test: Add Playwright smoke spec for Vite dev-server boot (#29539)

.github/workflows/ci-pull-requests.yml

@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ jobs:
       ci: ${{ fromJSON(steps.ci-filter.outputs.results).ci == true }}
       unit: ${{ fromJSON(steps.ci-filter.outputs.results).unit == true }}
       e2e: ${{ fromJSON(steps.ci-filter.outputs.results).e2e == true }}
+      dev_server_smoke: ${{ fromJSON(steps.ci-filter.outputs.results)['dev-server-smoke'] == true }}
       workflows: ${{ fromJSON(steps.ci-filter.outputs.results).workflows == true }}
       workflow_scripts: ${{ fromJSON(steps.ci-filter.outputs.results)['workflow-scripts'] == true }}
       db: ${{ fromJSON(steps.ci-filter.outputs.results).db == true }}
@@ -63,6 +64,16 @@ jobs:
               .github/actions/load-n8n-docker/**
               packages/testing/playwright/**
               packages/testing/containers/**
+            dev-server-smoke:
+              packages/frontend/editor-ui/vite.config.mts
+              pnpm-workspace.yaml
+              packages/@n8n/*/package.json
+              packages/testing/playwright/tests/dev-server-smoke/**
+              packages/testing/playwright/playwright.config.ts
+              packages/testing/playwright/playwright-projects.ts
+              packages/testing/playwright/package.json
+              .github/workflows/test-dev-server-smoke-reusable.yml
+              .github/workflows/ci-pull-requests.yml
             workflows: .github/**
             workflow-scripts: .github/scripts/**
             performance:
@@ -221,6 +232,19 @@ jobs:
       upload-failure-artifacts: ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.repo.fork == true }}
     secrets: inherit
 
+  # Boots the editor-ui against the Vite dev server and fails on any console
+  # or page error during load. Catches regressions in dev-mode module
+  # resolution (missing Vite alias, broken workspace package interop) that
+  # the production-bundle e2e job bundles around.
+  dev-server-smoke:
+    name: Dev-server boot smoke
+    needs: install-and-build
+    if: needs.install-and-build.outputs.dev_server_smoke == 'true' && github.event_name != 'merge_group'
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/test-dev-server-smoke-reusable.yml
+    with:
+      ref: ${{ needs.install-and-build.outputs.commit_sha }}
+    secrets: inherit
+
   db-tests:
     name: DB Tests
     needs: install-and-build
@@ -296,6 +320,7 @@ jobs:
         check-packaging,
         sqlite-sanity,
         e2e,
+        dev-server-smoke,
         db-tests,
         performance,
         security-checks,

.github/workflows/test-dev-server-smoke-reusable.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+name: 'Test: Dev-server boot smoke'
+
+on:
+  workflow_call:
+    inputs:
+      ref:
+        description: 'Git ref to test'
+        required: true
+        type: string
+
+env:
+  NODE_OPTIONS: '--max-old-space-size=6144'
+  PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH: packages/testing/playwright/.playwright-browsers
+
+jobs:
+  smoke:
+    name: Dev-server smoke
+    runs-on: ${{ vars.RUNNER_PROVIDER == 'github' && 'ubuntu-latest' || 'blacksmith-4vcpu-ubuntu-2204' }}
+    timeout-minutes: 10
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 1
+          ref: ${{ inputs.ref }}
+
+      - name: Setup and Build
+        uses: ./.github/actions/setup-nodejs
+
+      - name: Install Browsers
+        run: pnpm turbo run install-browsers --filter=n8n-playwright
+
+      - name: Run dev-server smoke spec
+        # Run from repo root so PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH (relative) resolves
+        # correctly. cd-ing into the playwright package double-nests it.
+        run: pnpm --filter=n8n-playwright test:dev-server-smoke --reporter=list
+
+      - name: Upload Failure Artifacts
+        if: ${{ failure() }}
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@bbbca2ddaa5d8feaa63e36b76fdaad77386f024f # v7.0.0
+        with:
+          name: dev-server-smoke-report
+          path: |
+            packages/testing/playwright/test-results/
+            packages/testing/playwright/playwright-report/
+          retention-days: 7

