I was trying to configure the EnvironmentVariables class from the TestPlatform.Playground package on my Windows 10 machine, using Chrome version 95. I expected it to manage some settings for my test automation environment, but I’m running into issues. I attempted to set variables as per the documentation, but I keep receiving an error indicating that the variables aren’t being recognized. This is causing my tests to fail unexpectedly. Has anyone encountered this, and what could I be doing wrong to make it work correctly?
I remember hitting this issue when I first started working with the LambdaTest Playground. It can be frustrating when configurations don’t stick.
The root cause is usually in the way the EnvironmentVariables class interacts with the local environment settings. In many cases, the issue arises from conflicts between existing system environment variables and what you’re trying to set. This happens because the TestPlatform.Playground package fetches configurations in a hierarchy, giving precedence to system-level variables.
Here is the snippet that worked for me: csharp EnvironmentVariables.Set(“browser”, “chrome”); EnvironmentVariables.Set(“headless”, “true”);
This code sets the browser and headless variables specifically for your test session. The Set method applies these settings directly before execution. Make sure you’re executing these commands before initializing any driver instances, as that’s a common mistake where people set variables too late in the process.
A common oversight is ignoring pre-existing environment configurations set at the system level. Double-check to make sure there are no overriding values that might cause conflicts. Try restarting your IDE after applying the changes to ensure everything is picked up correctly.
Interestingly, I dealt with a similar scenario, and the direct approach didn’t yield results in my particular setup. After some digging, I found an alternative method that worked better for our CI/CD pipeline.
In my experience, the issue stemmed from the way environment variables were being overridden by default configurations in the CI/CD environment. This can happen if your build server has preset variables that the LambdaTest Playground package doesn’t overwrite without explicit permission.
Try this approach instead: csharp Environment.SetEnvironmentVariable(“TEST_BROWSER”, “chrome”, EnvironmentVariableTarget.Process); Environment.SetEnvironmentVariable(“RUN_HEADLESS”, “true”, EnvironmentVariableTarget.Process);
These commands target process-level environment changes, which are effective in isolated environments like CI/CD. By specifying EnvironmentVariableTarget.Process, you avoid clashes with system-wide settings that could interfere with your tests.
In my case, switching from Application to Process reduced conflicts and ensured the right variables were applied at runtime. It might also help to persist these settings through the pipeline with proper pre-build script execution, especially if you’re using Jenkins or another CI tool.