[Regression]: Specific tests are failing locally on Playwright version 1.59.0

[mahtabnejad90]

Version

1.59.0

Steps to reproduce

1. Update Playwright dependency to the latest via yarn add @playwright/test@latest
2. Update Playwright browser/dependencies to the latest via yarn playwright install
3. Run tests that were passing in the previous version ``
4. See failing tests

Expected behavior

Subset of tests should pass as expected with version 1.59.0

Actual behavior

Subset of tests are failing as expected with version 1.59.0

➜  desktop git:(main) ✗ yarn playwright:web:test test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts --retries=0
yarn run v1.22.22
$ npx playwright test --config=playwright.web.config.ts test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts --retries=0
$ TEST_PORT=8081 NODE_ENV=test APP_ENV=test SKIP_TYPE_CHECK=true MANIFEST_V3=true PLAYWRIGHT=true node --no-deprecation server
[WebServer] VERSION:2026-04-01T17:35:12.687Z
[WebServer] EXTENSION_VERSION:3.1.60401.1735
[WebServer] GIT_BRANCH:undefined
[WebServer] GIT_REVISION:undefined
[WebServer] [HPM] Proxy created: [Function: path]  ->  http://localhost:6001
[WebServer] ℹ ｢wds｣: Project is running at http://localhost:8081/webpack-dev-server/
[WebServer] ℹ ｢wds｣: webpack output is served from http://localhost:8081/~backend/build/
[WebServer] ℹ ｢wds｣: Content not from webpack is served from /~backend/build
[WebServer] ℹ ｢wds｣: 404s will fallback to /index.html
[WebServer] Listening at http://localhost:8081
[WebServer] ⚡️  Starting Webpack Server...  ⚡️
[WebServer] ℹ ｢wdm｣: wait until bundle finished: /~backend/build/index.html
[WebServer] 
[WebServer] Rebuilding extension/manifest.json
[WebServer] ℹ ｢wdm｣: Time: 16652ms
[WebServer] ℹ ｢wdm｣: Compiled successfully.

Running 6 tests using 6 workers

  ✘  1 … test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:72:11 › Share availability › (google) › time slot selection › should not let a user start dragging from a time in the past (30.1s)
  ✘  2 [chromium] › test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:99:11 › Share availability › (google) › sidebar › clicking Cancel closes the sidebar (30.1s)
  ✘  3 [chromium] › test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:104:11 › Share availability › (google) › sidebar › typing in title does not trigger global shortcuts (30.1s)
  ✘  4 …m] › test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:115:11 › Share availability › (google) › sidebar › Tab moves focus from title through sidebar fields to footer buttons (30.1s)
  ✘  5 [chromium] › test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:94:11 › Share availability › (google) › sidebar › Escape closes the sidebar (30.1s)
  ✘  6 [chromium] › test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:85:11 › Share availability › (google) › sidebar › title input is focused when the sidebar opens (30.1s)


  1) [chromium] › test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:72:11 › Share availability › (google) › time slot selection › should not let a user start dragging from a time in the past 

    Test timeout of 30000ms exceeded while running "beforeEach" hook.

      60 |
      61 |     describe('time slot selection', () => {
    > 62 |       beforeEach(async ({ page, pageHelper, commandHelper, flagsHelper }) => {
         |                 ^
      63 |         await flagsHelper.disable(FlagNames.RECURRING_AVAILABILITY)
      64 |         await shareAvailabilityOnNewDraftByProvider({
      65 |           provider: 'google',
        at /Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:62:17

    Error: locator.waitFor: Test timeout of 30000ms exceeded.
    Call log:
      - waiting for locator('.Command') to be visible


       at ../../pages/command_palette_page.ts:15

      13 |     await this._page.keyboard.press(key)
      14 |
    > 15 |     await this._page.locator('.Command').waitFor({ state: 'visible' })
         |                                          ^
      16 |
      17 |     return this.in()
      18 |   }
        at CommandPalettePage.open (/Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/pages/command_palette_page.ts:15:42)
        at CommandPalettePage.run (/Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/pages/command_palette_page.ts:21:5)
        at shareAvailabilityOnNewDraftByProvider (/Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:221:3)
        at /Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:64:9

    attachment #1: screenshot (image/png) ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
    playwright-test-results/share_availability-Share-a-dd035-ing-from-a-time-in-the-past-chromium/test-failed-1.png
    ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

    Error Context: playwright-test-results/share_availability-Share-a-dd035-ing-from-a-time-in-the-past-chromium/error-context.md

  2) [chromium] › test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:85:11 › Share availability › (google) › sidebar › title input is focused when the sidebar opens 

    Test timeout of 30000ms exceeded while running "beforeEach" hook.

