Element Repository

A lightweight, robust package that decouples your UI selectors from your test code. By externalizing locators into a central JSON repository, you make your test automation framework cleaner, easier to maintain, and accessible to non-developers. Supports both Playwright (web) and Appium/WebdriverIO (mobile) through a unified API.

📦 Installation

Install the package via your preferred package manager:

npm i @civitas-cerebrum/element-repository

Peer Dependencies: For web testing, install @playwright/test or playwright. For mobile/platform testing, install webdriverio.

🚀 What is it good for?

• Zero Hardcoded Selectors: Keep your Page Objects and Step Definitions completely free of complex DOM queries.
• Platform-Agnostic Element API: A unified Element interface with interaction, state, extraction, querying, and waiting methods that work identically across Playwright and WebDriverIO.
• Dynamic Parsing: Automatically converts your JSON configuration into platform-native selectors — CSS, XPath, ID, Text, Test ID, Role, Placeholder, and Label for web; Accessibility ID, UIAutomator, Predicate, Class Chain, and more for mobile.
• Smart Locators: Built-in methods for handling arrays, randomized element selection (great for catalog/PLP testing), text-filtering, attribute-filtering, and visibility checks.
• Soft Waiting: Seamlessly waits for elements to attach and become visible before returning them to prevent flake.

🏗️ Configuration

Create a JSON file in your project to hold your selectors. The file must adhere to the standard schema:

locators.json

{
  "pages": [
    {
      "name": "HomePage",
      "elements": [
        {
          "elementName": "search-input",
          "selector": { "css": "input[name='search']" }
        },
        {
          "elementName": "submit-button",
          "selector": { "id": "btn-submit" }
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "ProductList",
      "elements": [
        {
          "elementName": "product-cards",
          "selector": { "xpath": "//article[@class='product']" }
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Multi-Platform Configuration

Use the platform field to define platform-specific selectors for the same page. Pages without a platform field default to web.

{
  "pages": [
    {
      "name": "LoginPage",
      "platform": "web",
      "elements": [
        { "elementName": "submitButton", "selector": { "css": "button.web-submit" } }
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "LoginPage",
      "platform": "android",
      "elements": [
        { "elementName": "submitButton", "selector": { "accessibility id": "SubmitBtn" } }
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "LoginPage",
      "platform": "ios",
      "elements": [
        { "elementName": "submitButton", "selector": { "predicate": "label == \"Submit\"" } }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Supported Selector Keys

The platform field on each page object determines which selector format is used. If platform is omitted, it defaults to web.

Web (Playwright)

Key	Resolves To	Example
css	css=<value>	"css": "button.primary"
xpath	xpath=<value>	"xpath": "//button[@id='submit']"
id	#<value>	"id": "btn-submit"
text	text=<value>	"text": "Submit"
testid	[data-testid='<value>']	"testid": "login-btn"
role	[role='<value>']	"role": "button"
placeholder	[placeholder='<value>']	"placeholder": "Search..."
label	[aria-label='<value>']	"label": "Close"

Note: The testid key uses the standard data-testid attribute.

Non-Web / Mobile (Appium)

Key	camelCase Alias	Resolves To	Example
accessibility id	accessibilityId	~<value>	"accessibility id": "LoginBtn"
xpath	—	<value> (raw)	"xpath": "//android.widget.Button"
id	—	#<value>	"id": "submit-btn"
css	—	css=<value>	"css": "button.primary"
uiautomator	androidUIAutomator	android=<value>	"uiautomator": "new UiSelector().text(\"Go\")"
predicate	iOSNsPredicateString	-ios predicate string:<value>	"predicate": "label == \"Login\""
class chain	iOSClassChain	-ios class chain:<value>	"class chain": "**/XCUIElementTypeButton"
class name	className	<value> (raw)	"class name": "android.widget.EditText"
tag name	tagName	<value> (raw)	"tag name": "button"
name	—	<value> (raw)	"name": "username"
android data matcher	androidDataMatcher	-android datamatcher:<value>	"androidDataMatcher": "{\"name\":\"Title\"}"
android view matcher	androidViewMatcher	-android viewmatcher:<value>	"androidViewMatcher": "{\"id\":\"btn\"}"
android view tag	androidViewTag	-android viewtag:<value>	"androidViewTag": "my-tag"
text	—	Platform-specific	"text": "Submit"

Note: The text key resolves to android=new UiSelector().text("...") on Android, -ios predicate string:label == "..." on iOS, and the raw value on other platforms.

