Reqnroll + Playwright Setup Guide for .NET (C# E2E Testing)

Conclusion

By combining Reqnroll (BDD) and Playwright (browser automation), you can build readable, maintainable E2E tests in .NET.
This guide walks you through a complete setup so you can start running browser-based tests quickly in C#.

What You’ll Learn in This Guide

In this tutorial, you’ll learn:

How to install Reqnroll
How to install Playwright in .NET
How to create a test project
Basic configuration for Reqnroll + Playwright
How to run your first E2E test

This is ideal for developers building automated UI tests with C# and .NET.

Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure you have:

.NET SDK installed
Visual Studio or Visual Studio Code

Install Reqnroll

Step 1: Install Extension in Visual Studio

Open Visual Studio
Go to Extensions → Manage Extensions
Search for Reqnroll and install it
Restart Visual Studio

After installation, you’ll be able to create a Reqnroll project template.

Step 2: Create a Test Project

When creating a new project:

Select Reqnroll Project
Choose a test framework (e.g., xUnit)

A sample project will be generated automatically.

You can:

Build the project
Run tests from Test Explorer

The sample may fail (due to placeholder code), but confirms setup is working.

Install Playwright (.NET)

Step 1: Install via NuGet

Install Playwright in your project:

Step 2: Install Browsers

After installation, a script file will be generated.

Run the following command:

pwsh .\bin\Debug\net8.0\playwright.ps1 install

This installs the required browser binaries.

Configure Playwright with Reqnroll

Create Hooks

Create a Hooks folder and add a file named PlaywrightHooks.cs.

using Microsoft.Playwright;

[Binding]
public class PlaywrightHooks
{
    private static IPlaywright _playwright;
    private static IBrowser _browser;

    public static IBrowser Browser => _browser;

    [BeforeTestRun]
    public static async Task BeforeTestRun()
    {
        _playwright = await Playwright.CreateAsync();
        _browser = await _playwright.Chromium.LaunchAsync(new BrowserTypeLaunchOptions
        {
            Headless = false
        });
    }

    [AfterTestRun]
    public static async Task AfterTestRun()
    {
        await _browser.CloseAsync();
        _playwright.Dispose();
    }
}

This hook initializes and closes the browser for your test run.

Update Step Definitions

Modify your Step Definition class to use Playwright.

private IBrowserContext _context;
private IPage _page;

[BeforeScenario]
public async Task Setup()
{
    _context = await PlaywrightHooks.Browser.NewContextAsync();
    _page = await _context.NewPageAsync();
}

[Given("I open the site")]
public async Task OpenSite()
{
    await _page.GotoAsync("https://playwright.dev/");
}

This code opens a browser and navigates to a website.

Update Feature File

Edit your Feature file as follows:

Scenario: Open site
  Given I open the site

Make sure your file encoding is UTF-8 to avoid character issues.

Run the Test

When you run the test:

The browser will launch automatically
The test will execute the defined steps
The page will open via Playwright

From here, you can extend your tests:

Click buttons
Fill forms
Verify page transitions

Architecture of Reqnroll + Playwright

The structure of your test looks like this:

Feature File (Reqnroll)
        ↓
Step Definitions (C#)
        ↓
Playwright
        ↓
Browser Automation

Benefits of This Architecture

Readable test scenarios (BDD style)
Clean separation of logic and behavior
Maintainable and scalable test code

Summary

In this guide, you learned how to set up Reqnroll and Playwright in a .NET environment.

Key takeaways:

Reqnroll is a BDD testing framework for .NET
Playwright is a modern browser automation tool
You can automate E2E tests using C#
The combination enables readable and maintainable test code

If you’re building modern E2E tests in .NET, this setup is a powerful and practical starting point.