Screenshot-Based UI Verification

Visual verification workflow for UI changes to accelerate code review and catch responsive design issues early.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Making any UI changes (components, styling, layout)
• Implementing responsive design
• Creating pull requests with visual changes
• Want to demonstrate UI behavior without reviewers running code locally
• Need to document visual state before/after bug fixes

Why Screenshot Verification Matters

Benefits

• Faster Reviews: Reviewers see changes instantly without local setup
• Documents Design: Creates visual record of design decisions
• Visual Changelog: Historical record of UI evolution
• Catches Responsive Issues: Early detection of mobile/tablet problems
• Reduces Communication: Less back-and-forth about visual changes
• Quality Gate: Forces conscious review of visual output

Problems It Solves

• ❌ "I can't reproduce the layout issue locally"
• ❌ "What does this look like on mobile?"
• ❌ "Is this the intended design?"
• ❌ "How does this compare to the old version?"
• ✅ All answered with screenshots in PR

Required Screenshots

For any PR that changes UI, capture all three viewport sizes:

1. Desktop View (1920x1080)

• Full page screenshot
• Key component close-ups if needed
• Before and after comparisons (for fixes/refactors)
• Different states (default, hover, active, error, loading)

2. Tablet View (768x1024)

• Portrait orientation
• Verify responsive breakpoints
• Touch interaction targets visible
• Menu/navigation in tablet mode

3. Mobile View (375x667)

• Portrait orientation (iPhone 8/SE size - common minimum)
• Touch target sizes visible (minimum 44x44px)
• Scrolling behavior documented
• Mobile menu states

How to Capture Screenshots

Browser DevTools Method

Chrome/Edge DevTools:

1. Open DevTools (F12 or Cmd+Option+I)
2. Toggle device toolbar (Cmd+Shift+M or Ctrl+Shift+M)
3. Select device preset or custom dimensions:
   • Desktop: 1920 x 1080
   • Tablet: 768 x 1024
   • Mobile: 375 x 667
4. Capture screenshot:
   • Full page: Cmd+Shift+P → "Capture full size screenshot"
   • Viewport only: Cmd+Shift+P → "Capture screenshot"

Firefox DevTools:

1. Open DevTools (F12)
2. Toggle Responsive Design Mode (Cmd+Option+M)
3. Set dimensions
4. Click screenshot icon in toolbar

CLI Screenshot Tools

Using Playwright (recommended for CI):

// screenshot.js
const { chromium } = require('playwright');

async function captureScreenshots(url) {
  const browser = await chromium.launch();
  const page = await browser.newPage();

  await page.goto(url);

  // Desktop
  await page.setViewportSize({ width: 1920, height: 1080 });
  await page.screenshot({
    path: 'screenshots/desktop.png',
    fullPage: true
  });

  // Tablet
  await page.setViewportSize({ width: 768, height: 1024 });
  await page.screenshot({
    path: 'screenshots/tablet.png',
    fullPage: true
  });

  // Mobile
  await page.setViewportSize({ width: 375, height: 667 });
  await page.screenshot({
    path: 'screenshots/mobile.png',
    fullPage: true
  });

  await browser.close();
}

captureScreenshots('http://localhost:3000');

Run: node screenshot.js

Using Puppeteer:

// screenshot.js
const puppeteer = require('puppeteer');

async function captureScreenshots(url) {
  const browser = await puppeteer.launch();
  const page = await browser.newPage();

  await page.goto(url, { waitUntil: 'networkidle2' });

  // Desktop
  await page.setViewport({ width: 1920, height: 1080 });
  await page.screenshot({
    path: 'screenshots/desktop.png',
    fullPage: true
  });

  // Tablet
  await page.setViewport({ width: 768, height: 1024 });
  await page.screenshot({
    path: 'screenshots/tablet.png',
    fullPage: true
  });

  // Mobile
  await page.setViewport({ width: 375, height: 667 });
  await page.screenshot({
    path: 'screenshots/mobile.png',
    fullPage: true
  });

  await browser.close();
}

captureScreenshots('http://localhost:3000');

PR Description Template

Use this template to document visual changes:

## Visual Changes

### Desktop (1920x1080)
![Desktop view](./screenshots/desktop.png)

**Key changes**:
- Updated header navigation layout
- Improved spacing between sections
- Added hover states to buttons

### Tablet (768x1024)
![Tablet view](./screenshots/tablet.png)

**Key changes**:
- Stacked layout for sidebar
- Touch-friendly button sizes (48x48px)
- Adjusted typography for readability

### Mobile (375x667)
![Mobile view](./screenshots/mobile.png)

**Key changes**:
- Hamburger menu replaces horizontal nav
- Single column layout
- Bottom sticky CTA button

### Before/After Comparison

#### Before (Bug)
![Before fix](./screenshots/before-mobile.png)

**Issue**: Text overflowing container on mobile

#### After (Fixed)
![After fix](./screenshots/after-mobile.png)

**Fix**: Applied word-wrap and max-width constraints

### Interaction States

#### Default State
![Default](./screenshots/state-default.png)

#### Hover State
![Hover](./screenshots/state-hover.png)

#### Active/Selected State
![Active](./screenshots/state-active.png)

#### Error State
![Error](./screenshots/state-error.png)

#### Loading State
![Loading](./screenshots/state-loading.png)

## Responsive Design Notes
- Breakpoints: 768px (tablet), 375px (mobile)
- All touch targets > 44x44px
- Text remains readable at all sizes (min 16px body)
- No horizontal scrolling on any viewport
- Images scale proportionally

