Step Library: Every TestOwl Step Type

The Step Library is the catalogue of every building block you can add to a Test Case or Flow. Each step does one thing — click a button, check some text, call an API, run a loop — and you combine them to describe a complete test.

You'll find the library in the Step Palette of the Step Editor. Drag a step into your test, or click it to add it at the end, then configure it in the Properties Panel. Use the palette's search box to find a step by name.

The Recorder creates many of these steps for you automatically as you use your application.

Settings every step has

Almost every step includes these general settings in the Properties Panel:

Setting	What it does
Name	The step's label in the Step Tree and in reports.
Description	An optional note explaining the step.
On Failure	What happens if the step fails: Fail Immediately (the default) stops the test; Continue But Fail Test keeps running the remaining steps but marks the test as failed; Warn But Continue Execution logs a warning and carries on as if nothing happened.
Use Smart Timeout	On by default. TestOwl automatically adjusts how long it waits for the step.
Timeout Value	Shown when Smart Timeout is off. How long to wait, in milliseconds (default 60000).

Step-specific fields (the target element, the text to type, the value to expect, and so on) appear below these.

Use Variables and Secrets

Most fields accept {{variableName}} references so you don't hard-code values. See Variables and Secrets.

Steps by category

Move around the browser, tabs, and windows.

Step	What it does
Visit Page	Open a page URL.
Navigate Back	Go back in the browser history.
Navigate Forward	Go forward in the browser history.
Refresh Page	Reload the current page.
Open New Tab	Open a new browser tab.
Switch Tab	Switch to another open tab.
Close Tab	Close a browser tab.
Switch Window	Switch to another browser window.
Close Window	Close a browser window.
Handle Dialog	Accept or dismiss a native alert/confirm/prompt dialog. Add this BEFORE the step that opens it.

Mouse

Click, hover, scroll, and select with the mouse.

Step	What it does
Left Click	Click an element with the primary mouse button.
Double Click	Double-click an element.
Right Click	Open the context menu on an element.
Mouse Over	Move the mouse over an element.
Scroll	Scroll the page or an element to a position.
Text Selection	Select a range of text on the page.
Mouse Down	Press and hold a mouse button over an element.
Mouse Up	Release a mouse button over an element.
Move Mouse To Element	Move the pointer over an element.

Keyboard

Press keys and move focus.

Step	What it does
Key Down	Press a keyboard key.
Focus Change	Move keyboard focus to an element via Tab.
Press Key Combination	Press a key combination (e.g. Control+S).

Input

Fill in and change form controls.

Step	What it does
Type Text (palette search: "Type")	Type text into an element.
Select Option (palette search: "Select")	Select option values from a dropdown.
Checkbox	Set checkbox values.
Rich Text Input (palette search: "Rich Text")	Type text into a contenteditable element.
Range Change (palette search: "Range")	Move a range slider to a value.
Radio	Select a radio button.
Clear	Clear the value of an input element.
Blur Element	Remove focus from an element.
Set Date	Set the value of a date input.
Set Time	Set the value of a time input.
Set Date Time	Set the value of a datetime input.

Form

Submit forms.

Step	What it does
Form Submit	Submit a form.

Clipboard

Copy, cut, and paste.

Step	What it does
Copy	Copy from a target element.
Cut	Cut from a target element.
Paste	Paste into a target element.

Drag

Drag and drop elements.

Step	What it does
Drag and Drop (palette search: "Drag Drop")	Drag an element and drop it onto a target.
Drag By Offset	Drag an element by a pixel offset.

Gesture

Touch gestures for mobile and tablet tests.

Step	What it does
Gesture	Perform a touch gesture.
Double Tap	Double-tap an element (touch devices).
Zoom	Pinch-zoom in or out (touch devices).
Change Orientation	Change the device orientation.

File

Upload and download files.

Step	What it does
File Input	Upload one or more files via a file input.
File Remove	Remove an attached file from a file input.
Download File	Download a file triggered by a click or URL.

Media

Control audio and video playback.

Step	What it does
Media	Control audio or video playback.

Viewport

Resize the window, go fullscreen, and take screenshots.

