Writing steps

A test is a list of short sentences. The agent reads them and works in a real browser.

Act and check

• Act steps are things the agent does: navigate, click, double-click or right-click, drag and drop, type (also into fields that suggest as you type, and codes split into one box per digit), choose an option, upload a file, or wait for something slow such as “Wait until the report is ready”.
• Check (assert) steps verify something: a message is visible, a total is correct, a page does not show an error. A check waits up to 10 seconds for the page to show it; if it still does not, the check fails the test.

Every act step the agent reports as passed is also checked against the page. Read How results are decided for the details, including browser dialogs and new tabs.

Tips

• One idea per step. “Add the item to the basket” is better than a paragraph.
• Describe what a person sees (“the green Save button”), not how the page is built.
• Put the expected result in a check step right after the action that causes it.
• Be specific about data: say which plan, which item, which value.
• Long lists are fine: name the item, as in “Open the chat with Contact 250”. The agent scrolls the list (or panel) until the item appears, even in lists that only load the rows in view.
• Confirmation boxes are answered OK. To cancel one, say so: “Click Delete, then cancel the confirmation”.

Test accounts

Save a login for your site as a test account. The credentials are sealed when you save them and are released only to your site’s own origin during a run, so they are never typed into another site. Use a dedicated test user, not a real person’s account.

File uploads

Attach files to a test and refer to them in a step, for example “Upload the attached invoice.pdf”. The agent will use the file with the page’s upload control.

Run view

Watch a run live, then review each step with its screenshots and the recording. Recordings are kept for the period set by your plan (14 to 180 days).

Replay of verified steps (beta)

When enabled for a test, steps that were verified in an earlier run can be replayed rather than worked out again. It is opt-in and in beta, so keep an eye on the first few runs after turning it on.