      79 |
      80 |     describe('sidebar', () => {
    > 81 |       beforeEach(async ({ page, pageHelper, commandHelper, flagsHelper }) => {
         |                 ^
      82 |         await openShareAvailabilitySidebar({ pageHelper, page, commandHelper, flagsHelper })
      83 |       })
      84 |
        at /Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:81:17

    Error: locator.waitFor: Test timeout of 30000ms exceeded.
    Call log:
      - waiting for locator('.Command') to be visible


       at ../../pages/command_palette_page.ts:15

      13 |     await this._page.keyboard.press(key)
      14 |
    > 15 |     await this._page.locator('.Command').waitFor({ state: 'visible' })
         |                                          ^
      16 |
      17 |     return this.in()
      18 |   }
        at CommandPalettePage.open (/Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/pages/command_palette_page.ts:15:42)
        at CommandPalettePage.run (/Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/pages/command_palette_page.ts:21:5)
        at openShareAvailabilitySidebar (/Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:251:3)
        at /Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:82:9

    attachment #1: screenshot (image/png) ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
    playwright-test-results/share_availability-Share-a-0682b-used-when-the-sidebar-opens-chromium/test-failed-1.png
    ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

    Error Context: playwright-test-results/share_availability-Share-a-0682b-used-when-the-sidebar-opens-chromium/error-context.md

  3) [chromium] › test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:94:11 › Share availability › (google) › sidebar › Escape closes the sidebar 

    Test timeout of 30000ms exceeded while running "beforeEach" hook.

      79 |
      80 |     describe('sidebar', () => {
    > 81 |       beforeEach(async ({ page, pageHelper, commandHelper, flagsHelper }) => {
         |                 ^
      82 |         await openShareAvailabilitySidebar({ pageHelper, page, commandHelper, flagsHelper })
      83 |       })
      84 |
        at /Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:81:17

    Error: locator.waitFor: Test timeout of 30000ms exceeded.
    Call log:
      - waiting for locator('.Command') to be visible


       at ../../pages/command_palette_page.ts:15

      13 |     await this._page.keyboard.press(key)
      14 |
    > 15 |     await this._page.locator('.Command').waitFor({ state: 'visible' })
         |                                          ^
      16 |
      17 |     return this.in()
      18 |   }
        at CommandPalettePage.open (/Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/pages/command_palette_page.ts:15:42)
        at CommandPalettePage.run (/Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/pages/command_palette_page.ts:21:5)
        at openShareAvailabilitySidebar (/Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:251:3)
        at /Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:82:9

    attachment #1: screenshot (image/png) ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
    playwright-test-results/share_availability-Share-a-c9151-r-Escape-closes-the-sidebar-chromium/test-failed-1.png
    ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

    Error Context: playwright-test-results/share_availability-Share-a-c9151-r-Escape-closes-the-sidebar-chromium/error-context.md

  4) [chromium] › test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:99:11 › Share availability › (google) › sidebar › clicking Cancel closes the sidebar 

    Test timeout of 30000ms exceeded while running "beforeEach" hook.