Step	What it does
Resize Viewport	Resize the browser viewport to specific dimensions.
Fullscreen	Enter or exit fullscreen mode.
Take Screenshot	Capture a screenshot of the page or an element.

Wait

Pause until something is ready, or for a fixed time.

Step	What it does
Wait/Delay	Wait for a fixed duration.
Wait for Visible	Wait until an element is visible.
Wait for Hidden	Wait until an element is hidden.
Wait for Enabled	Wait until an element is enabled.
Wait for Animation	Wait until a CSS animation settles.
Wait for Count	Wait until a number of matching elements exists.
Wait for URL	Wait until the page URL matches a pattern.
Wait for Function	Wait until a JavaScript expression returns truthy.
Wait For Element	Wait for an element to appear.
Wait For Element Attached	Wait for an element to be attached to the DOM.
Wait For Element Detached	Wait for an element to be detached from the DOM.
Wait For Element Disabled	Wait for an element to become disabled.
Wait For Page Load	Wait for the page load event.
Wait For DOM Ready	Wait for the DOM to be ready.
Wait For Title Change	Wait for the page title to change.
Wait For Condition	Wait until a JavaScript condition holds.
Wait For Variable Value	Wait until a variable has the expected value.
Wait For API Completion	Wait for a pending API call to complete.
Wait For Request	Wait for a matching network request.
Wait For Response	Wait for a matching network response.
Wait For Download	Wait for a download to complete.
Wait For Upload	Wait for an upload to complete.

Assertion

Check that your application behaves as expected.

Step	What it does
Assert Text	Assert element text content.
Assert Visible	Assert element visibility.
Assert Enabled	Assert element enabled state.
Assert Checked	Assert element checked state.
Assert Select	Assert select element value.
Assert Order	Assert the order of items in a list.
Assert Column	Assert a Kanban/grid item belongs to a column.
Assert Network	Assert a network request URL, method, and payload.
Assert Visual Diff	Compare a screenshot against a stored baseline.
Assert Attribute	Assert an HTML attribute value.
Assert Value	Assert an input or form control current value.
Assert CSS	Assert a computed CSS property value.
Assert Count	Assert the number of matching elements.
Assert URL	Assert the current page URL.
Assert Title	Assert the page title.
Assert Local Storage	Assert local storage values.
Assert Session Storage	Assert session storage values.
Assert Cookie	Assert a browser cookie value.
Element Exists	Assert that an element exists in the DOM.
Element Not Exists	Assert that an element does not exist in the DOM.
Element Editable	Assert that an element is editable.
Element Focused	Assert that an element has focus.
Attribute Not Exists	Assert that an element attribute is absent.
Count Between	Assert that the element count falls within a range.
Page Contains Text	Assert that the page contains the given text.
Page Not Contains Text	Assert that the page does not contain the given text.
Expression	Assert that a JS expression evaluated in the page returns the expected boolean.
Status Code Equals	Assert the captured API response status code.
Response Time Less Than	Assert the captured API response time.
Response Header Equals	Assert a captured API response header.
Response Body Contains	Assert the captured API response body content.
JSON Path Equals	Assert a JSONPath value in the captured API response.
JSON Schema Valid	Validate the captured API response against a JSON schema.
Response Body Size	Assert the byte size of the captured API response body.
Record Exists	Assert that a database record exists.
Record Not Exists	Assert that a database record does not exist.
Record Count Equals	Assert a database record count.
File Exists	Assert that a downloaded file exists.
File Contains Text	Assert that a downloaded file contains text.
Email Received	Assert that an email was received in the test inbox.
Email Subject Equals	Assert a received email’s subject.
Email Body Contains	Assert a received email’s body content.
No Accessibility Violations	Run an axe-core scan and assert no violations at or above the impact level.
ARIA Attribute Exists	Assert that an ARIA attribute exists on an element.
Valid Contrast Ratio	Assert an element’s text contrast ratio meets the threshold.
Pixel Comparison	Compare a screenshot against a stored baseline pixel-by-pixel.
Region Comparison	Compare a page region against a stored baseline, with exclusions.

Control Flow

Add conditions, loops, and retries.

