[Bug]: use.reducedMotion from config/test.use() is not applied to the runner-managed browser context

[buchalla-dev]

Version

1.57.0

Steps to reproduce

1. npm install @playwright/test@1.57.0
2. playwright.config.ts:

import { defineConfig } from '@playwright/test';

export default defineConfig({
  testDir: '.',
  use: {
    reducedMotion: 'reduce'
  }
});

3. repro.spec.ts:

import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';

test('use.reducedMotion from config is honored by the runner context', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.setContent('<p>hello</p>');
  const matches = await page.evaluate(() =>
    matchMedia('(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)').matches
  );
  expect(matches).toBe(true);
});

4. npx playwright test

Expected behavior

The test passes: matchMedia('(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)') is true inside pages of the runner-managed browser context, because the config sets use.reducedMotion: 'reduce'.

Actual behavior

The test fails: matchMedia returns false. The option is silently not applied — neither from the config's top-level use nor from an explicit test.use({ reducedMotion: 'reduce' }) in the spec file.

Notably, a manually created context in the same test run honors the option:

test('probe', async ({ browser }) => {
  const ctx = await browser.newContext({ reducedMotion: 'reduce' });
  const page = await ctx.newPage();
  console.log(await page.evaluate(() => matchMedia('(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)').matches)); // true
});

So the emulation itself works — the runner appears to drop reducedMotion when building the context for the page fixture. As a workaround, await page.emulateMedia({ reducedMotion: 'reduce' }) per page works.

Impact: tests relying on reduced-motion emulation (e.g. axe-core accessibility scans that must not run mid-animation) behave differently than the config suggests and become timing-flaky.

Additional context

• Browser: chromium (default project, headless shell 143.0.7499.4)
• Only tested with the default chromium project; no project-level use overrides involved (plain devices['Desktop Chrome'] does not change the outcome either).

Environment

System:
  OS: macOS 26.x (arm64, Apple Silicon)
  CPU: Apple M-series
Binaries:
  Node: 22.22.3
  npm/bun: bun 1.3.14
npmPackages:
  @playwright/test: 1.57.0

[dgozman]

@buchalla-dev This is expected, because reducedMotion is not listed in the list of config options. That said, we can add it.

[SafalBhandari12]

Reproduced on tip-of-tree (origin/main @ 3827650, 2026-07-24). The emulation itself works — browser.newContext({ reducedMotion: 'reduce' }) applies correctly in the same run — but neither use: { reducedMotion: 'reduce' } in the config nor test.use({ reducedMotion: 'reduce' }) reaches the runner-managed page/context fixtures; matchMedia('(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)').matches stays false either way.

Root cause: in packages/playwright/src/index.ts, every context option (colorScheme, timezoneId, viewport, etc.) has a dedicated fixture reading off contextOptions plus an entry in _combinedContextOptions that copies it into the final options passed to newContext(). reducedMotion (and forcedColors, contrast, screen) is missing from both places, so it's silently dropped before it ever reaches the browser.

What I ran: built tip-of-tree locally from origin/main @ 3827650. Repro via runInlineTest: config-level use.reducedMotion fails, test.use({ reducedMotion }) fails, control browser.newContext({ reducedMotion: 'reduce' }) in the same run passes.

Condensed repro:

test('fixture page honors reducedMotion', async ({ page }) => {
  const matches = await page.evaluate(() => matchMedia('(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)').matches);
  expect(matches).toBe(true); // fails: receives false
});

with playwright.config.ts: module.exports = { use: { reducedMotion: 'reduce' } };

I'd like to work on this , the fix looks mechanical: add reducedMotion (and ideally forcedColors/contrast/screen, which have the same gap) to the fixture list and _combinedContextOptions in packages/playwright/src/index.ts, following the existing colorScheme pattern, plus matching TestOptions doc/type entries.