Run Your First Test
With a workflow saved and GitHub connected, you're ready to trigger a live test run and watch it execute in real time.
Prerequisites: Complete Connect GitHub first.
Step 1 — Open your workflow
Open the Playrunner editor and select the workflow you created in the previous tutorial.
Step 2 — Trigger a manual run
Check the runner menu before starting. In a local installation, select Local Runner. In Playrunner Cloud, select Playrunner Cloud for Playrunner's servers, or choose an online computer under Your machines. Use Connect a machine and the machine setup guide to supply your own compute while keeping reports in Cloud. The machine can be a laptop, server or VM and does not have to be the computer showing the editor.
Click the ▶ Run button in the editor toolbar. Playrunner will:
- Start the Orchestrator (if not already running)
- Clone your GitHub repository into an isolated Docker container
- Execute your Playwright tests inside that container
- Deliver live logs to the editor (SSE locally, event polling in Cloud)
Step 3 — Watch the live logs
Each node displays its status as the run progresses:
| Node colour | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 🟡 Yellow / pulsing | Currently executing |
| 🟢 Green | Passed |
| 🔴 Red | Failed |
Click any node while it's running (or after) to open the log panel and see the raw test output.
Follow progress in Live executions
Open Live executions from the sidebar to follow active workflows and recent runs. Each execution card starts collapsed. Use the arrow beside its title to expand or collapse that card independently of other runs.
A collapsed card shows the workflow title, project when available, runner provider, elapsed time, start time, and overall status. Each workflow node has an icon with a status indicator that continues updating while the card is collapsed. Hover over an icon to read the node's name and status; these labels are also available to screen readers.
Expand the card again to see node progress, runner resources when available, the execution ID, and workflow or report links. Inside an expanded card, each workflow node initially hides its child processes. Use the node's own arrow to reveal discovery, numbered shards, and report aggregation, or collapse the node again to hide those details.
The parent row keeps its combined test progress visible while its child processes are hidden and the execution card is expanded: completed and total tests, percentage, remaining tests, and passed, failed, skipped, and running counts. Shard counts are added together; discovery and aggregation do not count the same tests again. For example, shards reporting 53 of 236 and 47 of 226 tests produce 100 of 462 completed tests on the parent.
A running node without test counts shows an activity bar until progress is available. Expanded child rows retain their own status, progress, runner resources when available, and report links. Card and child-process expand/collapse choices stay in place during live updates and reconnections, including when a run completes. Expanding a card restores its child-process choices; reloading the page resets both levels.
During a connection interruption, running progress is marked Last reported. Collapsed cards replace running indicators with a warning icon labelled Last reported running. Runs with no recent activity show Status unconfirmed; expand the card for the last-update details.
Step 4 — Inspect the result
Once the run finishes:
- Right-click a Playwright node → View Report to open the full Playwright HTML report in a new tab.
- The report is stored per-run under a unique ID, so historical reports are always available.
Step 5 — Run the saved workflow from the CLI
To start this saved workflow from a terminal or CI/CD pipeline, follow the CLI run guide. It covers API tokens, workflow IDs, waiting and timeouts, workflow inputs, source-change context, and CI/CD setup.
Troubleshooting a failed run
| Symptom | Likely cause |
|---|---|
| Node stays yellow indefinitely | Orchestrator container not running — check docker ps |
git clone fails | GitHub token expired or repo access revoked |
| Tests error immediately | Wrong Playwright version selected for your project |
See the Troubleshooting guide for more detail.