typeText

What it does

typeText(locator, text) replaces a field's current value and enters the new text one character at a time. Each keystroke uses a slightly different delay, so the recording looks like a person typing instead of an instantaneous locator.fill().

The helper performs real Playwright keyboard actions. The trace and video therefore capture every intermediate value, and existing speed processing treats the typing interval as a user action. It needs no marker, render option, or pipeline stage.

Usage

import { typeText } from 'playwright-recast'

await typeText(page.getByLabel('Email'), 'user@example.com')
await typeText(page.getByLabel('Search'), 'quarterly revenue', {
  delayMs: 60,
})

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`locator`	`Locator`	required	Input, textarea, or contenteditable element whose value will be replaced.
`text`	`string`	required	Final text to enter, iterated by Unicode code point. An empty string only clears the field.
`options.delayMs`	`number`	`100` or suite default	Average delay between keystrokes in milliseconds. Must be finite and non-negative.

Natural timing

delayMs is an average rather than an exact cadence. Every character receives an independently sampled delay from 65% through 135% of that value. With the default of 100 ms, individual delays range from 65 to 135 ms.

The variation is intentionally bounded: recordings look less mechanical while test duration remains predictable. The helper does not introduce spelling mistakes or Backspace corrections.

Pass delayMs: 0 to keep character-by-character input but remove all delay:

await typeText(page.getByLabel('Name'), 'Ada Lovelace', { delayMs: 0 })

Suite-wide speed

Set a default once with setupRecast():

setupRecast(test, { typingDelayMs: 80 })

await typeText(page.getByLabel('Email'), 'user@example.com')       // average 80 ms
await typeText(page.getByLabel('Search'), 'revenue', { delayMs: 40 }) // average 40 ms

A per-call delayMs always takes precedence. Calling setupRecast(test) again without typingDelayMs restores the 100 ms default. Unlike marker helpers, typeText() also works without setupRecast() and uses that built-in default.

Replacement and failure behavior

typeText() first calls locator.fill(''), then types the requested value at the field's current caret position. This gives it replacement semantics rather than appending to an existing value.

Playwright errors are not hidden or retried by the helper. If an error occurs after some characters were entered, the partial value remains in the field for normal Playwright diagnostics.

Example in a BDD step

import { When } from './fixtures'
import { narrate, typeText, waitForNarration } from 'playwright-recast'

When('the user searches for a report', async ({ page }, docString?: string) => {
  await narrate(docString)
  await typeText(page.getByLabel('Search'), 'quarterly revenue')
  await waitForNarration()
})