🎉 Major Release: Auto-Detection & Smart Test Management

Version 4.0.0 brings significant workflow improvements that eliminate common friction points when testing with Playwright.

✨ What's New

🔍 Auto-Detect Dev Servers

• Automatically scans common ports (3000, 3001, 3002, 5173, 8080, 8000, 4200, 5000, 9000, 1234)
• Smart workflow:
• 1 server found → Uses automatically
• Multiple servers → Asks which one to test
• No servers → Asks for URL or offers to help start one
• No more hardcoded URLs or manual edits!

🧹 Clean Test Management

• All test scripts now written to /tmp/playwright-test-*.js
• Automatic cleanup by OS (no project clutter)
• No more test files polluting your skill directory

🔗 URL Parameterization

• Every example includes TARGET_URL constant at the top
• Easy to modify if auto-detection picks wrong server
• Consistent pattern across all code examples

📚 Inline Execution Support

• Quick one-off tasks can be executed inline
• No file creation for simple screenshots or checks
• Documentation on when to use inline vs files

🔧 Technical Changes

New Functions:

• detectDevServers() in lib/helpers.js - Scans for running servers

Documentation:

• Complete rewrite of SKILL.md with critical workflow section
• Updated all examples to use /tmp and parameterized URLs
• New execution pattern showing server detection flow
• Enhanced tips section with best practices

📊 Impact

Before v4.0.0 (from real user transcript):

• ❌ Hardcoded localhost:3000
• ❌ Server was on port 3001 → required 3 manual edits
• ❌ No server detection
• ❌ Test files cluttered skill directory
• ❌ Hook errors from writing to wrong location

After v4.0.0:

• ✅ Auto-detects port 3001
• ✅ Zero manual edits needed
• ✅ Proactive server detection
• ✅ All files in /tmp (clean)
• ✅ No hook errors

🚀 Upgrade Notes

This is a major version bump due to workflow changes:

Breaking Changes:

• Skill now expects to run server detection before localhost testing
• Test files are written to /tmp instead of skill directory

Migration:

• No action needed - skill handles everything automatically
• Old test files in skill directory can be safely deleted

📖 Documentation

Updated examples show the new workflow:

1. Auto-detect servers
2. Write test to /tmp with parameterized URL
3. Execute and enjoy clean results

See SKILL.md for complete details and examples.

---

Full Changelog: https://github.com/lackeyjb/playwright-skill/compare/v3.2.0...v4.0.0