feat(devtools): add hideInAutomation to keep devtools out of e2e tests by AlemTuzlak · Pull Request #549 · TanStack/devtools

AlemTuzlak · 2026-10-02T14:31:52Z

You can now keep the devtools out of your end-to-end tests: set hideInAutomation: true, and the devtools do not render when Playwright, Cypress, or Selenium drives the browser. Local development does not change.

🎯 Changes

New config option hideInAutomation (default false). When it is true and navigator.webdriver is true, the devtools render no DOM: no trigger, no panel, and no source inspector.
The open hotkey also does nothing in that case, so it cannot save an open state or emit trigger-toggled.
Playwright, Cypress, and Selenium set navigator.webdriver. A normal browser does not, so local development keeps the devtools.
The default stays false, so suites that test the devtools themselves (like this repo's e2e apps) keep working.
docs/configuration.md documents the option.

✅ Checklist

I have followed the steps in the Contributing guide.
I have tested code changes locally with pnpm test:pr, or these tests do not apply to this pull request.
I fully understand the code in this pull request, including any code generated with AI assistance.

🚀 Release Impact

This change affects published code, and I have generated a changeset.
This change is docs/CI/dev-only (no release).

Testing

Commands run

vitest run in packages/devtools: 373 tests pass, with 3 new tests in workbench.test.tsx.
eslint, tsc, and prettier --check in packages/devtools: pass.
Playwright (system Chrome) on e2e/apps/react-vite: the new hide-in-automation.spec.ts, url-flag.spec.ts, and smoke.spec.ts pass (5 tests). With a build without the feature, the new "set" test fails.
I did not run the full pnpm test:pr.

Manual test

Set config={{ hideInAutomation: true }} on <TanStackDevtools>.
Run pnpm dev and open the app in a normal browser. The trigger is visible.
Run your Playwright tests. The page has no [data-testid="tanstack_devtools"] element.

How this PR makes testing easy

e2e/apps/react-vite/tests/hide-in-automation.spec.ts runs in the e2e CI job. It opens /?automation-hidden, waits until the devtools mounted, and expects no devtools DOM.
packages/devtools/tests/workbench.test.tsx stubs navigator.webdriver. It covers both values of the option and the open hotkey.

Linked issues

Fixes #318

Risk / rollback

Low. Nothing changes unless an app sets the option. To undo, revert this PR.

Public API change

Before

// Workaround: turn off defaultOpen for every plugin, or hide the root with CSS.
<TanStackDevtools plugins={plugins} />

After

<TanStackDevtools config={{ hideInAutomation: true }} plugins={plugins} />

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

Summary by CodeRabbit

New Features
- Added a hideInAutomation option to hide DevTools when browser automation is detected. It defaults to false.
- When enabled, DevTools remain hidden and the open hotkey is disabled in detected automation sessions.
Documentation
- Documented the new configuration option and its default.

With plugins open by default, end-to-end tests that select elements by id or text also matched the devtools panels. The workarounds were turning off defaultOpen for every plugin or hiding #tanstack_devtools with CSS. `hideInAutomation: true` skips the devtools DOM when navigator.webdriver is true, which Playwright, Cypress, and Selenium set. Local development does not change. The default is false, so suites that test the devtools themselves keep working. Fixes #318

coderabbitai · 2026-10-02T14:32:08Z

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Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 00d187e and e36e731.

📒 Files selected for processing (2)

packages/devtools/src/devtools.tsx
packages/devtools/tests/workbench.test.tsx

🚧 Files skipped from review as they are similar to previous changes (2)

packages/devtools/tests/workbench.test.tsx
packages/devtools/src/devtools.tsx

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📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

The devtools settings add hideInAutomation, which defaults to false. When enabled and navigator.webdriver is truthy, DevTools does not render its portal or contained UI. Documentation, example configuration, and tests cover the option.

