Glossary of Testmode terms

Short definitions of the terms you meet in Testmode and in these docs. Where a term is also a label in the app, it is written the way the app shows it.

For general testing concepts, such as what AI testing is, read the guide What is AI testing?.

Term	Definition
Action	One thing the agent did in the browser during a test, such as Clicked or Typed '…'. Actions are listed under Test Steps with a screenshot and the agent’s reasoning. They are not the steps you wrote.
Admin	A role. Admins can do everything an Editor can, and can also delete projects, rename the organization, invite members and buy credits.
Applied	A proposal or exploration whose accepted changes were written to the project.
Assistant	The chat page where you describe what you want and it works on the current project for you, for example creating test cases, test plans and variables. See Create tests with the Assistant.
Automatic login	Testmode signing in with a credential before a test’s steps start, so the steps can begin on a signed-in page.

Term	Definition
Base URL	The root address of an environment, such as https://practicesoftwaretesting.com. A test starts at the Base URL plus its Start Path.
Billing & credits	The organization menu item that opens the Billing tab, for Owners and Admins.

Term	Definition
Canceled	The status of an exploration that someone stopped. It also appears in the status filter on the Runs page, but runs cannot be canceled and do not end in it today.
Command palette	The launcher for actions and pages, opened with Cmd+K on Mac or Ctrl+K on Windows and Linux. It does not search your test cases, test plans or runs. See Keyboard shortcuts.
Coverage map	The Coverage tab of an exploration. It rates each feature area of your site as Covered, Partial or Not covered by your test cases.
Credential	A stored username, password and optional Login URL for your app. Tests that use one sign in automatically. See Credentials and automatic login.
Credential Override	A credential set on a test case inside a test plan. It is used instead of the test case’s own credential, only when that plan runs.
Credit	The unit an organization uses to pay for runs. A run costs one credit per step of each test case, at least one per test case, reserved when the run starts. See How credits work.

Term	Definition
Default environment	The environment Testmode preselects in the Run tests dialog and New exploration. It has a filled star and a DEFAULT badge under Settings > Environments.
Default test duration (minutes)	A project setting under Settings > General: how long a test may run when its test case has no Maximum duration of its own. Empty means 15 minutes; the most is 60.
Disabled test case	A test case with Enabled switched off. It is left out of every run, including plan and scheduled runs.
Disabled test plan	A test plan with Enabled switched off. It is hidden from the Test plan list in the Run tests dialog. Schedules on a disabled plan still run.

Term	Definition
Editor	A role. Editors can do everything a Viewer can, and can also write and edit tests and project setup, start runs and explorations, and apply proposals.
Email reports	The part of a schedule that emails a summary of its runs, Only when a test fails, After every run or Never.
Environment	A named copy of your site, such as Production or Staging, defined by its Base URL. You choose one each time you run tests. See Environments.
Expected Outcome	The part of a test case that says what must be true on the page for the test to pass. The agent’s verdict is judged against it.
Exploration	One visit of the exploratory agent to an environment. It records the pages it sees and proposes changes to your test suite. See Start an exploration.

Term	Definition
Failure reason	The red box on a failed test that explains why it failed: the agent’s own explanation, or a system reason such as “Login failed: …”.
Feature area	A group of related pages found by an exploration, used in its site map and coverage map.

Term	Definition
Interact mode	An exploration mode that also opens dialogs, tries filters and triggers form validation on a few pages. The agent is instructed not to delete, pay, send or publish. It is not available on production environments.
Invitation	An email that adds a person to your organization with a chosen role when they accept it. It is valid for 7 days.

Term	Definition
Live Browser View	A view-only stream of the browser while a test runs. It is not saved as a video. Exploration pages call it Live browser view.
Login Credential	The field on a test case that picks the credential Testmode signs in with. None (no login) means the test runs without signing in.
Login URL	An optional page, set on a credential, where Testmode signs in. When it is blank, Testmode signs in at the test’s start URL.

Term	Definition
Maximum duration (minutes)	An optional field on a test case: how long the test may run before Testmode stops it and marks it Failed with “Timed out: …”. A whole number from 1 to 60. Empty uses the project’s Default test duration (minutes).

