Automating PDF Link Testing Across Multiple Sites Using GitLab CI and Playwright

As a developer or QA engineer, you know the frustration of discovering broken PDF links after a site update — especially when those links span multiple websites. I remember spending hours manually checking PDFs across five different sites, copying and pasting URLs into a browser, hoping I wouldn’t miss any. Each time a site updated, the tedious routine repeated itself, eating into time better spent building new features.

Frustrated by this inefficiency, I decided there had to be a better way. What if I could automate the whole process, running tests that checked every PDF link across all sites — reliably, consistently, and with zero manual effort?