Installation Guide — QA Automation Workshop

This guide helps you configure your system before attending the workshop.

System Requirements

Requirement	Minimum	Recommended	Notes
Operating System	Windows 10 / macOS 12+	Windows 11 / macOS 13+	64-bit required
RAM	8 GB	16 GB	Browser automation is memory-intensive
Free Disk Space	5 GB	10 GB	Includes browser drivers
Python	3.11	3.12	Must be added to PATH
Chrome	Latest	Latest	Required for Selenium
Git	Latest	Latest	Required for cloning repo

info

All exercises can be completed on Windows or macOS. Chrome is required for Selenium browser tests.

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Recommended Setup Order

1. Install Python
2. Install pip packages
3. Install Google Chrome
4. Install Postman
5. Install VS Code + extensions
6. Clone workshop repository
7. Verify all tools

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Development Operating System

Windows

Windows Setup

Step 1: Install Python 3.12

Download the installer:

https://www.python.org/downloads/

Important

During installation, check "Add Python to PATH" before clicking Install.

Verify:

python --version
pip --version

Step 2: Install Required Python Packages

pip install pytest selenium playwright requests pytest-html allure-pytest

Install Playwright browsers:

playwright install chromium

Verify pytest:

pytest --version

Step 3: Install Google Chrome

Download from:

https://www.google.com/chrome/

Selenium WebDriver will auto-manage ChromeDriver — no separate download needed when using selenium>=4.6.

Step 4: Install Postman

Download from:

https://www.postman.com/downloads/

Create a free account if prompted.

Step 5: Install Git

Download from:

https://git-scm.com/

Verify:

git --version

Step 6: Install VS Code + Extensions

Download VS Code:

https://code.visualstudio.com/

Install extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X):

• Python (Microsoft)
• Pylance (Microsoft)
• Test Explorer UI

Step 7: Clone Workshop Repository

git clone <workshop-repo-url>
cd qa-automation-workshop
pip install -r requirements.txt

Step 8: Verify Setup

pytest --version
python -c "from selenium import webdriver; print('Selenium OK')"
python -c "from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright; print('Playwright OK')"
python -c "import requests; print('Requests OK')"

macOS

macOS Setup

Step 1: Install Python 3.12

brew install python@3.12

Verify:

python3 --version
pip3 --version

Step 2: Install Required Python Packages

pip3 install pytest selenium playwright requests pytest-html allure-pytest

Install Playwright browsers:

playwright install chromium

Step 3: Install Google Chrome

Download from:

https://www.google.com/chrome/

Step 4: Install Postman

Download from:

https://www.postman.com/downloads/

Step 5: Install Git

Git is usually pre-installed on macOS. Verify:

git --version

If not installed:

brew install git

Step 6: Install VS Code + Extensions

Download VS Code:

https://code.visualstudio.com/

Install extensions:

• Python (Microsoft)
• Pylance (Microsoft)
• Test Explorer UI

Step 7: Clone Workshop Repository

git clone <workshop-repo-url>
cd qa-automation-workshop
pip3 install -r requirements.txt

Step 8: Verify Setup

pytest --version
python3 -c "from selenium import webdriver; print('Selenium OK')"
python3 -c "import requests; print('Requests OK')"

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Quick Smoke Test

Create a file test_smoke.py and run it to confirm everything works:

def test_sanity():
    assert 1 + 1 == 2

pytest test_smoke.py -v

You should see 1 passed.

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Emergency Fallback

If local installation fails:

• Replit: https://replit.com — run Python tests in the browser
• Selenium exercises can be observed during live instructor demonstration

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Final Verification Checklist

Before the workshop, confirm:

• python --version shows 3.11 or higher
• pytest --version works
• pip install selenium completes without errors
• playwright install chromium completes
• pip install requests completes
• Postman opens and is logged in
• VS Code opens and Python extension is active