packages/testing/playwright/global-teardown.ts

@@ -7,12 +7,18 @@ function globalTeardown() {
 
 	for (const port of ports) {
 		try {
-			// Find process ID using the port
+			// `lsof -ti` returns one PID per line. Dev-mode n8n holds the port
-			const pid = execSync(`lsof -ti :${port}`, { encoding: 'utf-8' }).trim();
+			// from multiple PIDs (parent + worker), so split and space-join
+			// before passing to `kill` — otherwise the second PID lands on its
+			// own shell line and gets executed as a command.
+			const pids = execSync(`lsof -ti :${port}`, { encoding: 'utf-8' })
+				.trim()
+				.split('\n')
+				.filter(Boolean);
 
-			if (pid) {
+			if (pids.length > 0) {
-				console.log(`- Killing process ${pid} on port ${port}`);
+				console.log(`- Killing process(es) ${pids.join(', ')} on port ${port}`);
-				execSync(`kill -9 ${pid}`);
+				execSync(`kill -9 ${pids.join(' ')}`);
 			}
 		} catch (error) {
 			// lsof returns non-zero exit code if no process is found

packages/testing/playwright/package.json

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
   "private": true,
   "scripts": {
     "dev": "N8N_BASE_URL=http://localhost:5678 N8N_EDITOR_URL=http://localhost:8080 RESET_E2E_DB=true playwright test --project=e2e",
+    "test:dev-server-smoke": "N8N_BASE_URL=http://localhost:5678 N8N_EDITOR_URL=http://localhost:8080 RESET_E2E_DB=true playwright test --project=dev-server-smoke",
     "test:all": "playwright test",
     "test:local": "N8N_BASE_URL=http://localhost:5680 RESET_E2E_DB=true playwright test --project=e2e",
     "test:local:isolated": "node scripts/run-local-isolated.mjs",

packages/testing/playwright/playwright-projects.ts

@@ -172,6 +172,15 @@ export function getProjects(): Project[] {
 			fullyParallel: true,
 			use: { baseURL: getFrontendUrl() },
 		});
+		projects.push({
+			name: 'dev-server-smoke',
+			testDir: './tests/dev-server-smoke',
+			fullyParallel: false,
+			// Vite dev cold-start can take 15-25s on the first navigation while it
+			// pre-bundles deps. Subsequent navigations are sub-second.
+			timeout: 90_000,
+			use: { baseURL: getFrontendUrl(), navigationTimeout: 30_000 },
+		});
 	} else {
 		for (const { name, config } of CONTAINER_CONFIGS) {
 			projects.push(

