[Bug]: Overwriting .env files interrupts tests when using the VSCode Playwright extension

[jaktestowac]

Version

1.49.1

Steps to reproduce

Start new project ( I use Windows 11 machine) with:
npm init playwright@latest --yes '--' '--quiet' '--browser=chromium'

Make sure that you have Playwright Extension installed (tested on Playwright Test for VSCode v1.1.12)

Add test:

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

test('test broken plugin', async ({ page }) => {
  fs.writeFileSync('.env', '');

  console.log('Go to website');
  await page.goto('http://playwright.dev');

  console.log('Do the stuff');
  await expect(page.getByText('playwright').first()).toBeInViewport();
});

Run test form VSCode using Playwright Test for VSCode extension:

Expected behavior

Test should finish successfully, like when commenting line: fs.writeFileSync('.env', '');

Actual behavior

Test is interrupted:

Additional context

1. Running tests in the console works fine:

   

2. Renaming the file so it no longer matches the **.env* pattern
   If you rename the file so it does not match the **.env* pattern (e.g., .my-env), the test passes when triggered from VSCode with the Playwright extension.

   This issue is likely related to the watcher implementation in the VSCode Playwright extension:
   Source code reference
   Introduced in this PR:
   #403

3. Why does this scenario matter?

   • Using dotenv allows you to override .env files and reload them at runtime.
   • However, when the Playwright extension in VSCode watches files matching **.env*, it prevents this behavior, creating a big inconsistency compared to running tests from the terminal.

Environment

VSCode with Playwright Test for VSCode v1.1.12
System:
    OS: Windows 11
    CPU: (16) x64 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM)
    Memory: 43.39 GB / 63.71 GB
  Binaries:
    Node: 20.11.0 - \nodejs\node.EXE
    npm: 10.4.0 - \nodejs\npm.CMD
  IDEs:
    VSCode: 1.95.3 - \Microsoft VS Code\bin\code.CMD
  Browsers:
    Edge: Chromium (127.0.2651.74)
  npmPackages:
    @playwright/test: ^1.49.0