Tests and steps

In this section you will learn how to manage tests and edit their steps.

Manage tests

The test list on the left of the Tests tab holds every test of the project.

Create a test with + next to the list (Create New Test). A new test is always created in [All tests], never inside the suite currently selected.
Rename a test by double-clicking its name.
Find a test with the search field above the list.
Hover over a test to Duplicate Test, Delete Test, open its Performance History, the Code exporter or its Test Settings (thresholds, notifications and retries).

The number of tests in a project is limited by your license: the free tier allows 3. See License tiers.

Edit steps

Each row of the command list is a step. Select one to edit it in the step editor below the list:

Field	Content
Command	What the step does. Hover over the field for the description of the command.
Target	Usually the element the step acts on, as a locator (`id=`, `name=`, `css=`, `xpath=`, `linkText=`). Recording stores alternative locators too, used when the first one no longer matches.
Value	The text to type, the value to check or the name of a variable to store.

Right-click a step, or several selected steps, for the step menu:

Action	Shortcut
Add Command / Insert Command	`Ctrl+Shift+A` / `Ctrl+Shift+I`
Cut, Copy, Paste Command	`Ctrl+Shift+X`, `Ctrl+Shift+C`, `Ctrl+Shift+V`
Disable Command / Enable Command	`Ctrl+Shift+D` / `Ctrl+Shift+E`
Delete Command	`Delete`
Record From Here	`Ctrl+R`
Play To Here, Play From Here, Play This Step
Toggle Breakpoint
Collapse All Transactions / Expand All Transactions

A disabled step stays in the test but is skipped on playback. Record From Here starts recording and inserts the new steps after the selected one, which is how you extend or repair an existing test.

Record hovers and waits

Resting the pointer on a clickable element while recording records a mouse over step. Increase the Mouse Over Delay in the recorder settings if too many hovers are recorded, decrease it if a menu that opens on hover is missed.

While recording, right-click an element in the browser panel to record an explicit wait on it: Record Wait For Element Present, Record Wait For Element Visible, Record Wait For Element Text or Record Wait For Element Editable. Use them where a page loads content after a delay.

Mask secret values

The value of a step that types into a password field is masked: it shows as dots in the step list and is hidden in the logs. Masking is set automatically when you record into a password field, and applies to older tests whose target looks like a password field.

Use the button next to the Value field (Mask Value / Show Value) to mask or reveal the value of any typing step.

Note:

Masking hides a value on screen; the value is still stored in the .side file. Keep secrets out of shared projects, and see Monitor configuration in the .side file before committing a project to GitLab.

Breakpoints

Toggle Breakpoint on a step pauses playback before that step, so you can inspect the page in the browser panel. Resume with Play, or continue step by step with Play Next Step. The breakpoints button of the toolbar disables or enables all breakpoints at once.