# Buying a bicycle using Playwright

- Author: Maciek Palmowski (https://maciekpalmowski.dev/)
- Published: 2023-03-20
- Topics: cicd, testing, bicycle
- URL: https://maciekpalmowski.dev/blog/buying-a-bicycle-using-playwright/

> How I used Playwright e2e testing, GitHub Actions, and a Telegram bot to automate bicycle stock monitoring and buy a Canyon Grizl gravel bike.

There is a time in every cyclist's life when they decide to change their bike. This year I felt it was my turn to do so. That's why I used e2e testing, wrote Telegram bots, and set up GH Actions.

This year I decided I wanted a new bicycle. I still love my **Giant Contend but** decided to switch to [**Canyon Grizl**](https://www.canyon.com/en-pl/gravel-bikes/bike-packing/grizl/al/grizl-6/2708.html?dwvar_2708_pv_rahmenfarbe=GN). Sadly, buying it wasn't that easy. On the other hand, I was just after JS World and wanted to try some stuff out. Good news - I did it thanks to e2e testing, GitHub Action, and a Telegram bot.

*[Image: A cyclist riding a gravel bike with bikepacking bags along a trail through a tall forest.]*

## The problem

The problem was simple - availability. There is only a limited time frame to preorder those bikes. First, I just signed up for their official newsletter - it should ping me when the bicycle is in stock. Luckily a friend at the bike store warned me that it may not work and it will better to check it manually every day at 6AM. 

I hate waking at 6AM, and I love automating stuff, which leads to...

## The solution

### e2e testing

Checking availability was relatively easy. I had to go to a specific URL and see if one button had a particular class. 

As I mentioned, I just came back from the JS World. [**Debbie O'Brien**](https://twitter.com/debs_obrien) showed how amazing [Playwright](https://playwright.dev/) is, so I tried it. In the end, the real test looked like this:

The `URL` and `SIZE` were stored in the `.env` file. Simple, right?

### Executing this every hour

I usually would use **Buddy** for this, but I tried GitHub Actions. 

The moment when the class was gone, I would get a notification on **Telegram**. And that is what happened on the **27th of February at 15:06** :) 5 minutes later, the bike was mine.

What's interesting - I never got the official notification, and all the bikes were gone later that day.

*[Image: Close-up of a gravel bike with panniers being ridden along a rocky forest path.]*
*It's so beautiful*

## The moral

Logical thinking and problem-solving can be crucial in many situations. I used a more developer approach but could do this without code tools. There is a bigger chance that I would have to pay something for them.