Web testing (Playwright)
Web testing checks a website automatically: it crawls the pages, runs no-code click-through flows, compares screenshots against a baseline and alerts you when something breaks. Websites are standalone — you don't need a mobile project. Tests run on a build worker.
Open Web tests: app.venelx.com/web-tests.
Add a website
Click Add website and give it a name, then pick how to test it:
- Live website URL — a production, staging or preview site that is already running.
- Import Git repository — pick a GitHub repository and branch; Venelx builds and starts the site on the worker, then tests it. Uses your connected GitHub account.
Each website has four tabs: Runs, Tests & schedule, Secrets and Website. Testing is off until you enable it in Tests & schedule.
What gets tested
A website has one or more targets (for example production and staging). For each target you choose the checks:
| Check | What it does |
|---|---|
| Site check | Crawls pages (you set max pages, depth and excluded paths) and flags errors, broken pages and console or request errors. |
| Flows | Runs your no-code flows (below). |
| Visual diff vs baseline | Screenshots each page and compares to the approved baseline, with a threshold in percent. |
| Accessibility (axe) | Runs an accessibility scan on pages. |
| Code tests from the repo | Runs Playwright tests from your repository (repository mode). |
Other target options: desktop and/or mobile viewport, crawl limits, allowed console errors per
page, timeout, and an optional branch preview URL template (use a {branch} placeholder, for
example a Vercel-style preview address) so you can test a specific branch.
Sign-in: for sites behind a login you can use HTTP basic auth, custom headers, cookies, or a
login-page flow. Store the values as secrets and reference them as
{{env.KEY}}.
Repository mode also lets you override the install, build and start commands, set a root directory for monorepos, choose a port, and pass environment variables from your secrets.
Flows (no code)
A flow is a named list of steps starting at a path. Available steps: go to page, click, type into
a field, choose an option, press a key, hover, wait for, expect text, expect element visible,
expect URL contains, expect no console errors, screenshot (adds a visual baseline), and sign in.
In the editor, steps are chosen from a menu. You can check a flow without saving it with the MCP
validate_web_flow tool.
When tests run
- Manually — Run web tests on the Runs tab.
- On a schedule — hourly, every 6 hours, daily or weekly, with a time of day, weekday and timezone.
- On a deploy webhook — turn on the webhook and save to get a URL.
POSTto it from your CI after a deploy (optionally with JSON such as{"url":"https://...","branch":"main"}), or add it as a deployment webhook in Vercel or Netlify. Treat the URL as a secret.
Notifications: Notify on failure and on recovery, in the dashboard and to Slack or Discord webhooks you set on the Website tab.
Results and visual baselines
The Runs tab lists runs with status and a summary of pages, flows and visual differences. Open a run for per-page results, console errors and screenshots (baseline, current and diff).
The first run creates the baseline. When a visual change is intentional, click Approve all as baseline on the run, or approve a single page; later runs compare against it.
Secrets
The Secrets tab stores values (encrypted, never shown again) for sign-in and for
repository-mode builds. Use them in flows and sign-in as {{env.KEY}}. A secret named
GITHUB_TOKEN is used to clone private repositories.
MCP tools
| Tool | Scope | What it does |
|---|---|---|
list_web_sites | read | Lists websites with last status and schedule. |
web_test_runs | read | Lists recent runs for a site, or full results for one run. |
get_web_site_config | read | Returns the targets, flows, schedule, triggers and notifications. |
run_web_test | write | Queues a run; optional target, branch or URL override. |
create_web_site | write | Adds a website (URL and/or GitHub repo). |
update_web_site | write | Renames, or changes the URL, repo, Slack or Discord webhook. |
update_web_site_config | write | Replaces the targets, flows, schedule, triggers or notifications you pass. |
set_web_site_secrets | write | Sets or deletes secrets. |
validate_web_flow | write | Validates and normalizes a flow without saving. |
approve_web_baseline | write | Accepts a run's screenshots as the new baseline. |
delete_web_site | write | Permanently deletes a site with its runs and baselines. |
See MCP for setup.