Automated Testing

Varbase 11.0.x includes a comprehensive automated functional acceptance testing suite built with Playwright, Cucumber-JS, and Webship-js.

Overview

The testing suite provides end-to-end testing of Varbase features using Behaviour-Driven Development (BDD). Tests are written in plain language (Gherkin syntax) making them readable by all team members, and are executed against real browser instances.

Technology Stack

Tool	Role
Playwright	Browser automation and end-to-end testing framework. Supports Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit.
Cucumber-JS	BDD test runner that executes tests written in Gherkin (Given/When/Then) plain language syntax.
Webship-js	Automated functional acceptance testing tool with pre-built step definitions for Drupal Core and Drupal CMS.

Prerequisites

• DDEV local development environment

• Node.js >= 20

• Yarn 4 (enabled via corepack)

Quick Start

Fresh Build (New Site)

# 1. Start a fresh DDEV environment
ddev start

# 2. Install Varbase and initialize testing
ddev init-full-automated-testing

# 3. Install Playwright browsers
ddev yarn install
ddev npx playwright install-deps
ddev npx playwright install

# 4. Run tests
ddev yarn test:chromium

Already Installed Site

# 1. Initialize testing on an existing site (adds test users, prepares settings)
ddev init-minimal-automated-testing

# 2. Install Playwright browsers
ddev yarn install
ddev npx playwright install-deps
ddev npx playwright install

# 3. Run tests
ddev yarn test:chromium

DDEV Commands for Testing Varbase

ddev install-varbase

Installs Varbase from scratch using drush site:install varbase with the Varbase profile and Drupal recipes.

# Minimal install: core Varbase only (no extra recipes)
ddev install-varbase minimal

# Full install: core + dev, i18n, api, auth recipes + social auth modules
ddev install-varbase full

ddev init-full-automated-testing

Full initialization for automated testing. Handles everything from a fresh ddev start:

1. Installs Varbase if the database is empty

2. Applies optional Varbase recipes (varbase_dev_base, varbase_i18n_base, varbase_api_base, varbase_auth_base, varbase_ai_base)

3. Enables social auth modules (social_auth_facebook, social_auth_linkedin)

4. Adds testing users for each Varbase role

5. Disables the antibot module (required for automated browser testing)

6. Disables CSS/JS aggregation

7. Sets verbose error logging

ddev init-minimal-automated-testing

Minimal initialization for automated testing on an already installed site. Does not install Varbase or apply recipes:

1. Verifies Drupal is installed (exits with error if not)

2. Adds testing users for each Varbase role

3. Disables the antibot module

4. Disables CSS/JS aggregation

5. Sets verbose error logging

ddev add-testing-users / ddev delete-testing-users

Manage testing user accounts individually.

Running Tests

# Run all tests with Chromium
ddev yarn test:chromium

# Run all tests with Firefox
ddev yarn test:firefox

# Run all tests with WebKit
ddev yarn test:webkit

Running Specific Tests

# Run scenarios matching a name (regex filter)
LAUNCH_URL=https://VARBASE_PROJECT.ddev.site BROWSER=chromium \
  node ./node_modules/@cucumber/cucumber/bin/cucumber.js \
  --config cucumber.js --name "Canvas editor"

# Run tests by tag
LAUNCH_URL=https://VARBASE_PROJECT.ddev.site BROWSER=chromium \
  node ./node_modules/@cucumber/cucumber/bin/cucumber.js \
  --config cucumber.js --tags "@check"

Test Structure

tests/
  features/
    01-website-base-requirements/    # Registration, roles, input formats, languages, accessibility
    02-user-management/              # Login, passwords, role assignment, login redirect
    03-admin-management/             # Admin pages, masquerade, media, JSON:API
    04-content-structure/            # Content types, Canvas pages, blog, homepage, contact, breadcrumbs
    05-content-management/           # Entityqueues, media library, workflows, scheduling, cloning, trash
  step-definitions/
    varbase-step-definitions.js      # Varbase-specific step definitions
  assets/
    flag-earth.jpg                   # Test asset for media upload scenarios

Step definitions from Webship-js are loaded automatically from node_modules/webship-js/tests/step-definitions/.

Test Suites

01 - Website Base Requirements

Feature	Description
Welcome Tour	Admin dashboard displays after login
User Registration	Only admins can register new users
User Roles	Default roles (Content editor, Content Admin, SEO Admin, Site Admin, Super Admin) are present
Input Formats	Rich text editor formats are available to authorized users
Website Languages	Internationalization configuration is accessible
Accessibility Checker	Editoria11y accessibility checker permissions

02 - User Management

Feature	Description
Request New Password	Password reset functionality
Create Users and Assign Roles	Site admins can create accounts and assign roles
User Login	Login functionality for existing accounts
Persistent Login	Session persistence during browser sessions
User Protect	User account protection for admin accounts
Role Assign	Role assignment permissions and delegation
Login Redirect	Admin roles redirect to dashboard, authenticated users to profile

