TestOwlHow to Record a Test in TestOwl
Learn more about visual recording and self-healing test steps on the No-Code Test Automation platform page.
Before you begin
Make sure you have:
- A project where you're an Editor, Admin, or Owner (Viewers can't record).
- The TestOwl Desktop App installed and open — recording happens inside it. See The Desktop App.
- The URL of the web application you want to test.
Recording is turned off in some places
Start recording
Open your project and go to the Home page. Set up your recording:
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Protocol and URL | The address of the page to start on. Choose https or http, then enter the URL. |
| Environment (optional) | Records with that Environment's browser, device, viewport, locale, and other settings applied, exactly as a real run would use them — so you record what your test will actually see. |
| Flow (optional) | A Flow, such as Log in, that TestOwl plays before recording begins. Recording starts on the page you're left on, so you don't re-record steps like signing in. |
Click Record. The Desktop App opens a browser on your application and starts capturing.
If a chosen Flow can't complete, TestOwl tells you that the setup steps failed and recording doesn't start — fix the Flow or pick another one and try again.
Record your user journey
Use your application exactly as an end user would: navigate, click, type, choose options, and submit forms. Each action appears as a step in the recorder panel as you go.
The panel header shows Live while recording. You can:
- Pause and Resume the recording — for example while you dismiss something you don't want in the test.
- Stop the recording when your journey is finished.
Add assertions while you record
Use Add assertion for the next step in the panel to insert a check — such as text, visibility, an attribute, an element's state, or the page URL — without leaving the recorder. The assertion appears in your step list like any other step, and you can edit it afterwards.
Create Variables on the fly
The Configure panel lets you pick an existing Variable or create a new one, so recorded values can use variables instead of hard-coded text.
Review your recorded steps
When you stop, review the steps before saving. Every step is editable:
- Change a step's properties.
- Reorder steps by dragging them.
- Delete steps you don't need.
- Add new steps from the palette.
- Select several steps and click Create Flow to turn them into a reusable Flow.
Click Run to replay the steps on the page that's still open and check they work. Nothing is saved by a replay.
Save
Click Save, then choose what to save the recording as:
- A Test Case — for automated execution. Choose its name, suite, and other details.
- A Flow — if the sequence will be reused across many tests. A login sequence is a classic example.
Save is available once you've stopped recording and have at least one step.
Re-recording an existing test
You can also record into a test you've already built. In the Step Editor, choose Edit using Recorder, enter the page to start on, and continue recording. TestOwl replays the test's existing steps first (including any Flows it uses) and then lets you add or change steps from where it stops.
Supported recording actions
The Recorder converts common browser interactions into TestOwl steps automatically:
| Your action | Recorded as |
|---|---|
| Open a page or navigate to a URL | Visit Page |
| Click an element | Left Click |
| Double-click an element | Double Click |
| Right-click an element | Right Click |
| Type into an input field | Type Text |
| Press keyboard keys | Key Down |
| Choose an option from a dropdown | Select Option |
| Tick or untick a checkbox | Checkbox |
TestOwl supports many more step types that you can add when building a test — see the Step Library.
Tip
Stuck on a tricky bit instead of recording it by hand? Use the Ask AI box above the step list to describe the action and let AI perform it for you — see Creating Tests with AI.