all.

To click <div>Details</div>:

page.get_by_text("Details").click()
<x-details role=button aria-expanded=true aria-controls=inner-details>
  <div>Title</div>
  #shadow-root
    <div id=inner-details>Details</div>
</x-details>

To click <x-details>:

page.locator("x-details", has_text="Details" ).click()
<x-details role=button aria-expanded=true aria-controls=inner-details>
  <div>Title</div>
  #shadow-root
    <div id=inner-details>Details</div>
</x-details>

To ensure that <x-details> contains the text "Details":

expect(page.locator("x-details")).to_contain_text("Details")

Filtering Locators​

Consider the following DOM structure where we want to click on the buy button of the second product card. We have a few options in order to filter the locators to get the right one.

http://localhost:3000

  • Product 1

  • Product 2

<ul>
  <li>
    <h3>Product 1</h3>
    <button>Add to cart</button>
  </li>
  <li>
    <h3>Product 2</h3>
    <button>Add to cart</button>
  </li>
</ul>

Filter by text​

Locators can be filtered by text with the locator.filter() method. It will search for a particular string somewhere inside the element, possibly in a descendant element, case-insensitively. You can also pass a regular expression.

page.get_by_role("listitem").filter(has_text="Product 2").get_by_role(
    "button", name="Add to cart"
).click()

Use a regular expression:

page.get_by_role("listitem").filter(has_text=re.compile("Product 2")).get_by_role(
    "button", name="Add to cart"
).click()

Filter by not having text​

Alternatively, filter by not having text:

# 5 in-stock items
expect(page.get_by_role("listitem").filter(has_not_text="Out of stock")).to_have_count(5)

Filter by child/descendant​

Locators support an option to only select elements that have or have not a descendant matching another locator. You can therefore filter by any other locator such as a locator.get_by_role(), locator.get_by_test_id(), locator.get_by_text() etc.

http://localhost:3000

  • Product 1

  • Product 2

<ul>
  <li>
    <h3>Product 1</h3>
    <button>Add to cart</button>
  </li>
  <li>
    <h3>Product 2</h3>
    <button>Add to cart</button>
  </li>
</ul>
page.get_by_role("listitem").filter(
    has=page.get_by_role("heading", name="Product 2")
).get_by_role("button", name="Add to cart").click()

We can also assert the product card to make sure there is only one:

expect(
    page.get_by_role("listitem").filter(
        has=page.get_by_role("heading", name="Product 2")
    )
).to_have_count(1)

The filtering locator must be relative to the original locator and is queried starting with the original locator match, not the document root. Therefore, the following will not work, because the filtering locator starts matching from the <ul> list element that is outside of the <li> list item matched by the original locator:

# ✖ WRONG
expect(
    page.get_by_role("listitem").filter(
        has=page.get_by_role("list").get_by_role("heading", name="Product 2")
    )
).to_have_count(1)

Filter by not having child/descendant​

We can also filter by not having a matching element inside.

expect(
    page.get_by_role("listitem").filter(
        has_not=page.get_by_role("heading", name="Product 2")
    )
).to_have_count(1)

Note that the inner locator is matched starting from the outer one, not from the document root.

Locator operators​

Matching inside a locator​

You can chain methods that create a locator, like page.get_by_text() or locator.get_by_role(), to narrow down the search to a particular part of the page.

In this example we first create a locator called product by locating its role of listitem. We then filter by text. We can use the product locator again to get by role of button and click it and then use an assertion to make sure there is only one product with the text "Product 2".

product = page.get_by_role("listitem").filter(has_text="Product 2")

product.get_by_role("button", name="Add to cart").click()

You can also chain two locators together, for example to find a "Save" button inside a particular dialog:

save_button = page.get_by_role("button", name="Save")
# ...
dialog = page.get_by_test_id("settings-dialog")
dialog.locator(save_button).click()

Matching two locators simultaneously​

Method locator.and_() narrows down an existing locator by matching an additional locator. For example, you can combine page.get_by_role() and page.get_by_title() to match by both role and title.

button = page.get_by_role("button").and_(page.getByTitle("Subscribe"))

Matching one of the two alternative locators​

If you'd like to target one of the two or more elements, and you don't know which one it will be, use locator.or_() to create a locator that matches any one or both of the alternatives.

For example, consider a scenario where you'd like to click on a "New email" button, but sometimes a security settings dialog shows up instead. In this case, you can wait for either a "New email" button, or a dialog and act accordingly.

note

If both "New email" button and security dialog appear on screen, the "or" locator will match both of them, possibly throwing the "strict mode violation" error. In this case, you can use locator.first to only match one of them.

new_email = page.get_by_role("button", name="New")
dialog = page.get_by_text("Confirm security settings")
expect(new_email.or_(dialog).first).to_be_visible()
if (dialog.is_visible()):
  page.get_by_role("button", name="Dismiss").click()
new_email.click()

Matching only visible elements​

note

It's usually better to find a more reliable way to uniquely identify the element instead of checking the visibility.

Consider a page with two buttons, the first invisible and the second visible.

