- Draft or repair a spec — use @playwright/cli. Cheap snapshots, repo on disk, human PR. See Playwright MCP alternatives for AI testing.
- Gate a release — use npx playwright test on a committed file. This is the Playwright MCP alternative for test automation.
- Long explore, no shell — keep MCP. Do not merge the session. Export a spec or throw it away.
- Audit, ownership, self-host — a software quality factory. QA process lives in Playwright MCP alternatives for QA teams.
# Alternative A — coding agent (not CI)
npx @playwright/cli@latest snapshot
# Alternative B — the only merge gate
npx playwright test tests/checkout.spec.ts --project=chromium
# Keep MCP off the required check
# npx @playwright/mcp@latest # explore only
import { test, expect } from "@playwright/test";
test("Pay now enables only after a valid card", async ({ page }) => {
await page.goto("/checkout");
const pay = page.getByRole("button", { name: "Pay now" });
await expect(pay).toBeDisabled();
await page.getByLabel("Card number").fill("4242424242424242");
await page.getByLabel("Expiry").fill("12/30");
await page.getByLabel("CVC").fill("123");
await expect(pay).toBeEnabled();
});
If you need this as a factory rather than a personal stack, use AI quality engineering services. Start with the QA maturity assessment to see where governance gaps sit before choosing a stack.