Note: All strategy keys that contain spaces also accept a camelCase alias (e.g., "accessibilityId" instead of "accessibility id"). Both forms produce identical selectors.

💻 Usage

You can initialize the ElementRepository either by passing the file path to your JSON, or by passing the parsed JSON object directly.

Initialization

import { ElementRepository } from '@civitas-cerebrum/element-repository';

// Option A: Pass the path to your JSON (relative to your project root)
const repo = new ElementRepository('tests/data/locators.json', 15000);

// Option B: Import the JSON directly (requires resolveJsonModule in tsconfig)
import locatorData from '../data/locators.json';
const repo = new ElementRepository(locatorData, 15000);

// Option C: Platform-specific repository (for mobile/Appium)
const androidRepo = new ElementRepository('tests/data/locators.json', 15000, 'android');
const iosRepo = new ElementRepository(locatorData, 15000, 'ios');

The third parameter (platform) defaults to 'web'. When set to a non-web platform, getSelector() automatically returns Appium-formatted selectors, and get() returns PlatformElement wrappers instead of WebElement.

Retrieving Elements

The repository exposes clean, asynchronous methods that return unified Element objects, ready for interaction regardless of the underlying platform.

test('Search and select random product', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('/');

  // 1. Get a standard element
  const searchInput = await repo.get(page, 'HomePage', 'search-input');
  await searchInput.fill('Trousers');

  const submitBtn = await repo.get(page, 'HomePage', 'submit-button');
  await submitBtn.click();

  // 2. Select a random element from a list
  const randomProduct = await repo.getRandom(page, 'ProductList', 'product-cards');
  await randomProduct?.click();

  // 3. Find a specific element by text within a list
  const specificProduct = await repo.getByText(page, 'ProductList', 'product-cards', 'Blue Chinos');
  await specificProduct?.click();

  // 4. Find an element by HTML attribute
  const activeCard = await repo.getByAttribute(page, 'ProductList', 'product-cards', 'data-status', 'active');
  await activeCard?.click();

  // 5. Get a specific element by index
  const thirdProduct = await repo.getByIndex(page, 'ProductList', 'product-cards', 2);
  await thirdProduct?.click();

  // 6. Get the first visible element (filters out hidden duplicates)
  const visibleModal = await repo.getVisible(page, 'HomePage', 'modal');
  await visibleModal?.click();

  // 7. Filter elements by ARIA role
  const navLink = await repo.getByRole(page, 'HomePage', 'nav-links', 'link');
  await navLink?.click();
});

🛠️ API Reference

ElementRepository

get(page, pageName, elementName)

Returns a single Element. For web, waits for the selector to attach to the DOM based on your configured timeout. For platform, returns a lazy PlatformElement that resolves on interaction.

getAll(page, pageName, elementName)

Returns an array of Element objects. Useful when you need to iterate over multiple elements.

getRandom(page, pageName, elementName, strict?)

Counts the matching elements and randomly selects one. Safely waits for the specific randomized element to become visible.

getByText(page, pageName, elementName, desiredText, strict?)

Returns the first Element matching the mapped selector that also contains the desiredText.

getByAttribute(page, pageName, elementName, attribute, value, options?)

Returns the first Element whose HTML attribute matches the given value. Iterates through all matching elements and checks the specified attribute.

Options:

• exact (boolean, default: true) — If true, requires an exact attribute match. If false, matches when the attribute contains the value.
• strict (boolean, default: false) — If true, throws an error when no matching element is found.

// Exact match (default)
const active = await repo.getByAttribute(page, 'Dashboard', 'cards', 'data-status', 'active');

// Partial (contains) match
const dashLink = await repo.getByAttribute(page, 'Nav', 'links', 'href', '/dashboard', { exact: false });

getByIndex(page, pageName, elementName, index, strict?)

Returns the Element at the specified zero-based index from the list of matching elements. Returns null (or throws in strict mode) if the index is out of bounds.

const thirdCard = await repo.getByIndex(page, 'ProductList', 'product-cards', 2);

getVisible(page, pageName, elementName, strict?)

Returns the first visible element matching the selector. Unlike get(), which returns the locator after a basic wait, this method explicitly filters to only visible elements — useful when hidden duplicates exist in the DOM.

const visibleModal = await repo.getVisible(page, 'Dashboard', 'modal');

getByRole(page, pageName, elementName, role, strict?)

