Another blog by yours truly, my story started on a Monday morning. It was sunny and... well, let’s just keep it interesting here. Like most of us do when picking up something new in tech, I kicked off my Robot Framework journey by opening up the docs. You know, the good old Robot Framework Documentation.

Now don’t get me wrong… those docs are gold. I definitely felt a bit smarter after going through them. But even after all that reading, I still had that classic beginner question echoing in my brain: “What now?”

I moved on to installing stuff, but to my surprise, most of it was already set up on my machine. Nice little win. Still though, I wasn’t sure what the next step was. Naturally, the answer should’ve been, “Write your first test... duh!” But I still didn’t know how to do that properly.

And that’s when my buddy Thomas came in clutch.

The Lightbulb Moment

Thomas shared a link with me… one that helped him when he was getting started. And let me tell you, that link was the moment my brain switched from foggy to focused. Here it is: GitHub - imbus/robotframework-tutorial-en: GitPod Repository for Robot Framework Demonstrations

I dove in, followed the examples, and suddenly things started clicking. I was making connections with stuff I already knew from previous experience in test automation, and slowly it all started to make sense.

Of course, the first test I wrote didn’t work exactly as I imagined. I didn’t get the nice green “run” arrow like you’d hope. But when I tried running it through the command line … it worked! Progress, baby.

So I cloned the whole repo and just kept experimenting with Robot Framework.

Getting Hands-On

Once the basic setup was rolling, I poked around the tutorial code, grabbed some config files, and started building out my own little project.

At b.ignited, we’ve got this cool training application built specifically to let testers experiment with different tools. It’s a web app where users can create and enroll in courses … perfect for test automation since it gives you all kinds of HTML elements to mess with.

So I figured, what better way to learn than by building tests for something real? That’s how I kicked off my adventure by writing my first test for our training app using Robot Framework.

And you know what? Even with the little hiccups and gotchas, setting up Robot Framework is actually pretty smooth. If you use the right tools.

For instance, the Robotcode - Robotframework support extension for VS Code is a total lifesaver. It gives you syntax highlighting, code completion, keyword suggestions … basically the whole VIP treatment for your .robot files.

And since I built my framework as a layer on Playwright, I also used the Playwright Test for VS Code extension. Now I didn’t use it for writing Playwright tests directly, but mainly for two absolute bangers:

1. That green play button - next to each test. Click it and your test runs, no need to open a terminal or type anything. Lazy? Maybe. Efficient? Definitely.

2. Locator pickers - huge help! You can inspect elements and grab selectors directly, which is a lifesaver when you’re writing keywords in Robot Framework that interact with the UI.

Having both extensions installed made the whole experience way smoother, and I honestly don’t think I would’ve had half as much fun without them.

So, What is Robot Framework Anyway?

Whenever someone asks, “What even is Robot Framework?”, the answer’s usually something like: it’s a human-readable layer on top of tools like Playwright (or Selenium if you're feeling old-school). And honestly, that’s spot on.

You write your tests in .robot files, and it’s basically English. Like, if you can write a to-do list, you can write a Robot Framework test. It’s that readable.

That’s the magic of it. You don’t need to be a developer or an automation engineer with 10+ years under your belt. Even someone with less technical knowledge can understand the flow of your test cases. That makes it a super collaborative tool. Perfect for teams that mix technical and non-technical folks.

Tools That Made It Click

One thing that really helped me personally was Visual Studio Code. That combo of extensions and IntelliSense? Game changer.

It auto-suggests keywords, shows documentation on hover, and makes your .robot files look all neat and structured. It's like your friendly little code buddy that nudges you when you’re stuck.

Seriously :D you don’t need deep testing experience to get started. I’m still learning as I go, and I’ve already managed to write working tests and understand the core ideas behind building an actual automation framework.

And I’m just getting started. There’s still a lot more to explore, but I’m excited to keep leveling up.

Final Thoughts

So yeah :D that was the start of my Robot Framework journey. It kicked off with a sunny Monday, a bunch of question marks, and one helpful link from a friend.

If you’re thinking of trying it out, my advice is: don’t overthink it. Open the docs, follow a good tutorial, and just start playing around. The setup is straightforward, the learning curve isn’t steep, and you’ll feel like a wizard in no time.

Sure, you’ll hit a few bumps (you’re supposed to - that’s how you learn), but eventually, that lightbulb will go off. And from there, it’s just fun.

Happy testing!