diff --git a/docs/src/test-cli-js.md b/docs/src/test-cli-js.md
index b88766a58b..ebdc814d25 100644
--- a/docs/src/test-cli-js.md
+++ b/docs/src/test-cli-js.md
@@ -92,8 +92,7 @@ Complete set of Playwright Test options is available in the [configuration file]
 | `--no-deps` | Ignore the dependencies between projects and behave as if they were not specified. |
 | `--output <dir>` | Directory for artifacts produced by tests, defaults to `test-results`. |
 | `--pass-with-no-tests` | Allows the test suite to pass when no files are found. |
-| `--project <name>` | Only run tests from the specified [projects](./test-projects.md). Defaults to running all projects defined in the configuration file.|
-| `--project-grep <name>` | Only run tests from the projects matching this regular expression. Defaults to running all projects defined in the configuration file.|
+| `--project <name>` | Only run tests from the specified [projects](./test-projects.md), supports '*' wildcard. Defaults to running all projects defined in the configuration file.|
 | `--quiet` | Whether to suppress stdout and stderr from the tests. |
 | `--repeat-each <N>` | Run each test `N` times, defaults to one. |
 | `--reporter <reporter>` | Choose a reporter: minimalist `dot`, concise `line` or detailed `list`. See [reporters](./test-reporters.md) for more information. |
diff --git a/packages/playwright-core/src/server/injected/selectorGenerator.ts b/packages/playwright-core/src/server/injected/selectorGenerator.ts
index b629db04be..b88b25acf4 100644
--- a/packages/playwright-core/src/server/injected/selectorGenerator.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright-core/src/server/injected/selectorGenerator.ts
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
-import { cssEscape, escapeForAttributeSelector, escapeForTextSelector, quoteCSSAttributeValue } from '../../utils/isomorphic/stringUtils';
+import { cssEscape, escapeForAttributeSelector, escapeForTextSelector, escapeRegExp, quoteCSSAttributeValue } from '../../utils/isomorphic/stringUtils';
 import { closestCrossShadow, isInsideScope, parentElementOrShadowHost } from './domUtils';
 import type { InjectedScript } from './injectedScript';
 import { getAriaRole, getElementAccessibleName, beginAriaCaches, endAriaCaches } from './roleUtils';
@@ -508,11 +508,6 @@ function isGuidLike(id: string): boolean {
   return transitionCount >= id.length / 4;
 }
 
-function escapeRegExp(s: string) {
-  // From https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Guide/Regular_Expressions#escaping
-  return s.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, '\\$&'); // $& means the whole matched string
-}
-
 function trimWordBoundary(text: string, maxLength: number) {
   if (text.length <= maxLength)
     return text;
diff --git a/packages/playwright-core/src/utils/index.ts b/packages/playwright-core/src/utils/index.ts
index 2595c40ff2..16642ae042 100644
--- a/packages/playwright-core/src/utils/index.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright-core/src/utils/index.ts
@@ -43,3 +43,4 @@ export * from './userAgent';
 export * from './zipFile';
 export * from './zones';
 export * from './isomorphic/locatorGenerators';
+export * from './isomorphic/stringUtils';
diff --git a/packages/playwright-core/src/utils/isomorphic/stringUtils.ts b/packages/playwright-core/src/utils/isomorphic/stringUtils.ts
index d51ecf8d41..19953ef5bb 100644
--- a/packages/playwright-core/src/utils/isomorphic/stringUtils.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright-core/src/utils/isomorphic/stringUtils.ts
@@ -115,4 +115,9 @@ export function trimString(input: string, cap: number, suffix: string = ''): str
 
 export function trimStringWithEllipsis(input: string, cap: number): string {
   return trimString(input, cap, '\u2026');
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
+
+export function escapeRegExp(s: string) {
+  // From https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Guide/Regular_Expressions#escaping
+  return s.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, '\\$&'); // $& means the whole matched string
+}
diff --git a/packages/playwright-core/src/utils/rtti.ts b/packages/playwright-core/src/utils/rtti.ts
index f096ae8ee4..a18d3a450a 100644
--- a/packages/playwright-core/src/utils/rtti.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright-core/src/utils/rtti.ts
@@ -14,9 +14,7 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
-export function isString(obj: any): obj is string {
-  return typeof obj === 'string' || obj instanceof String;
-}
+export { isString } from  './isomorphic/stringUtils';
 