packages/testing/playwright/tests/dev-server-smoke/dev-server-boots.spec.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+import type { ConsoleMessage, Page } from '@playwright/test';
+
+import { test } from '../../fixtures/base';
+
+/**
+ * Smoke tests that catch app-wide regressions where the editor-ui fails to boot —
+ * for example a workspace package whose import is silently broken in dev mode
+ * (missing Vite alias, stale dist-only re-export, CJS interop failure, etc.).
+ *
+ * These tests visit a small set of representative routes and fail the suite if
+ * any error-level console message or uncaught page error is observed during the
+ * load. They are intentionally light — UI behaviour is covered elsewhere.
+ *
+ * Must run against the Vite dev server (`N8N_EDITOR_URL` set), which is what the
+ * `test:dev-server-smoke` script wires up.
+ */
+
+const BENIGN_PATTERNS: Array<{ messageRe: RegExp; reason: string }> = [
+	{
+		messageRe: /\[vite\] (server connection lost|connecting\.\.\.)/,
+		reason: 'HMR transport noise',
+	},
+];
+
+const isBenign = (text: string) => BENIGN_PATTERNS.some((p) => p.messageRe.test(text));
+
+const navigateAndAssertNoErrors = async (
+	page: Page,
+	label: string,
+	navigate: () => Promise<void>,
+) => {
+	const consoleErrors: string[] = [];
+	const pageErrors: string[] = [];
+
+	const onConsole = (message: ConsoleMessage) => {
+		if (message.type() !== 'error') return;
+		if (isBenign(message.text())) return;
+		consoleErrors.push(`${message.text()} (at ${message.location().url ?? '<unknown>'})`);
+	};
+	const onPageError = (error: Error) => {
+		const firstFrame = error.stack?.split('\n')[1]?.trim() ?? '';
+		pageErrors.push(`${error.name}: ${error.message}\n  ${firstFrame}`);
+	};
+
+	page.on('console', onConsole);
+	page.on('pageerror', onPageError);
+
+	// When dev-mode module resolution is broken, the JS app never bootstraps —
+	// so entry points like `fromHome()` time out waiting for the post-redirect
+	// URL. That timeout would mask the real cause (the SyntaxError captured
+	// below). Capture any navigation failure and surface page/console errors
+	// as the primary diagnostic when both happened.
+	let navigationError: Error | undefined;
+	try {
+		await navigate();
+		// `load` (and not `networkidle`) is the project convention; entry points
+		// already wait for landing-zone elements, so by the time `load` fires all
+		// initial module evaluation has completed and any SyntaxError-on-import
+		// has surfaced to either pageerror or console.error.
+		await page.waitForLoadState('load', { timeout: 15_000 });
+	} catch (error) {
+		navigationError = error instanceof Error ? error : new Error(String(error));
+	} finally {
+		page.off('console', onConsole);
+		page.off('pageerror', onPageError);
+	}
+
+	if (pageErrors.length > 0 || consoleErrors.length > 0) {
+		const sections = [
+			pageErrors.length > 0 && `Uncaught page errors:\n  ${pageErrors.join('\n  ')}`,
+			consoleErrors.length > 0 && `Error-level console messages:\n  ${consoleErrors.join('\n  ')}`,
+			navigationError &&
+				`Navigation also failed (likely a downstream effect): ${navigationError.message.split('\n')[0]}`,
+		].filter(Boolean);
+		throw new Error(`[${label}] dev-server boot failed.\n\n${sections.join('\n\n')}`);
+	}
+
+	if (navigationError) throw navigationError;
+};
+
+test.describe(
+	'Dev-server boot smoke',
+	{
+		annotation: [
+			{
+				type: 'description',
+				description:
+					'Boots representative routes against the Vite dev server and fails on any error-level console message or uncaught page error during load.',
+			},
+		],
+	},
+	() => {
+		test('home page boots cleanly', async ({ n8n }) => {
+			await navigateAndAssertNoErrors(n8n.page, 'home', async () => {
+				await n8n.start.fromHome();
+			});
+		});
+
+		test('blank canvas boots cleanly', async ({ n8n }) => {
+			await navigateAndAssertNoErrors(n8n.page, 'blank-canvas', async () => {
+				await n8n.start.fromBlankCanvas();
+			});
+		});
+
+		test('credentials page boots cleanly', async ({ n8n }) => {
+			await navigateAndAssertNoErrors(n8n.page, 'credentials', async () => {
+				await n8n.start.fromHome();
+				await n8n.navigate.toCredentials();
+			});
+		});
+	},
+);

scripts/os-normalize.mjs

@@ -54,4 +54,15 @@ cd(dir);
 const cmd = normalizeCommand(run);
 
 echo(chalk.cyan(`$ Running (dir: ${dir}) ${cmd} ${args.join(' ')}`));
-await $({ stdio: 'inherit' })`${cmd} ${args}`;
+try {
+	await $({ stdio: 'inherit' })`${cmd} ${args}`;
+} catch (err) {
+	// Forward signal-based exits silently (e.g. Playwright's globalTeardown
+	// SIGKILLs the n8n process, or the user Ctrl-C's `pnpm start`). Without
+	// this, zx logs an unhandled `_ProcessOutput` traceback as the parent
+	// is already shutting us down — pure noise.
+	if (err?.signal || err?.exitCode === 137 || err?.exitCode === 143) {
+		process.exit(err.exitCode ?? 0);
+	}
+	throw err;
+}