Filters elements by their explicit role HTML attribute and returns the first match.

const navButton = await repo.getByRole(page, 'Header', 'navItems', 'button');

getSelector(pageName, elementName)

Returns a platform-appropriate selector string. For web platforms, returns Playwright-formatted selectors (e.g., "css=input[name='search']"). For non-web platforms (android, ios), returns Appium-formatted selectors (e.g., "~LoginBtn", "android=new UiSelector().text(\"Submit\")"). This is a synchronous method useful for debugging, custom logging, or passing raw selector strings directly into native APIs.

// Web
const webRepo = new ElementRepository(data);
webRepo.getSelector('LoginPage', 'submitButton'); // "css=button.web-submit"

// Android
const androidRepo = new ElementRepository(data, undefined, 'android');
androidRepo.getSelector('LoginPage', 'submitButton'); // "~SubmitBtn"

getSelectorRaw(pageName, elementName)

Returns the raw selector strategy and value as an object, without any platform-specific formatting. Useful when you need the original strategy name and value from the JSON.

const { strategy, value } = repo.getSelectorRaw('HomePage', 'search-input');
// { strategy: 'css', value: "input[name='search']" }

setDefaultTimeout(timeout)

Updates the default timeout (in milliseconds) for all subsequent element retrievals.

Strict Mode

All get* methods that return Element | null accept an optional strict parameter (default: false):

• strict: false — logs a warning and returns null when no match is found.
• strict: true — throws an Error when no match is found.

// Non-strict (default): returns null on failure
const card = await repo.getByText(page, 'ProductList', 'product-cards', 'Missing Item');
// card === null

// Strict: throws an error on failure
const card = await repo.getByText(page, 'ProductList', 'product-cards', 'Missing Item', true);
// Error: Element 'product-cards' on 'ProductList' with text "Missing Item" not found.

Element Interface

All get* methods return an Element — a platform-agnostic interface that wraps either a Playwright Locator (via WebElement) or a WebDriverIO element (via PlatformElement). You can interact with elements directly without caring about the underlying driver.

Interaction Methods

Method	Description
click()	Clicks the element.
fill(text)	Clears the input and fills it with the given text.
clear()	Clears the element's value.
check()	Checks a checkbox or radio button.
uncheck()	Unchecks a checkbox.
hover()	Hovers over the element.
doubleClick()	Double-clicks the element.
scrollIntoView()	Scrolls the element into the visible area.
pressSequentially(text, delay?)	Types text one character at a time.
setInputFiles(filePath)	Sets the value of a file input. Web only.
dispatchEvent(event)	Dispatches a DOM event on the element. Web only.

State Methods

Method	Description
isVisible()	Returns true if the element is visible.
isEnabled()	Returns true if the element is enabled.
isChecked()	Returns true if a checkbox/radio is checked.

Extraction Methods

Method	Description
textContent()	Returns the text content, or null if empty.
getAttribute(name)	Returns the value of an HTML attribute, or null.
inputValue()	Returns the current value of an input/textarea/select.

Querying Methods

Method	Description
locateChild(selector)	Locates a descendant element matching the selector.
count()	Returns the number of matched elements.
all()	Returns an array of all matched elements.
first()	Returns the first matched element.
nth(index)	Returns the element at the given zero-based index.
filter({ hasText })	Filters matched elements by text content.

Waiting

Method	Description
waitFor(options?)	Waits for the element to reach a state: "visible" (default), "hidden", "attached", or "detached". Accepts an optional timeout in ms.

🔧 Type Safety

Use the ElementType enum and type guards to narrow to the concrete implementation when you need driver-specific access:

import { Element, WebElement, PlatformElement, isWeb, isPlatform } from '@civitas-cerebrum/element-repository';

const el = await repo.get(page, 'LoginPage', 'submitButton');

if (isWeb(el)) {
  // el is WebElement — access the underlying Playwright Locator
  await el.locator.click();
}

if (isPlatform(el)) {
  // el is PlatformElement — access the WebDriverIO driver and selector
  console.log(el.selector); // the Appium selector string
  await el.click();
}

📤 Exports

// Primary class
export { ElementRepository } from '@civitas-cerebrum/element-repository';

// Element types and type guards
export { Element, WebElement, PlatformElement, ElementType, isWeb, isPlatform };

// Schema types
export { Selector, ElementDefinition, PageObject, PageRepository, Page };

// Formatter type
export type { SelectorFormatter };

// Utility functions
export { pickRandomIndex, pickRandomMember };

License

MIT