 export function isRegExp(obj: any): obj is RegExp {
   return obj instanceof RegExp || Object.prototype.toString.call(obj) === '[object RegExp]';
diff --git a/packages/playwright/src/common/config.ts b/packages/playwright/src/common/config.ts
index 4262d4f889..5aa4a9abe0 100644
--- a/packages/playwright/src/common/config.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright/src/common/config.ts
@@ -47,7 +47,6 @@ export class FullConfigInternal {
   cliGrep: string | undefined;
   cliGrepInvert: string | undefined;
   cliProjectFilter?: string[];
-  cliProjectGrep?: string;
   cliListOnly = false;
   cliPassWithNoTests?: boolean;
   testIdMatcher?: Matcher;
diff --git a/packages/playwright/src/program.ts b/packages/playwright/src/program.ts
index 64c00d9db6..705ee4091f 100644
--- a/packages/playwright/src/program.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright/src/program.ts
@@ -64,8 +64,7 @@ function addListFilesCommand(program: Command) {
   const command = program.command('list-files [file-filter...]', { hidden: true });
   command.description('List files with Playwright Test tests');
   command.option('-c, --config <file>', `Configuration file, or a test directory with optional "playwright.config.{m,c}?{js,ts}"`);
-  command.option('--project <project-name...>', `Only run tests from the specified list of projects (default: list all projects)`);
-  command.option('--project-grep <pattern>', `Only run tests from the projects matching this regular expression (default: list all projects)`);
+  command.option('--project <project-name...>', `Only run tests from the specified list of projects, supports '*' wildcard (default: list all projects)`);
   command.action(async (args, opts) => listTestFiles(opts));
 }
 
@@ -159,15 +158,11 @@ async function runTests(args: string[], opts: { [key: string]: any }) {
   if (!config)
     return;
 
-  if (opts.project && opts.projectGrep)
-    throw new Error('Only one of --project and --project-grep can be specified.');
-
   config.cliArgs = args;
   config.cliGrep = opts.grep as string | undefined;
   config.cliGrepInvert = opts.grepInvert as string | undefined;
   config.cliListOnly = !!opts.list;
   config.cliProjectFilter = opts.project || undefined;
-  config.cliProjectGrep = opts.projectGrep || undefined;
   config.cliPassWithNoTests = !!opts.passWithNoTests;
 
   const runner = new Runner(config);
@@ -206,11 +201,9 @@ export async function withRunnerAndMutedWrite(configFile: string | undefined, ca
 }
 
 async function listTestFiles(opts: { [key: string]: any }) {
-  if (opts.project && opts.projectGrep)
-    throw new Error('Only one of --project and --project-grep can be specified.');
   await withRunnerAndMutedWrite(opts.config, async (runner, config) => {
     const frameworkPackage = (config as any)['@playwright/test']?.['packageJSON'];
-    return await runner.listTestFiles(frameworkPackage, opts.project, opts.projectGrep);
+    return await runner.listTestFiles(frameworkPackage, opts.project);
   });
 }
 
@@ -324,8 +317,7 @@ const testOptions: [string, string][] = [
   ['--no-deps', 'Do not run project dependencies'],
   ['--output <dir>', `Folder for output artifacts (default: "test-results")`],
   ['--pass-with-no-tests', `Makes test run succeed even if no tests were found`],
-  ['--project <project-name...>', `Only run tests from the specified list of projects(default: run all projects)`],
-  ['--project-grep <pattern>', `Only run tests from the projects matching this regular expression (default: run all projects)`],
+  ['--project <project-name...>', `Only run tests from the specified list of projects, supports '*' wildcard (default: run all projects)`],
   ['--quiet', `Suppress stdio`],
   ['--repeat-each <N>', `Run each test N times (default: 1)`],
   ['--reporter <reporter>', `Reporter to use, comma-separated, can be ${builtInReporters.map(name => `"${name}"`).join(', ')} (default: "${defaultReporter}")`],
diff --git a/packages/playwright/src/runner/loadUtils.ts b/packages/playwright/src/runner/loadUtils.ts
index cc88d426c1..bd2c45e35f 100644
--- a/packages/playwright/src/runner/loadUtils.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright/src/runner/loadUtils.ts
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ export async function collectProjectsAndTestFiles(testRun: TestRun, doNotRunTest
 
