Playwright REST API Test Framework

I’m putting together a robust Playwright-based framework that will exercise our RESTful endpoints and dramatically expand our current test coverage. The goal is to move beyond a handful of smoke checks and end up with a scalable, JavaScript-driven suite that sits comfortably in CI, produces clear reports, and is easy for other engineers on the team to extend.

Where things stand now: we have documented APIs, auth tokens, and a rudimentary Postman collection, but zero automated coverage in our pipeline. I need your expertise to design the overall structure, wire in Playwright’s test runner for HTTP calls, and demonstrate best practices around data-driven testing, environment handling, and fixtures.

Key deliverables
• A clean project skeleton in JavaScript that runs via Playwright Test
• Reusable helpers for REST calls (auth, common headers, retry logic)
• A small but representative set of sample tests showing CRUD flows and negative cases
• Readable HTML/console reports plus JUnit output for CI
• Setup notes so another developer can clone, install, and run with one command

Acceptance criteria
1. Running “npm test” executes all sample specs locally without manual steps.
2. Tests can be pointed to at least two environments via config.
3. If any test fails, the report surfaces the exact request/response pair for quick triage.

If you’ve already built REST automation in Playwright, please mention any public repo or code snippet you can share for context when you place your bid.