<button style='display: none'>Invisible</button>
<button>Visible</button>

  • This will find both buttons and throw a strictness violation error:

    page.locator("button").click()

  • This will only find a second button, because it is visible, and then click it.

    page.locator("button").locator("visible=true").click()

Lists​

Count items in a list​

You can assert locators in order to count the items in a list.

For example, consider the following DOM structure:

http://localhost:3000
  • apple
  • banana
  • orange
<ul>
  <li>apple</li>
  <li>banana</li>
  <li>orange</li>
</ul>

Use the count assertion to ensure that the list has 3 items.

expect(page.get_by_role("listitem")).to_have_count(3)

Assert all text in a list​

You can assert locators in order to find all the text in a list.

For example, consider the following DOM structure:

http://localhost:3000
  • apple
  • banana
  • orange
<ul>
  <li>apple</li>
  <li>banana</li>
  <li>orange</li>
</ul>

Use expect(locator).to_have_text() to ensure that the list has the text "apple", "banana" and "orange".

expect(page.get_by_role("listitem")).to_have_text(["apple", "banana", "orange"])

Get a specific item​

There are many ways to get a specific item in a list.

Get by text​

Use the page.get_by_text() method to locate an element in a list by its text content and then click on it.

For example, consider the following DOM structure:

http://localhost:3000
  • apple
  • banana
  • orange
<ul>
  <li>apple</li>
  <li>banana</li>
  <li>orange</li>
</ul>

Locate an item by its text content and click it.

page.get_by_text("orange").click()

Filter by text​

Use the locator.filter() to locate a specific item in a list.

For example, consider the following DOM structure:

http://localhost:3000
  • apple
  • banana
  • orange
<ul>
  <li>apple</li>
  <li>banana</li>
  <li>orange</li>
</ul>

Locate an item by the role of "listitem" and then filter by the text of "orange" and then click it.

page.get_by_role("listitem").filter(has_text="orange").click()

Get by test id​

Use the page.get_by_test_id() method to locate an element in a list. You may need to modify the html and add a test id if you don't already have a test id.

For example, consider the following DOM structure:

http://localhost:3000
  • apple
  • banana
  • orange
<ul>
  <li data-testid='apple'>apple</li>
  <li data-testid='banana'>banana</li>
  <li data-testid='orange'>orange</li>
</ul>

Locate an item by its test id of "orange" and then click it.

page.get_by_test_id("orange").click()

Get by nth item​

If you have a list of identical elements, and the only way to distinguish between them is the order, you can choose a specific element from a list with locator.first, locator.last or locator.nth().

banana = page.get_by_role("listitem").nth(1)

However, use this method with caution. Often times, the page might change, and the locator will point to a completely different element from the one you expected. Instead, try to come up with a unique locator that will pass the strictness criteria.

Chaining filters​

When you have elements with various similarities, you can use the locator.filter() method to select the right one. You can also chain multiple filters to narrow down the selection.

For example, consider the following DOM structure:

http://localhost:3000
  • John
  • Mary
  • John
  • Mary
<ul>
  <li>
    <div>John</div>
    <div><button>Say hello</button></div>
  </li>
  <li>
    <div>Mary</div>
    <div><button>Say hello</button></div>
  </li>
  <li>
    <div>John</div>
    <div><button>Say goodbye</button></div>
  </li>
  <li>
    <div>Mary</div>
    <div><button>Say goodbye</button></div>
  </li>
</ul>

To take a screenshot of the row with "Mary" and "Say goodbye":

row_locator = page.get_by_role("listitem")

row_locator.filter(has_text="Mary").filter(
    has=page.get_by_role("button", name="Say goodbye")
).screenshot(path="screenshot.png")

You should now have a "screenshot.png" file in your project's root directory.

Rare use cases​

Do something with each element in the list​

Iterate elements:

for row in page.get_by_role("listitem").all():
    print(row.text_content())

Iterate using regular for loop:

rows = page.get_by_role("listitem")
count = rows.count()
for i in range(count):
    print(rows.nth(i).text_content())

Evaluate in the page​

The code inside locator.evaluate_all() runs in the page, you can call any DOM apis there.

rows = page.get_by_role("listitem")
texts = rows.evaluate_all("list => list.map(element => element.textContent)")

Strictness​

Locators are strict. This means that all operations on locators that imply some target DOM element will throw an exception if more than one element matches. For example, the following call throws if there are several buttons in the DOM:

Throws an error if more than one​

page.get_by_role("button").click()

On the other hand, Playwright understands when you perform a multiple-element operation, so the following call works perfectly fine when the locator resolves to multiple elements.

Works fine with multiple elements​

page.get_by_role("button").count()

You can explicitly opt-out from strictness check by telling Playwright which element to use when multiple elements match, through locator.first, locator.last, and locator.nth(). These methods are not recommended because when your page changes, Playwright may click on an element you did not intend. Instead, follow best practices above to create a locator that uniquely identifies the target element.

More Locators​

For less commonly used locators, look at the other locators guide.