   // First collect all files for the projects in the command line, don't apply any file filters.
   const allFilesForProject = new Map<FullProjectInternal, string[]>();
-  const filteredProjects = filterProjects(config.projects, config.cliProjectFilter, config.cliProjectGrep);
+  const filteredProjects = filterProjects(config.projects, config.cliProjectFilter);
   for (const project of filteredProjects) {
     const files = await collectFilesForProject(project, fsCache);
     allFilesForProject.set(project, files);
diff --git a/packages/playwright/src/runner/projectUtils.ts b/packages/playwright/src/runner/projectUtils.ts
index 591e7f5966..49a6c89d84 100644
--- a/packages/playwright/src/runner/projectUtils.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright/src/runner/projectUtils.ts
@@ -16,35 +16,34 @@
 
 import fs from 'fs';
 import path from 'path';
+import { escapeRegExp } from 'playwright-core/lib/utils';
 import { minimatch } from 'playwright-core/lib/utilsBundle';
 import { promisify } from 'util';
 import type { FullProjectInternal } from '../common/config';
-import { createFileMatcher, forceRegExp } from '../util';
+import { createFileMatcher } from '../util';
 
 const readFileAsync = promisify(fs.readFile);
 const readDirAsync = promisify(fs.readdir);
 
-export function filterProjects(projects: FullProjectInternal[], projectNames?: string[], projectGrep?: string): FullProjectInternal[] {
-  if (!projectNames && !projectGrep)
-    return [...projects];
+function wildcardPatternToRegExp(pattern: string): RegExp {
+  return new RegExp('^' + pattern.split('*').map(escapeRegExp).join('.*') + '$', 'ig');
+}
 
-  if (projectGrep) {
-    const regex = forceRegExp(projectGrep);
-    const result = projects.filter(project => {
-      regex.lastIndex = 0;
-      return regex.test(project.project.name);
-    });
-    if (!result.length)
-      throw new Error(`Projects matching "${projectGrep}" not found. Available projects: ${projects.map(p => `"${p.project.name}"`).join(', ')}`);
-    return result;
-  }
+export function filterProjects(projects: FullProjectInternal[], projectNames?: string[]): FullProjectInternal[] {
+  if (!projectNames)
+    return [...projects];
 
   const projectNamesToFind = new Set<string>();
   const unmatchedProjectNames = new Map<string, string>();
+  const patterns = new Set<RegExp>();
   for (const name of projectNames!) {
     const lowerCaseName = name.toLocaleLowerCase();
-    projectNamesToFind.add(lowerCaseName);
-    unmatchedProjectNames.set(lowerCaseName, name);
+    if (lowerCaseName.includes('*')) {
+      patterns.add(wildcardPatternToRegExp(lowerCaseName));
+    } else {
+      projectNamesToFind.add(lowerCaseName);
+      unmatchedProjectNames.set(lowerCaseName, name);
+    }
   }
 
   const result = projects.filter(project => {
@@ -53,6 +52,11 @@ export function filterProjects(projects: FullProjectInternal[], projectNames?: s
       unmatchedProjectNames.delete(lowerCaseName);
       return true;
     }
+    for (const regex of patterns) {
+      regex.lastIndex = 0;
+      if (regex.test(lowerCaseName))
+        return true;
+    }
     return false;
   });
 
@@ -61,6 +65,12 @@ export function filterProjects(projects: FullProjectInternal[], projectNames?: s
     throw new Error(`Project(s) ${unknownProjectNames} not found. Available projects: ${projects.map(p => `"${p.project.name}"`).join(', ')}`);
   }
 
+  if (!result.length) {
+    const allProjects = projects.map(p => `"${p.project.name}"`).join(', ');
+    throw new Error(`No projects matched. Available projects: ${allProjects}`);
+  }
+
+
   return result;
 }
 
diff --git a/packages/playwright/src/runner/runner.ts b/packages/playwright/src/runner/runner.ts
index f8fa2cac0e..2f3fa739ab 100644
--- a/packages/playwright/src/runner/runner.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright/src/runner/runner.ts
@@ -51,8 +51,8 @@ export class Runner {
     this._config = config;
   }
 
