# Automate a test case

> Automate a test case by having Copilot learn its manual steps, recording the steps in a live browser, or writing the automated steps yourself.

Automate a test case by having Copilot learn its manual steps, by recording the steps in a live browser, or by writing the automated steps yourself. Once the test case has automated steps, its **Automation Type** changes from **Not Automated** to **Automated**.

## Choose how to automate

All three ways start on the **Automated steps** tab of a test case, and the steps they produce appear in the same editor.

| Aspect | Learn with Copilot | Record the steps | Write the steps yourself |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you do | Copilot performs the manual steps in a live browser and generates automated steps. | You perform the test in a live browser, and Copilot records each action as a step. | You type each step and fill in its values. |
| Needs manual steps | Yes | No | No |
| Needs a Copilot session | Yes | Yes | No |
| Automation Type changes | When the learned steps are added | When the recorded steps are added | When you add the first step |

## Create the test case

1. Open **Test Cases** in the left navigation and open the folder the test case belongs in.

2. Click **Create**, or press `C`. The dialog opens with **Documentation** selected as the template type and your open folder selected.

3. Enter a title and, optionally, a description. For the other properties in the dialog, see [Test case properties](https://testsigma.com/docs/v2/docs/arcus/v2/create-and-manage/test-cases/#test-case-properties).

4. **(Optional)** To store the test case in another folder, click the folder chip, select a folder in **Add Folder Location for Test Case**, and click **Select Folder**.

5. Click **Create**. The test case opens on the **Details** tab.

6. **(Optional)** If Copilot will learn the steps, enter the manual steps under **Steps**. Arcus saves the change automatically, and **Last Saved** in the header updates.

A new test case has **Automation Type** set to **Not Automated**, and adding manual steps doesn't change it.

![The AUTOMATION section of a test case with Automation Type set to Not Automated.](https://s3.amazonaws.com/static-docs.testsigma.com/new/projects/applications/automation_type_not_automated.png)

## Open the Automated steps tab

Open the **Automated steps** tab. Until the test case has automated steps, the tab reads "This case is not automated yet" and offers two buttons:

- **Learn with Copilot** or **Author with Copilot**: opens a Copilot session. The tab shows **Learn with Copilot** when the test case has manual steps, and **Author with Copilot** when it has none.
- **Write the script manually**: opens the automated steps editor. See [Write the steps yourself](#write-the-steps-yourself).

![The Learn with Copilot and Write the script manually buttons on the Automated steps tab, with Learn with Copilot outlined.](https://s3.amazonaws.com/static-docs.testsigma.com/new/projects/applications/automated_steps_empty_state.png)

## Start a Copilot session

Learning and recording both happen in a Copilot session, a live browser that Copilot controls.

To run the session on **My local machine**, the Arcus Agent must be running on your computer. See [Install the Arcus Agent](https://testsigma.com/docs/v2/docs/arcus/v2/get-started/installation/terminal/).

1. On the **Automated steps** tab, click **Learn with Copilot** or **Author with Copilot**. The **Copilot configuration** panel opens.

   ![The Copilot configuration panel with Web and Cloud selected, Linux ubuntu, Chrome 147, and 1920x1080 as the test machine, and the Debugging and Copilot Behaviour sections.](https://s3.amazonaws.com/static-docs.testsigma.com/new/projects/applications/copilot_configuration.png)

2. **(Optional)** To reuse earlier selections, pick a saved configuration in **Saved configuration**.

3. In **What you are authoring**, select **Web** or **Mobile**. If the test case already has automated steps, each option shows how many of them run on that platform, for example **Mobile** "2 of 6 steps skipped". Steps that run on web only are skipped on mobile.

   ![The What you are authoring options, with Web showing runs every step and Mobile showing 2 of 6 steps skipped.](https://s3.amazonaws.com/static-docs.testsigma.com/new/projects/applications/copilot_platform_step_count.png)

4. In **Where to run**, select **My local machine** or **Cloud**.

5. Under **Test machine**, choose the machine:
   - On **Cloud** for **Web**, select the **OS & Version**, **Browser**, and **Resolution**.
   - On **Cloud** for **Mobile**, select the **OS & Version** and **Device**, and optionally an **Orientation**. The session runs on a real device from Testsigma Lab.
   - On **My local machine**, select a browser in **Browser on this machine**. The list shows the browsers on your computer and marks missing ones as **Not installed**.

