---
title: 'Why playwright-praman for SAP UI5 Test Automation?'
description: 'How playwright-praman replaces fragile DOM selectors with typed UI5 control proxies, AI-powered test generation, and enterprise-grade Playwright fixtures for SAP S/4HANA, Fiori, and BTP testing.'
authors: [maheshwar]
tags: [praman, playwright, sap-ui5, ai]
keywords:
  - playwright SAP testing
  - SAP UI5 test automation
  - playwright-praman
  - SAP Fiori testing
  - S/4HANA test automation
  - SAP E2E testing
  - playwright SAP UI5 plugin
  - wdi5 alternative
  - SAP test automation tool
  - AI test generation SAP
image: /img/docusaurus-social-card.jpg
---

# Why playwright-praman for SAP UI5 Test Automation?

SAP UI5 applications break conventional Playwright selectors. Control IDs are generated, DOM structures change across UI5 versions, and themes swap entire subtrees. **playwright-praman** solves this by querying the UI5 runtime control registry directly — tests survive upgrades, theme changes, and custom CSS without maintenance.

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## The Problem with Standard Playwright on SAP

Standard Playwright selectors target the DOM. SAP UI5 renders controls into DOM nodes with auto-generated IDs like `__button0-__clone42`. These IDs change between page loads, UI5 patches, and themes. Teams using vanilla Playwright on SAP spend more time fixing selectors than writing tests.

```typescript
// Fragile — breaks on every UI5 update
await page.click('#__xmlview0--createButton-__clone12-inner');

// Stable with playwright-praman — queries the UI5 control registry
const btn = await ui5.control({
  controlType: 'sap.m.Button',
  properties: { text: 'Create' },
});
await btn.press();
```

## What playwright-praman Does Differently

### 1. Typed Control Proxies

Every SAP UI5 control gets a TypeScript proxy with full IntelliSense. You interact with `Button.press()`, `Input.setValue()`, `Table.getRows()` — not CSS selectors.

```typescript
import { test, expect } from 'playwright-praman';

test('create purchase order', async ({ ui5, ui5Navigation }) => {
  await ui5Navigation.navigateToApp('PurchaseOrder-manage');

  const vendorInput = await ui5.control({
    controlType: 'sap.m.Input',
    properties: { name: 'Vendor' },
  });
  await vendorInput.setValue('1000');
});
```

### 2. UI5 Stability Synchronization

No more `page.waitForTimeout()`. Praman automatically waits for the UI5 framework to finish rendering, pending OData requests, and async model updates before every interaction.

### 3. Three Discovery Strategies

| Strategy       | How It Works                                           |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| `direct-id`    | Single ID lookup via `sap.ui.core.Element.registry`    |
| `recordreplay` | SAP `RecordReplay` API (UI5 >= 1.94)                   |
| `registry`     | Full registry scan matching type, properties, bindings |

Strategies run in priority order with automatic fallback — no single strategy needs to handle every control.

### 4. AI-Powered Test Generation

Describe your business process in plain language. AI agents (Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Cursor) generate production-ready test scripts using Praman fixtures:

> "Test creating a purchase order: navigate to ME21N, enter vendor 1000, add material MAT-001 with quantity 10."

The **plan-generate-heal** pipeline explores your live SAP system, discovers controls, generates the test, and fixes any failures autonomously.

### 5. Enterprise Coverage

- **199 UI5 control types** across `sap.m`, `sap.ui.table`, `sap.ui.comp`, `sap.uxap`, `sap.f`, `sap.ui.mdc`
- **6 auth strategies** — BTP SAML, Basic Auth, Office 365, Client Certificate, Custom IDP, Manual
- **OData V2/V4** — mock, intercept, and assert OData requests
- **Fiori Elements** — List Report, Object Page, Overview Page helpers
- **10 custom Playwright matchers** — `toHaveUI5Property`, `toBeUI5Visible`, and more

## How Does playwright-praman Compare to wdi5?

Both access the UI5 control registry. Praman adds:

- **Typed proxies** with IntelliSense for every control type
- **AI test generation** from business-language descriptions
- **Fiori Elements page-object helpers** for standard floorplans
- **OData mock/intercept** utilities built in
- **10 UI5-specific Playwright matchers** extending `expect()`
- **Three discovery strategies** with automatic fallback chains

wdi5 is a solid choice. Praman targets teams that want AI-first generation, typed APIs, and deeper Fiori Elements support on top of Playwright.

## Getting Started

```bash
npm install playwright-praman @playwright/test
npx playwright-praman init
```

Three production dependencies: `commander`, `pino`, `zod` — all MIT licensed.

- [Getting Started guide](https://praman.dev/docs/guides/getting-started)
- [npm package](https://www.npmjs.com/package/playwright-praman)
- [GitHub repository](https://github.com/mrkanitkar/playwright-praman)
- [Full documentation](https://praman.dev)

## Free and Open Source

playwright-praman is [Apache-2.0 licensed](https://github.com/mrkanitkar/playwright-praman/blob/main/LICENSE). No license fees, no vendor lock-in. Every release includes npm provenance attestation and a CycloneDX SBOM.

If you're testing SAP S/4HANA, Fiori, or BTP applications with Playwright, give [playwright-praman](https://www.npmjs.com/package/playwright-praman) a try.