      79 |
      80 |     describe('sidebar', () => {
    > 81 |       beforeEach(async ({ page, pageHelper, commandHelper, flagsHelper }) => {
         |                 ^
      82 |         await openShareAvailabilitySidebar({ pageHelper, page, commandHelper, flagsHelper })
      83 |       })
      84 |
        at /Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:81:17

    Error: locator.waitFor: Test timeout of 30000ms exceeded.
    Call log:
      - waiting for locator('.Command') to be visible


       at ../../pages/command_palette_page.ts:15

      13 |     await this._page.keyboard.press(key)
      14 |
    > 15 |     await this._page.locator('.Command').waitFor({ state: 'visible' })
         |                                          ^
      16 |
      17 |     return this.in()
      18 |   }
        at CommandPalettePage.open (/Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/pages/command_palette_page.ts:15:42)
        at CommandPalettePage.run (/Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/pages/command_palette_page.ts:21:5)
        at openShareAvailabilitySidebar (/Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:251:3)
        at /Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:82:9

    attachment #1: screenshot (image/png) ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
    playwright-test-results/share_availability-Share-a-95aba-g-Cancel-closes-the-sidebar-chromium/test-failed-1.png
    ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

    Error Context: playwright-test-results/share_availability-Share-a-95aba-g-Cancel-closes-the-sidebar-chromium/error-context.md

  5) [chromium] › test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:104:11 › Share availability › (google) › sidebar › typing in title does not trigger global shortcuts 

    Test timeout of 30000ms exceeded while running "beforeEach" hook.

      79 |
      80 |     describe('sidebar', () => {
    > 81 |       beforeEach(async ({ page, pageHelper, commandHelper, flagsHelper }) => {
         |                 ^
      82 |         await openShareAvailabilitySidebar({ pageHelper, page, commandHelper, flagsHelper })
      83 |       })
      84 |
        at /Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:81:17

    Error: locator.waitFor: Test timeout of 30000ms exceeded.
    Call log:
      - waiting for locator('.Command') to be visible


       at ../../pages/command_palette_page.ts:15

      13 |     await this._page.keyboard.press(key)
      14 |
    > 15 |     await this._page.locator('.Command').waitFor({ state: 'visible' })
         |                                          ^
      16 |
      17 |     return this.in()
      18 |   }
        at CommandPalettePage.open (/Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/pages/command_palette_page.ts:15:42)
        at CommandPalettePage.run (/Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/pages/command_palette_page.ts:21:5)
        at openShareAvailabilitySidebar (/Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:251:3)
        at /Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:82:9

    attachment #1: screenshot (image/png) ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
    playwright-test-results/share_availability-Share-a-af914-ot-trigger-global-shortcuts-chromium/test-failed-1.png
    ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

    Error Context: playwright-test-results/share_availability-Share-a-af914-ot-trigger-global-shortcuts-chromium/error-context.md

  6) [chromium] › test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:115:11 › Share availability › (google) › sidebar › Tab moves focus from title through sidebar fields to footer buttons 

    Test timeout of 30000ms exceeded while running "beforeEach" hook.

      79 |
      80 |     describe('sidebar', () => {
    > 81 |       beforeEach(async ({ page, pageHelper, commandHelper, flagsHelper }) => {
         |                 ^
      82 |         await openShareAvailabilitySidebar({ pageHelper, page, commandHelper, flagsHelper })
      83 |       })
      84 |
        at /Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:81:17

    Error: locator.waitFor: Test timeout of 30000ms exceeded.
    Call log:
      - waiting for locator('.Command') to be visible


       at ../../pages/command_palette_page.ts:15

      13 |     await this._page.keyboard.press(key)
      14 |
    > 15 |     await this._page.locator('.Command').waitFor({ state: 'visible' })
         |                                          ^
      16 |
      17 |     return this.in()
      18 |   }
        at CommandPalettePage.open (/Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/pages/command_palette_page.ts:15:42)
        at CommandPalettePage.run (/Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/pages/command_palette_page.ts:21:5)
        at openShareAvailabilitySidebar (/Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:251:3)
        at /Users/mahtab/superhuman/desktop/test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:82:9

    attachment #1: screenshot (image/png) ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
    playwright-test-results/share_availability-Share-a-ba853-ar-fields-to-footer-buttons-chromium/test-failed-1.png
    ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

    Error Context: playwright-test-results/share_availability-Share-a-ba853-ar-fields-to-footer-buttons-chromium/error-context.md