Step	What it does
If / End	Create an if block with an end branch.
If / Else	Create true and else branches.
For Loop	Create a loop branch.
Switch	Run the case matching the subject value.
For Each	Loop over the items of a list or JSON array.
While Loop	Loop while the condition holds.
Repeat Until	Loop until the condition holds (runs at least once).
Break	Exit the innermost loop.
Continue	Skip to the next loop iteration.
Return	Stop executing the current flow or test body.
Stop Test	Stop the test with the given result.
Retry Step	Retry a single wrapped step until it passes.
Retry Block	Retry a block of steps until it passes.

Extraction

Read values from the page into variables.

Step	What it does
Get Text	Extract an element’s text content into a variable.
Get Inner Text	Extract an element’s rendered innerText into a variable.
Get Inner HTML	Extract an element’s innerHTML into a variable.
Get Attribute	Extract an element attribute into a variable.
Get CSS Property	Extract a computed CSS property into a variable.
Get Value	Extract an input’s value into a variable.
Get Element Count	Count matching elements into a variable.
Get Table Data	Extract a table’s rows into a variable.
Get List Data	Extract a list’s items into a variable.
Get Current URL	Extract the browser’s current URL into a variable.

Data & Variables

Create, change, and generate values while the test runs.

Step	What it does
Create Variable	Create a runtime variable.
Update Variable	Update a runtime variable.
Delete Variable	Delete a runtime variable.
Generate Random String	Generate a random string into a variable.
Generate Random Number	Generate a random number into a variable.
Generate Random Email	Generate a random email address into a variable.
Generate UUID	Generate a UUID into a variable.
Current Date	Store the current date/time into a variable.
Add Days	Add days to a date variable.
Subtract Days	Subtract days from a date variable.
Format Date	Format a date value into a variable.
Parse JSON	Parse a JSON string into a variable.
String Replace	Replace text within a string variable.
String Split	Split a string into an array variable.
String Join	Join array items into a string variable.
String Trim	Trim whitespace from a string variable.
Array Push	Append an item to an array variable.
Array Remove	Remove an item from an array variable.
Array Length	Store an array’s length into a variable.
Object Get	Read a property from an object variable.
Object Set	Set a property on an object variable.
Add	Add two numbers into a variable.
Subtract	Subtract one number from another into a variable.
Multiply	Multiply two numbers into a variable.
Divide	Divide one number by another into a variable.
Modulo	Store the remainder of dividing one number by another into a variable.
Calculate Expression	Evaluate an arithmetic expression into a variable.

Browser Storage

Work with cookies, local storage, and session storage.

Step	What it does
Set Cookie	Set a browser cookie.
Get Cookie	Read a cookie value into a variable.
Delete Cookie	Delete a cookie by name.
Clear Cookies	Clear all cookies for the current context.
Set Local Storage	Set a localStorage entry.
Get Local Storage	Read a localStorage entry into a variable.
Remove Local Storage	Remove a localStorage entry.
Clear Local Storage	Clear all localStorage entries.
Set Session Storage	Set a sessionStorage entry.
Get Session Storage	Read a sessionStorage entry into a variable.
Clear Session Storage	Clear all sessionStorage entries.

API

Send HTTP requests and check the response.

Step	What it does
Send API Request	Send an HTTP request and capture the response.

Network

Intercept, change, mock, or block network traffic.

Step	What it does
Intercept Request	Intercept matching network requests.
Mock Response	Mock the response for matching requests.
Modify Request	Modify matching requests before they are sent.
Modify Response	Modify matching responses before the page sees them.
Block Request	Block matching network requests.

Database

Run queries against a configured database.

Step	What it does
Execute Query	Execute a SQL query against a configured database.
Execute Stored Procedure	Execute a stored procedure against a configured database.

Util

Notes and custom code.

Step	What it does
Comment	Add a note. Never executed.
Code Execution	Run custom JavaScript in the page.

Reusing steps as Flows

A Flow is a saved group of steps you can drop into any test as a single block. Flows appear in their own Flows list in the Step Palette. See Flows.

The library keeps growing

New steps are added over time. What you see in the Step Palette is always the current list, so if a step here doesn't appear yet in your palette, refresh the page.

Next steps