# TestOwl Glossary: Key Terms Explained

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A quick reference for the most common TestOwl terms.
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## Test objects

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### Project <a id="project"></a>
Your workspace in TestOwl. A project contains your test suites, test cases, flows, environments, variables, secrets, schedules, team members, run history, and its own plan.
See [Creating a Project](/docs/getting-started/creating-a-project).

### Test Suite <a id="test-suite"></a>
A collection of related test cases used to organise your automated tests.
See [Test Suites](/docs/building-tests/test-suites).

### Test Case <a id="test-case"></a>
A runnable automated test made up of one or more steps.
See [Test Cases](/docs/building-tests/test-cases).

### Flow <a id="flow"></a>
A reusable sequence of steps that can be shared across multiple test cases or other flows. Build it once, maintain it in one place, and every test that references it uses the latest version.
See [Flows](/docs/building-tests/flows).

### Step <a id="step"></a>
An individual action, assertion, wait condition, or control flow operation that makes up a test case or flow.
See [The Step Editor](/docs/building-tests/the-editor) and the [Step Library](/docs/building-tests/step-library).

### Step Library <a id="step-library"></a>
The catalogue of every step type you can add to a test, organised by category and available in the Step Palette.
See [Step Library](/docs/building-tests/step-library).

### Recorder <a id="recorder"></a>
The recording tool, available in the Desktop App, that captures your interactions with an application and converts them into test steps.
See [Recording a Test](/docs/building-tests/recording-a-test).

### Tag <a id="tag"></a>
A label used to organise and filter test suites, test cases, and flows.
See [Tags](/docs/data/tags).
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## Running tests

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### Environment <a id="environment"></a>
A run configuration that defines how your tests execute, including browser, device, viewport, locale, network, and other settings.
See [Environments](/docs/environments/overview).

### Run <a id="run"></a>
A single execution of one or more test cases against one environment. Running against several environments creates one run for each.
See [Run History](/docs/running-and-results/run-history).

### Execution <a id="execution"></a>
The unit your plan measures: one test case run against one environment.
See [Plans & Usage](/docs/team-and-account/plans-and-usage).

### Local run / Cloud run <a id="local-run-cloud-run"></a>
A **Local** run executes on your own computer through the Desktop App. A **Cloud** run executes on TestOwl's infrastructure.
See [Triggering a Run](/docs/running-and-results/triggering-a-run).

### Schedule <a id="schedule"></a>
An automatic run of suites or tests, once or on a repeating pattern.
See [Scheduling Runs](/docs/running-and-results/schedules).

### Report <a id="report"></a>
The detailed results of a run, including step results, screenshots, video, logs, and an optional PDF export.
See [Reading Reports](/docs/running-and-results/reports).
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## Test data and security

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### Variable <a id="variable"></a>
A reusable value that can be referenced throughout your tests instead of hardcoding data.
See [Variables](/docs/data/variables).

### Secret <a id="secret"></a>
A secure, write-only value used for sensitive information such as passwords, API keys, and access tokens.
See [Secrets](/docs/data/secrets).

### Test Data Generator <a id="test-data-generator"></a>
A built-in generator that creates realistic random test data such as names, emails, addresses, dates, and more, through Dynamic variables.
See [Test Data Generator](/docs/data/test-data).

### Masking Rule <a id="masking-rule"></a>
A rule that hides sensitive information in screenshots and videos captured during test execution.
See [Masking Rules](/docs/data/masking-rules).
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## Workspace

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### Recycle Bin <a id="recycle-bin"></a>
Where deleted items are kept for 15 days before being permanently removed, so you can restore them.
See [Recycle Bin](/docs/workspace/recycle-bin).

### Notification <a id="notification"></a>
An alert in the bell menu, and sometimes an email, about your plan, quota, schedules, or billing.
See [Notifications](/docs/workspace/notifications).
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## Team, plans and billing

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### Project Role <a id="project-role"></a>
The permission level assigned to a project member. Available roles are Owner, Admin, Editor, and Viewer.
See [Project Roles](/docs/team-and-account/project-roles).

### Project Plan <a id="project-plan"></a>
The plan a project runs on — Trial, Starter, Pro, or Scale — which determines its limits and features.
See [Plans & Usage](/docs/team-and-account/plans-and-usage).

### Trial <a id="trial"></a>
The free 7-day evaluation every new project starts with, with all features unlocked and a total of 750 executions.
See [Plans & Usage](/docs/team-and-account/plans-and-usage).

### Read-only project <a id="read-only-project"></a>
A project whose trial or access period has ended, or whose payment failed. You can view everything but can't change it or start runs until a plan is active.
See [Plans & Usage](/docs/team-and-account/plans-and-usage).

### Billing profile <a id="billing-profile"></a>
The legal name, address, and tax details used on your invoices.
See [Billing & Subscriptions](/docs/team-and-account/billing).
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