## Accessibility Checks
- [ ] Keyboard navigation works
- [ ] Focus states visible
- [ ] Color contrast meets WCAG AA (4.5:1)
- [ ] Alt text on images
- [ ] ARIA labels where needed

Automated Screenshot Testing

Using Playwright Test

// tests/visual.spec.js
const { test, expect } = require('@playwright/test');

test.describe('Visual Regression', () => {
  test('homepage looks correct on desktop', async ({ page }) => {
    await page.goto('http://localhost:3000');
    await page.setViewportSize({ width: 1920, height: 1080 });
    await expect(page).toHaveScreenshot('homepage-desktop.png');
  });

  test('homepage looks correct on mobile', async ({ page }) => {
    await page.goto('http://localhost:3000');
    await page.setViewportSize({ width: 375, height: 667 });
    await expect(page).toHaveScreenshot('homepage-mobile.png');
  });
});

Run: npx playwright test --update-snapshots (first time to generate baselines)

Using Storybook + Chromatic

For component-level visual testing:

1. Setup Storybook:

// Button.stories.jsx
export default {
  title: 'Components/Button',
  component: Button,
};

export const Primary = () => <Button variant="primary">Click me</Button>;
export const Secondary = () => <Button variant="secondary">Click me</Button>;

2. Integrate Chromatic:

npm install --save-dev chromatic
npx chromatic --project-token=<token>

3. CI Integration (GitHub Actions):

# .github/workflows/chromatic.yml
name: Chromatic
on: push
jobs:
  chromatic:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npx chromatic --project-token=${{ secrets.CHROMATIC_TOKEN }}

Screenshot Checklist

Before submitting PR with UI changes:

Capture Requirements

• Desktop screenshot (1920x1080) captured
• Tablet screenshot (768x1024) captured
• Mobile screenshot (375x667) captured
• All screenshots uploaded to PR
• Before/after comparison included (for bug fixes)

Quality Checks

• Screenshots show full page (not cut off)
• No localhost URLs visible in screenshots
• No sensitive data in screenshots (PII, keys, etc.)
• Screenshots are clear and readable
• File names are descriptive (e.g., desktop-homepage.png)

Documentation

• Key changes listed for each viewport
• Responsive behavior described
• Accessibility notes included
• Interaction states documented (if applicable)

Common Issues and Solutions

Issue: Screenshots Too Large

Problem: Screenshots are 5MB+ and slow to load in PR
Solution: Compress images before uploading

# Using ImageMagick
convert input.png -quality 85 output.png

# Using pngquant
pngquant input.png --output output.png

Issue: Dynamic Content Changes Between Screenshots

Problem: Timestamps, random data make screenshots inconsistent
Solution: Mock data or freeze time in tests

// Mock Date
const mockDate = new Date('2025-01-01T00:00:00Z');
jest.useFakeTimers();
jest.setSystemTime(mockDate);

// Or in Playwright
await page.addInitScript(() => {
  Date.now = () => 1704067200000; // Fixed timestamp
});

Issue: Screenshot Diffs Show Font Rendering Differences

Problem: Same code renders differently on different OS
Solution: Use Docker for consistent environment

FROM mcr.microsoft.com/playwright:v1.40.0-jammy
WORKDIR /app
COPY . .
RUN npm ci
CMD ["npm", "run", "screenshot"]

Screenshot Organization

Directory Structure

screenshots/
├── desktop/
│   ├── homepage.png
│   ├── product-list.png
│   └── checkout.png
├── tablet/
│   ├── homepage.png
│   ├── product-list.png
│   └── checkout.png
└── mobile/
    ├── homepage.png
    ├── product-list.png
    └── checkout.png

Naming Convention

• Use descriptive names: desktop-homepage-logged-in.png
• Include state if relevant: mobile-form-error-state.png
• Version comparisons: before-header-fix.png, after-header-fix.png

Integration with CI/CD

GitHub Actions Example

name: Visual Testing
on: pull_request

jobs:
  screenshots:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Setup Node
        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: '20'

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: npm ci

      - name: Build app
        run: npm run build

      - name: Start app
        run: npm start &

      - name: Wait for app
        run: npx wait-on http://localhost:3000

      - name: Capture screenshots
        run: node scripts/screenshot.js

      - name: Upload screenshots
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: screenshots
          path: screenshots/

Best Practices

Do's

• ✅ Capture all three viewport sizes
• ✅ Include before/after for bug fixes
• ✅ Document interaction states (hover, active, error)
• ✅ Compress large images
• ✅ Use descriptive file names
• ✅ Annotate screenshots with key changes

Don'ts

• ❌ Skip mobile screenshots ("desktop only" is rare)
• ❌ Upload screenshots with sensitive data
• ❌ Use random viewport sizes (stick to standards)
• ❌ Forget to document responsive breakpoints
• ❌ Rely solely on screenshots (still need code review)

Related Skills

• universal-verification-pre-merge - Pre-merge verification checklist
• universal-testing-webapp-testing - Web application testing patterns
• toolchains-javascript-testing-playwright - Playwright testing framework
• universal-debugging-verification-before-completion - Verification workflows