11.6Pattern 5: Async Operations (Uploads, Debounce)

For operations that don't complete immediately (AJAX calls, file uploads, etc.). Actions auto-wait for their target element, which covers most cases; for long-running operations, poll observable state via eval or re-snapshot.

Example: File Upload

playwright-cli goto https://app.example.com/upload
playwright-cli snapshot
# → button "Choose file" [ref=e6]
playwright-cli upload e6 ./fixtures/report.pdf

# Poll for completion instead of a blind sleep
playwright-cli eval "document.querySelector('.upload-status')?.textContent"
# → "Uploading… 47%"  → agent re-checks until:
# → "Upload complete"

Example: Search with Debounce

playwright-cli goto https://app.example.com/search
playwright-cli snapshot
# → searchbox "Search" [ref=e3]
playwright-cli fill e3 "test query"
playwright-cli snapshot
# → Agent verifies results region: "15 results found"
# (if results haven't rendered yet, the agent re-snapshots — judgment, not sleep())