-  async listTestFiles(frameworkPackage: string | undefined, projectNames: string[] | undefined, projectGrep: string | undefined): Promise<ConfigListFilesReport> {
-    const projects = filterProjects(this._config.projects, projectNames, projectGrep);
+  async listTestFiles(frameworkPackage: string | undefined, projectNames: string[] | undefined): Promise<ConfigListFilesReport> {
+    const projects = filterProjects(this._config.projects, projectNames);
     const report: ConfigListFilesReport = {
       projects: [],
       cliEntryPoint: frameworkPackage ? path.join(path.dirname(frameworkPackage), 'cli.js') : undefined,
diff --git a/packages/playwright/src/runner/tasks.ts b/packages/playwright/src/runner/tasks.ts
index 3862cad76f..28f363d58f 100644
--- a/packages/playwright/src/runner/tasks.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright/src/runner/tasks.ts
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ function createRemoveOutputDirsTask(): Task<TestRun> {
       if (process.env.PW_TEST_NO_REMOVE_OUTPUT_DIRS)
         return;
       const outputDirs = new Set<string>();
-      const projects = filterProjects(config.projects, config.cliProjectFilter, config.cliProjectGrep);
+      const projects = filterProjects(config.projects, config.cliProjectFilter);
       projects.forEach(p => outputDirs.add(p.project.outputDir));
 
       await Promise.all(Array.from(outputDirs).map(outputDir => removeFolders([outputDir]).then(async ([error]) => {
diff --git a/packages/playwright/src/runner/watchMode.ts b/packages/playwright/src/runner/watchMode.ts
index 8ce7972f87..575653d3e2 100644
--- a/packages/playwright/src/runner/watchMode.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright/src/runner/watchMode.ts
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ class FSWatcher {
 
   async update(config: FullConfigInternal) {
     const commandLineFileMatcher = config.cliArgs.length ? createFileMatcherFromArguments(config.cliArgs) : () => true;
-    const projects = filterProjects(config.projects, config.cliProjectFilter, config.cliProjectGrep);
+    const projects = filterProjects(config.projects, config.cliProjectFilter);
     const projectClosure = buildProjectsClosure(projects);
     const projectFilters = new Map<FullProjectInternal, Matcher>();
     for (const [project, type] of projectClosure) {
@@ -263,7 +263,7 @@ async function runChangedTests(config: FullConfigInternal, failedTestIdCollector
 
   // Collect all the affected projects, follow project dependencies.
   // Prepare to exclude all the projects that do not depend on this file, as if they did not exist.
-  const projects = filterProjects(config.projects, config.cliProjectFilter, config.cliProjectGrep);
+  const projects = filterProjects(config.projects, config.cliProjectFilter);
   const projectClosure = buildProjectsClosure(projects);
   const affectedProjects = affectedProjectsClosure([...projectClosure.keys()], [...filesByProject.keys()]);
   const affectsAnyDependency = [...affectedProjects].some(p => projectClosure.get(p) === 'dependency');
@@ -388,8 +388,6 @@ function printConfiguration(config: FullConfigInternal, title?: string) {
   const tokens: string[] = [];
   tokens.push(`${packageManagerCommand} playwright test`);
   tokens.push(...(config.cliProjectFilter || [])?.map(p => colors.blue(`--project ${p}`)));
-  if (config.cliProjectGrep)
-    tokens.push(colors.blue(`--project-grep ${config.cliProjectGrep}`));
   if (config.cliGrep)
     tokens.push(colors.red(`--grep ${config.cliGrep}`));
   if (config.cliArgs)
diff --git a/packages/playwright/src/util.ts b/packages/playwright/src/util.ts
index f6e12f202e..34907428c9 100644
--- a/packages/playwright/src/util.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright/src/util.ts
@@ -15,12 +15,11 @@
  */
 
 import fs from 'fs';
-import { mime } from 'playwright-core/lib/utilsBundle';
 import type { StackFrame } from '@protocol/channels';
 import util from 'util';
 import path from 'path';
 import url from 'url';
-import { debug, minimatch, parseStackTraceLine } from 'playwright-core/lib/utilsBundle';
+import { debug, mime, minimatch, parseStackTraceLine } from 'playwright-core/lib/utilsBundle';
 import { formatCallLog } from 'playwright-core/lib/utils';
 import type { TestInfoError } from './../types/test';
 import type { Location } from './../types/testReporter';
diff --git a/tests/playwright-test/config.spec.ts b/tests/playwright-test/config.spec.ts
index 6a0b5970e6..38fef69915 100644
--- a/tests/playwright-test/config.spec.ts
+++ b/tests/playwright-test/config.spec.ts
@@ -245,7 +245,7 @@ test('should filter by project, case-insensitive', async ({ runInlineTest }) =>
   ]));
 });
 