  6 failed
    [chromium] › test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:72:11 › Share availability › (google) › time slot selection › should not let a user start dragging from a time in the past 
    [chromium] › test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:85:11 › Share availability › (google) › sidebar › title input is focused when the sidebar opens 
    [chromium] › test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:94:11 › Share availability › (google) › sidebar › Escape closes the sidebar 
    [chromium] › test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:99:11 › Share availability › (google) › sidebar › clicking Cancel closes the sidebar 
    [chromium] › test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:104:11 › Share availability › (google) › sidebar › typing in title does not trigger global shortcuts 
    [chromium] › test/playwright/tests/web/share_availability.spec.ts:115:11 › Share availability › (google) › sidebar › Tab moves focus from title through sidebar fields to footer buttons 

Additional context

I uploaded a loom explaining the situation in more detail:

https://www.loom.com/share/b4e8c9db3c2d4135bd222fb2101457ef

This issue is presenting itself in local environment, I couldn't reproduce it in our CI environment in our semaphore CI environment. See screenshots passing in the CI as well as CI env info

Environment

System:
    OS: macOS 26.4
    CPU: (16) arm64 Apple M4 Max
    Memory: 52.41 GB / 128.00 GB
  Binaries:
    Node: 20.19.6 - ~/.nvm/versions/node/v20.19.6/bin/node
    Yarn: 1.22.22 - ~/.nvm/versions/node/v20.19.6/bin/yarn
    npm: 10.8.2 - ~/.nvm/versions/node/v20.19.6/bin/npm
  IDEs:
    VSCode: 1.114.0 - /usr/local/bin/code
  Languages:
    Bash: 3.2.57 - /bin/bash
  npmPackages:
    @playwright/test: 1.59.0 => 1.59.0

[pavelfeldman]

We need a local repro to address it, could you help us reproducing these locally?

[mahtabnejad90]

@pavelfeldman Thanks for looking into this. I've root-caused the issue and it seems to be caused by PR #39723 which shipped in 1.59.

Root cause:

Our config uses devices['Desktop Chrome'], which sets a Windows-based user agent. Before 1.59, navigator.platform still reflected the host OS (MacIntel on macOS). After #39723, Playwright now syncs navigator.platform with the UA string, so it returns Win on macOS.

Many keyboard shortcut libraries (Mousetrap, Keymaster, etc.) check navigator.platform to decide whether mod maps to Meta or Control. With navigator.platform === 'Win32', the app expects Ctrl+K, but tests send Meta+K because process.platform === 'darwin' on the test runner side. The shortcut silently doesn't match.

This explains why CI (Linux) passes: both the test runner and the browser agree on Control.

Minimal repro:

import { test, expect, devices } from '@playwright/test';
test('mod+k mismatch on macOS', async ({ page }) => {
  // Add a Mousetrap-style listener that checks navigator.platform
  await page.evaluate(() => {
    const isMac = navigator.platform.toUpperCase().includes('MAC');
    const expectedModifier = isMac ? 'metaKey' : 'ctrlKey';
    (window as any).__shortcutFired = false;
    document.addEventListener('keydown', (e) => {
      if (e.key === 'k' && e[expectedModifier]) {
        (window as any).__shortcutFired = true;
      }
    });
  });
  // Test runner sends Meta+K on macOS, but browser expects Ctrl+K
  const key = process.platform === 'darwin' ? 'Meta+KeyK' : 'Control+KeyK';
  await page.keyboard.press(key);
  // This fails on macOS with devices['Desktop Chrome'] in Playwright 1.59+
  const fired = await page.evaluate(() => (window as any).__shortcutFired);
  expect(fired).toBe(true);
});

Config:

projects: [{ name: 'chromium', use: { ...devices['Desktop Chrome'] } }]

Workaround

Setting process.env.PLAYWRIGHT_NO_UA_PLATFORM = '1' in the config file restores the pre-1.59 behaviour and fixes all tests.

Suggestion

This is effectively a breaking change for any app that uses navigator.platform for keyboard shortcut mapping, but it's not mentioned in the 1.59 release notes. It might be worth documenting in the release notes or migration guide.

[pavelfeldman]

Thanks for the detailed explanation. We will consider reverting the offending change.

[mahtabnejad90]

Thanks for the detailed explanation. We will consider reverting the offending change.

Thank you..