Term	Definition
Next expiry	On the Billing tab, the batch of credits that expires soonest, with how many credits and when.
No steps	An amber marker on the Test Cases list for a test case with no steps and no Expected Outcome. Runs leave such test cases out and don’t charge for them.

Term	Definition
Observe mode	The default exploration mode. The agent navigates and reads pages, but it still submits the login form when you choose a credential and dismisses a cookie banner. Production environments always use it.
Organization	Your team’s workspace. It holds members, their roles, the credit balance and projects. See Organizations and projects.
Owner	A role with full access. Whoever creates an organization is its first Owner.

Term	Definition
Page budget	The most pages an exploration visits: 10, 25, 50 or 100.
Parallel browser sessions	An optional credential setting: how many browsers may use that login at the same time, from 1 to 50, counting running tests and explorations. Empty means no limit. Tests beyond the limit wait in Queued until a session is free.
Production environment	An environment with Production Environment switched on. It shows a PROD badge and explorations on it always use Observe mode. It does not block or warn before test runs.
Project	One application’s testing setup inside an organization: environments, credentials, variables, test cases, test plans, explorations and runs.
Proposal	A change an exploration suggests, such as a new test case, an update or a new variable. You accept or reject each one, then apply the accepted ones. See Review and apply proposals.

Term	Definition
Recommendation	A proposal that is advice only. Marking it reviewed writes nothing to your project.
Re-run	Starts a new run on the same environment: a plan run re-runs the plan as it is now, and any other run re-runs the same test cases.
Refund (test did not run)	A billing history entry for credits returned because a test ended before the agent took any action, for example when login failed.
Required switch	A switch on each test case in a test plan. It does not change how runs execute or how results are counted today.
Role	A member’s access level in one organization: Owner, Admin, Editor or Viewer. See Roles and permissions.
Run	One batch of tests started from the Run tests dialog, Re-run or a schedule. It uses one environment and holds one test execution per enabled test case that has steps or an Expected Outcome.
Run tests dialog	Where you choose an environment and what to run, check the credit cost and start a run. Open it with Run test.

Term	Definition
Saved login	The cookies and site storage Testmode saves after a credential signs in, and loads into later tests and explorations with that credential so they can skip the login form. Changing the credential’s username or password clears it.
Schedule	An automatic, repeating run of a test plan against one environment. See Schedule test plans.
Site map	The Site map tab of an exploration, with a screenshot and description of each page the agent visited.
Skipped	The status of a scheduled run that did not start, because the organization lacked credits or none of its test cases had steps or an Expected Outcome. It is not charged.
Start Path	The path added to the environment’s Base URL where a test starts, such as /contact.
Start URL	The Base URL plus the Start Path: the page a test opens first.
Status	Where a run or test stands: Queued, Running, Passed, Failed or Skipped. See Run, test and exploration statuses.
Step	One plain-English instruction you write in a test case. All steps go to the agent together, with the Expected Outcome.
Stopped early	A failure reason, “Stopped early: …”, for a test Testmode ended before its time limit because the agent stopped making progress.
Summary	The agent’s explanation of its verdict, shown under a passed test or as the Failure reason of a failed one.

Term	Definition
Tag	A lower-case label on a test case, used to search, filter and group the Test Cases page.
Test case	One test written in plain English: a name, steps and an Expected Outcome, with optional tags, Start Path, Login Credential and Maximum duration. See Write a test case.
Test execution	One test case run once, in its own browser, inside a run. It has its own status, screenshots and logs.
Test plan	A named group of test cases you run together, manually or on a schedule. See Group tests into test plans.
Test Steps	The section on a test’s result that lists the agent’s actions, each with a screenshot and reasoning.
Time limit	How long a test may run: the test case’s Maximum duration, else the project’s Default test duration, else 15 minutes. A test that reaches it fails with “Timed out: …”.
Triggered By	Who started a run, or Scheduled for a run started by a schedule.

Term	Definition
Variable	A named value stored in a project and used in steps, the Expected Outcome and the Start Path as {{Name}}. Testmode fills in its current value when a test runs. See Variables.
Verdict	The result the agent reports for a test, Passed or Failed, with a summary.
Viewer	A role. Viewers can see everything in the organization’s projects, but can’t start runs or explorations or edit tests from the app. The app hides or disables most controls for changes, and test cases open read-only.