I recently set up Continuous Integration (CI) using a standard browser instead of a headless one. Each time developers check in new code, our smoke test scripts execute as a background task on the automation server, providing results and screenshots in cases of failures. However, I’m trying to understand the specific benefits of utilizing a headless browser compared to this method. Our smoke tests need to cover more complex scenarios, such as submitting a large form that encompasses various controls like date pickers and file uploads, rather than just simply loading a webpage.
Headless browsers are great for your CI setup since they run tests without a UI, making them faster and less resource-intensive.
- Performance: Faster execution compared to standard browsers as they run in the background without rendering a UI.
- Resource Efficiency: Uses less CPU and memory, which is ideal for CI pipelines.
- Automation: Perfect for running tests that don't require user interaction visually.
- Versatility: Can handle complex scenarios like form submissions, file uploads, and more, just as full browsers do.
This should help with your more complex smoke test scenarios!