Navigations

Introduction

CSTesting can navigate to URLs and work with navigations caused by page interactions. You open a page with browser.goto(url), which loads the URL and waits for the browser's load event. You can wait for the URL to change after a click (e.g. redirect to login) with browser.waitForURL(), and read the current URL with browser.url().

You will learn

Basic navigation with goto
When the page is "loaded" and interacting safely
Hydration and slow networks
Waiting for URL changes with waitForURL
Getting the current URL
What is not supported (navigation events, timeouts, etc.)

Open a URL with browser.goto(url). CSTesting navigates the page and waits for the load event (the browser's load event, fired when the document and its dependent resources have loaded).

await browser.goto('https://example.com');

If the server or page triggers a client-side redirect before load, goto waits for the load event on the final document.

When is the page loaded?

Many pages keep working after the load event: they fetch data, run scripts, and render UI later. There is no single rule for "page is ready"; it depends on the app.

In CSTesting you can interact as soon as you have a way to target elements. Use waitForSelector when an element appears only after some delay (e.g. after an API call):

await browser.goto('https://example.com');
await browser.waitForSelector('#main');
await browser.locator('#main').click();

So: goto waits for the load event; for app-specific readiness, combine goto with waitForSelector (or other waits) as needed.

Hydration

If you see actions that seem to do nothing (e.g. a click that doesn't run handlers, or typed text that disappears), the cause is often hydration: the server sends static HTML, then JavaScript runs and "hydrates" the page. If you act before hydration attaches listeners, the UI may not respond or may overwrite your input.

A simple check is to use Chrome DevTools → Network → "Slow 3G", reload, and try interacting as soon as the element appears. If clicks are ignored or text is reset, the fix is on the app side: keep interactive controls disabled until hydration is done.

A click (e.g. "Sign in") may navigate to another URL. Use browser.waitForURL() to wait until the URL matches before continuing.

await browser.locator('//button[text()="Click me"]').click(); // or use a selector that matches the link/button
await browser.waitForURL('**/login');

waitForURL(urlOrPattern, options?)

urlOrPattern: string, glob string, or RegExp.
- String without **: current URL must include this substring.
- String with **: treated as glob (e.g. **/login → pattern .*/login).
- RegExp: current URL must match the regex.
options.timeout (optional): milliseconds to wait; default 30000.

await browser.waitForURL('/dashboard');           // substring
await browser.waitForURL('**/login');             // glob
await browser.waitForURL(/\/users\/\d+/);         // regex
await browser.waitForURL('/welcome', { timeout: 10000 });

If the URL does not match within the timeout, waitForURL throws.

Getting the current URL

Use browser.url() to get the current page URL (same as window.location.href). It returns a Promise.

await browser.goto('https://example.com');
const current = await browser.url();
expect(current).toContain('example.com');

When using tabs (multiple pages), each tab has getUrl():

const tab = browser.tabs()[0];
const tabUrl = await tab.getUrl();

Summary

browser.goto(url) — Navigate to a URL and wait for the load event (and any client-side redirect before it).
browser.waitForURL(urlOrPattern, { timeout? }) — Wait until the current URL matches a substring, glob (**), or RegExp; default timeout 30s.
browser.url() — Current page URL (Promise).
Use waitForSelector (or similar) when you need to wait for app-specific content; there is no built-in "network idle" or "domcontentloaded" API.
For hydration issues, ensure the app disables controls until hydration is complete.

What is not supported (current version)

Feature	Supported?	Notes
goto(url)	Yes	Waits for load event.
waitForURL(pattern, options?)	Yes	String (substring), glob (`**`), or RegExp; optional timeout.
url()	Yes	Returns current URL (Promise).
waitForLoad()	Yes	Waits for load event on current document (no URL change).
waitForSelector(selector)	Yes	Use to wait for elements after navigation or lazy content.
goto with timeout	No	No per-call timeout; goto waits until load (or failure).
goto waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded' / 'commit'	No	Only load event is waited on.
Navigation events (e.g. domcontentloaded, load)	No	Not exposed as API; goto uses load internally.
page.on('load')	No	No event listener API.
Response object from goto	No	goto does not return status or headers.
Abort navigation / race	No	No way to cancel or race goto.

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