Changes

Automation visibility

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Define the `hideInAutomation` setting `packages/devtools/src/context/devtools-store.ts`, `docs/configuration.md`, `.changeset/hide-in-automation.md`	The settings state adds `hideInAutomation` with a default of `false`. The documentation and changeset describe the option and its `navigator.webdriver` detection behavior.
Gate DevTools rendering `packages/devtools/src/devtools.tsx`, `packages/devtools/tests/workbench.test.tsx`	DevTools omits its portal and contained UI when `hideInAutomation` and `navigator.webdriver` are truthy. Workbench tests cover the enabled and default settings. Existing URL-flag visibility behavior and the PiP bypass remain unchanged when rendering is allowed.
Exercise automation visibility in Playwright `e2e/apps/react-vite/src/main.tsx`, `e2e/apps/react-vite/tests/hide-in-automation.spec.ts`	The example sets `hideInAutomation` from the `automation-hidden` query parameter. Playwright tests check that the devtools container and trigger are hidden with the parameter, and that the trigger is visible without it.

Priority: ➖ Normal

Estimated code review effort: 3 (Moderate) | ~20 minutes

Change: Feature · Severity of issue fixed: Medium

Merge Risk: ⚪ Minimal · up to e36e7

This adds an opt-in setting to hide devtools during browser automation. Default behavior is unchanged, and no merge-blocking risk was identified.

Security Architecture Review

Security architecture risk: 🔵 Low · up to 00d18

This is an opt-in, browser-local visibility change. Existing URL visibility conditions remain intact, but hiding the interface does not disable all DevTools behavior, and hide-and-restore lifecycle behavior is not fully established.

Retained concerns
No architecture-level concerns identified.

Security review details

Security Blast Radius

inferred — The inspected decision is browser-local: effective settings and navigator.webdriver control portal rendering in the host or PiP document. The changed predicate does not itself grant server-side authority or establish tenant isolation.

Trust Boundaries and Controls

inferred — This setting is a visibility convenience, not an authorization or shutdown boundary. Persisted browser settings can override caller configuration, and component-level behavior remains active while hidden. The existing URL-flag condition and its PiP exception remain unchanged beneath the additional suppression condition.

Resilience and Maintainability Implications

observed — Portal-owned plugins have cleanup handlers, while open-state listeners and theme synchronization retain their component-level cleanup. PiP has explicit close, pagehide, beforeunload, and development-update recovery paths. The new hide condition does not unify these independently owned lifetimes.

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 4 | ❌ 1

❌ Failed checks (1 warning)

Check name	Status	Explanation	Resolution
Docstring Coverage	⚠️ Warning	Docstring coverage is 0.00% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%. Docstring coverage is scoped to functions touched by this diff. Analyzed 2 functions across 5 files.	Write docstrings for the functions missing them to satisfy the coverage threshold.

✅ Passed checks (4 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	Issue [`#318`] requires a coding solution that prevents Devtools from interfering with Playwright selectors while preserving local development. The PR adds `hideInAutomation`, with a default of `false`.…
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	The changes stay within issue [`#318`]. The configuration state, runtime detection, documentation, changeset, unit tests, and Playwright tests all support automation hiding or verify its normal behavior…
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly identifies the addition of the `hideInAutomation` feature and its purpose in end-to-end tests.
Description check	✅ Passed	The description includes the change summary, checklist, release impact, testing details, linked issue, rollback risk, and public API example. It clearly states that the full `pnpm test:pr` command was…

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nx-cloud · 2026-10-02T14:33:03Z

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☁️ Nx Cloud last updated this comment at 2026-10-02 15:42:11 UTC

pkg-pr-new · 2026-10-02T14:33:46Z

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commit: e36e731

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Inline comments:
Review comments at @packages/devtools/src/devtools.tsx:
- Line 186: Gate the `createShortcut` callback with the same `hideInAutomation`
and `navigator.webdriver` condition used by the `Show` portal, so the hotkey
cannot call `toggleOpen()` or emit `trigger-toggled` when DevTools are hidden
for automation; preserve the existing editable-target check.

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📒 Files selected for processing (7)

.changeset/hide-in-automation.md
docs/configuration.md
e2e/apps/react-vite/src/main.tsx
e2e/apps/react-vite/tests/hide-in-automation.spec.ts
packages/devtools/src/context/devtools-store.ts
packages/devtools/src/devtools.tsx
packages/devtools/tests/workbench.test.tsx

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With hideInAutomation the devtools render nothing, but the open hotkey still called toggleOpen(). That saved persistOpen and emitted trigger-toggled for devtools that do not exist. The hotkey now uses the same check as the render.

coderabbitai Bot reviewed Oct 2, 2026

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feat(devtools): add hideInAutomation to keep devtools out of e2e tests - #549

feat(devtools): add hideInAutomation to keep devtools out of e2e tests#549
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