03 - Admin Management

Feature	Description
Admin Pages	Pre-check of important admin and development pages
Masquerade	Site admins can switch users to view the site as another user
Keyboard Navigation	Navigate admin with Coffee module keyboard shortcut
Disable Users	Admins can block user accounts
Media Usage	Image media and usage list page for admins
JSON:API	JSON:API admin interface and services checks
Audit Trail	Admin audit trail access permissions
Media Bulk Upload	Media bulk upload access permissions

04 - Content Structure

Feature	Description
Page Permissions	Page content type permissions by role
Canvas Pages	Canvas page builder permissions
Breadcrumbs	Standard breadcrumb navigation
Blog Permissions	Blog post content type permissions by role
Blog Page	Blog listing page renders correctly
Contact Us	Contact form page is accessible
Homepage	Homepage loads and displays expected content
Canvas Editor	Drupal Canvas visual page editor access

05 - Content Management

Feature	Description
Entityqueues	Entityqueue management permissions
Cloning	Content and entity cloning via Entity Clone
Media Library	Media library access permissions
Linkit	Internal content linking configuration
Content Workflows	Content moderation workflow configuration
Content Scheduling	Scheduled publishing and unpublishing
Trash Management	Soft-deleted content management

Testing Users

The following test users are created during testing initialization:

Username	Email	Role
webmaster	[email protected]	administrator
Normal user	[email protected]	authenticated
Content editor	[email protected]	content_editor
Content admin	[email protected]	content_admin
SEO admin	[email protected]	seo_admin
Site admin	[email protected]	site_admin
Super admin	[email protected]	administrator

All test user passwords: dD.123123ddd

Configuration Files

cucumber.js

Cucumber-JS configuration file defining:

• Test timeout (40 seconds)

• Step definition paths (Webship-js + Varbase custom)

• Feature file paths

• World parameters (launch URL, wait times, test user credentials)

The launchUrl defaults to the LAUNCH_URL environment variable, then DDEV_PRIMARY_URL, then https://localhost.

playwright.config.ts

Playwright browser configuration:

• Headless mode enabled by default

• SlowMo set to 300ms for stability

• HTTPS certificate errors ignored (for DDEV self-signed certs)

• Chromium launched with sandbox disabled for CI compatibility

• Browser selected via the BROWSER environment variable (defaults to chromium)

Example Local Varbase Automated Testing with DDEV

mkdir my-varbase-site ;
cd my-varbase-site ;
ddev config --project-type=drupal11 --docroot=web --php-version=8.4 ;
ddev start ;
ddev composer create-project "drupal/varbase_project:11.0.x-dev" --no-interaction ;
ddev init-full-automated-testing ;
ddev yarn install ;
ddev npx playwright install-deps chromium ;
ddev npx playwright install chromium ;
ddev yarn test:chromium ;

To See the Test in Your local Browser

1- Change headless: true, to headless: false, in the playwright.config.js file.

2- Change to launchUrl: 'https://my-varbase-site.ddev.site', in the cucumber.js file.

3- Run in your local development, not with DDEV

yarn install ;
npx playwright install-deps chromium ;
npx playwright install chromium ;
yarn test:chromium ;

Custom Step Definitions

Varbase provides custom step definitions in tests/step-definitions/varbase-step-definitions.js that extend the Webship-js base:

Step	Example
Login as a configured user	Given I am a logged in user with the "Content admin" user
Browse as anonymous	Given I am an anonymous user
Check a checkbox by label	When I check the box "Remember me"
Assert checkbox checked	Then I should see the "Remember me" checkbox checked
Assert checkbox unchecked	Then I should see the "Remember me" checkbox unchecked
Wait for page load	And wait
Click tour next button	When I click next button in tour
Assert element in container	Then I should see the "#edit-title" element in the ".form-wrapper" field
Assert element not in container	Then I should not see the "#edit-title" element in the ".form-wrapper" field

Additional step definitions are loaded from Webship-js which provides a comprehensive library of Drupal-aware steps for navigation, forms, content, media, and more.

Writing New Tests

Feature files use Gherkin syntax. Each scenario describes a user story with Given/When/Then steps:

Feature: Content Structure - Blog post permissions
      As a site admin user
      I want to control who can create and manage Blog posts
      So that only authorized users can publish blog content.

  @javascript @check @local @development @staging @production
  Scenario: Check that the webmaster can access the blog listing
    Given I am a logged in user with the "webmaster" user
     When I go to "/admin/content"
      And wait
     Then I should see "Content"

Tags

Tests use tags to control execution scope:

Tag	Purpose
@javascript	Requires browser execution
@check	Quick verification tests
@local	Suitable for local development
@development	Suitable for development environments
@staging	Suitable for staging environments
@production	Suitable for production (read-only checks)

Place new feature files in the appropriate numbered directory under tests/features/ following the existing naming convention.