-test('should filter by project-grep', async ({ runInlineTest }) => {
+test('should filter by project wildcard', async ({ runInlineTest }) => {
   const result = await runInlineTest({
     'playwright.config.js': `
       module.exports = {
@@ -260,7 +260,7 @@ test('should filter by project-grep', async ({ runInlineTest }) => {
       test('one', async ({}) => {
         console.log('%%' + test.info().project.name);
       });    `
-  }, { '--project-grep': '.*oj.*t-Na.?e' });
+  }, { '--project': '*oj*t-Na*e' });
   expect(result.exitCode).toBe(0);
   expect(result.output).toContain('Running 1 test using 1 worker');
   expect(new Set(result.outputLines)).toEqual(new Set([
@@ -268,7 +268,7 @@ test('should filter by project-grep', async ({ runInlineTest }) => {
   ]));
 });
 
-test('should print nice error when the project grep does not match anything', async ({ runInlineTest }) => {
+test('should print nice error when the project wildcard does not match anything', async ({ runInlineTest }) => {
   const { output, exitCode } = await runInlineTest({
     'playwright.config.ts': `
       module.exports = { projects: [
@@ -282,38 +282,21 @@ test('should print nice error when the project grep does not match anything', as
         console.log(testInfo.project.name);
       });
     `
-  }, { '--project-grep': ['aaa'] });
+  }, { '--project': ['not*found'] });
   expect(exitCode).toBe(1);
-  expect(output).toContain('Error: Projects matching \"aaa\" not found. Available projects: \"suite1\", \"suite2\"');
+  expect(output).toContain('Error: No projects matched. Available projects: "suite1", "suite2"');
 });
 
-test('should fail if both --project and --project-grep are passed', async ({ runInlineTest }) => {
-  const { output, exitCode } = await runInlineTest({
-    'playwright.config.ts': `
-      module.exports = { projects: [
-        { name: 'suite1' },
-        { name: 'suite2' },
-      ] };
-    `,
-    'a.test.ts': `
-      import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';
-      test('pass', async ({}, testInfo) => {
-        console.log(testInfo.project.name);
-      });
-    `
-  }, { '--project-grep': 'foo', '--project': 'bar' });
-  expect(exitCode).toBe(1);
-  expect(output).toContain('Only one of --project and --project-grep can be specified');
-});
-
-test('should filter by project and allow passing RegExp start/end flags', async ({ runInlineTest }) => {
+test('should filter by project wildcard and exact name', async ({ runInlineTest }) => {
   const result = await runInlineTest({
     'playwright.config.js': `
       module.exports = {
         projects: [
-         { name: 'prefix-fooBar' },
+         { name: 'first' },
          { name: 'fooBar' },
-         { name: 'foobar' },
+         { name: 'foobarBaz' },
+         { name: 'prefix' },
+         { name: 'prefixEnd' },
         ]
       };
     `,
@@ -322,9 +305,9 @@ test('should filter by project and allow passing RegExp start/end flags', async
       test('one', async ({}) => {
         console.log('%%' + test.info().project.name);
       });    `
-  }, { '--project-grep': '/fooBar$/' });
+  }, { '--project': ['first', '*bar', 'pref*x'] });
   expect(result.exitCode).toBe(0);
-  expect(new Set(result.outputLines)).toEqual(new Set(['prefix-fooBar', 'fooBar']));
+  expect(new Set(result.outputLines)).toEqual(new Set(['first', 'fooBar', 'prefix']));
 });
 
 test('should print nice error when project is unknown', async ({ runInlineTest }) => {
diff --git a/tests/playwright-test/list-files.spec.ts b/tests/playwright-test/list-files.spec.ts
index 0ef2eda304..25cb3e6cee 100644
--- a/tests/playwright-test/list-files.spec.ts
+++ b/tests/playwright-test/list-files.spec.ts
@@ -48,13 +48,13 @@ test('should list files', async ({ runCLICommand }) => {
   });
 });
 
-test('should support project-grep list files', async ({ runCLICommand }) => {
+test('should support wildcard list files', async ({ runCLICommand }) => {
   const result = await runCLICommand({
     'playwright.config.ts': `
       module.exports = { projects: [{ name: 'foo' }, { name: 'bar' }] };
     `,
     'a.test.js': ``
-  }, 'list-files', ['--project-grep', 'f.o']);
+  }, 'list-files', ['--project', 'f*o']);
   expect(result.exitCode).toBe(0);
 
   const data = JSON.parse(result.stdout);
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ test('should support project-grep list files', async ({ runCLICommand }) => {
     projects: [
       {
         name: 'foo',
-        testDir: expect.stringContaining('list-files-should-support-project-grep-list-files-playwright-test'),
+        testDir: expect.stringContaining('list-files-should-support-wildcard-list-files-playwright-test'),
         use: {},
         files: [
           expect.stringContaining('a.test.js')