How can we set priority of test cases in TestNG?

Answer

Setting Priority of Test Cases in TestNG

TestNG allows you to control the order of test execution using the priority attribute in the @Test annotation.

Basic priority usage:

Java

@Test(priority = 1)
public void loginTest() {
    System.out.println("Login test — runs first");
}

@Test(priority = 2)
public void searchTest() {
    System.out.println("Search test — runs second");
}

@Test(priority = 3)
public void logoutTest() {
    System.out.println("Logout test — runs third");
}

Default priority is 0: Tests without a priority are assigned value 0 and run before those with higher numbers.

Java

@Test              // priority = 0 (default) → runs first
public void defaultTest() { }

@Test(priority = 1) // runs second
public void firstPriorityTest() { }

@Test(priority = -1) // negative priority → runs before 0
public void negativeTest() { }

Execution order rule: Lower value = executes first.

priority value	Execution order
-1	1st
0 (default)	2nd
1	3rd
2	4th

Same priority — alphabetical order: If two tests have the same priority, TestNG runs them in alphabetical order by method name.

Real-world example:

Java

public class E2ETest {

    @Test(priority = 1)
    public void openBrowser() { }

    @Test(priority = 2)
    public void login() { }

    @Test(priority = 3)
    public void addToCart() { }

    @Test(priority = 4)
    public void checkout() { }

    @Test(priority = 5)
    public void logout() { }
}

Key points:

✓priority controls execution order (lower = earlier)
✓Default priority = 0 when not specified
✓Tests with lower priority run before tests with higher priority
✓Combine with dependsOnMethods for more explicit control