   On **Cloud**, Arcus provisions the machine when the session starts.

   ![The Browser on this machine list for My local machine, showing Chrome for Testing, Chrome, and Edge marked Not installed.](https://s3.amazonaws.com/static-docs.testsigma.com/new/projects/applications/copilot_local_machine_browser.png)

6. For **Mobile**, select the app under **App Under Test**. If the project has no apps yet, the section reads "No apps in this project yet". Click **Open Apps** to create the app in the Apps module, then return to the panel.

   ![The Copilot configuration panel for Mobile on Cloud, with Android 16 and Google Pixel 9 Pro as the test machine and the App Under Test section outlined, showing No apps in this project yet.](https://s3.amazonaws.com/static-docs.testsigma.com/new/projects/applications/copilot_mobile_configuration.png)

7. **(Optional)** Under **Debugging**, select a step in **Pause at** to stop the session there, or a step in **Start from** to run the earlier steps without stopping.

8. **(Optional)** Under **Copilot Behaviour**, turn on the options you want and enter **Instructions to Copilot**.

9. **(Optional)** Under **Additional settings**, change **Page timeout** or **Step timeout**. The values shown are the defaults.

10. Click **Start Copilot**. The session opens in a new browser tab, with the Copilot panel on the left and the live browser on the right. On **Cloud**, "Spinning up your cloud browser" shows while the machine starts, which usually takes 10 to 20 seconds.

The **Copilot Behaviour** options are:

- **Self-heal broken locators**: Copilot repairs a failed locator mid-run and records the change for review.
- **Pause on ambiguity**: Copilot stops and asks instead of guessing when a step has more than one match.
- **Instructions to Copilot**: free-text guidance for this session only, for example `skip the loyalty upsell modal`.

To save these selections for later sessions, enter a name in **Saved configuration**, then click the arrow next to **Start Copilot** and select **Save & Start Copilot**. Until you enter a name, the option shows "Name is required".

![The Start Copilot menu with Start Copilot and Save & Start Copilot, which shows Name is required.](https://s3.amazonaws.com/static-docs.testsigma.com/new/projects/applications/save_and_start_copilot.png)

## Learn the steps with Copilot

Copilot runs the action steps of the test case in the live browser and generates the automated steps that reproduce them. It doesn't run preconditions or expected results, so it can learn fewer steps than the test case has manual steps.

In the Copilot panel, click **Start learning**.

![The Copilot panel listing 7 manual steps, with the Start learning button outlined above Record and author.](https://s3.amazonaws.com/static-docs.testsigma.com/new/projects/applications/copilot_session_start.png)

The status line reads "Arcus is learning" with the current step, for example "Step 4 of 4". As Copilot completes each step, it marks the step done, describes what it did, and shows the automated step it generated, such as **Click on Search Button**.

![The Copilot panel while learning, with steps 1 to 4 marked done and step 4 expanded to show the generated step Click on Search Button.](https://s3.amazonaws.com/static-docs.testsigma.com/new/projects/applications/copilot_learning_progress.png)

### Save the learned steps

When learning finishes, the status line reads "Learning done" and the **Learning complete** card appears. The card lists the **Manual steps you started with**, the **Automated steps** Copilot generated, and the **Updated manual steps** Copilot wrote to match them.

1. **(Optional)** Click **Automated steps** or **Updated manual steps** to review them, or click **What changed** to compare the updated manual steps with your originals.
2. Click **Save and Run**. Arcus saves the automated steps, replaces the test case's manual steps with the **Updated manual steps**, and runs the test case.

   ![The Learning complete card with 4 steps learned, 6 automated steps, and 10 updated manual steps, with Save and Run outlined.](https://s3.amazonaws.com/static-docs.testsigma.com/new/projects/applications/learning_complete_new.png)

When you're done, [end the session](#end-the-session).

## Record the steps yourself

Perform the test in the live browser, and Copilot records each action you take as an automated step. Use this when the test case has no manual steps.

1. In the Copilot panel, click **Record and author**. The **Start recording** panel asks "Which page should I open?"
2. Enter the URL of the page the test starts on, such as `https://www.booking.com/`. The first automated step navigates to this page.

   ![The Start recording panel asking Which page should I open, with https://www.booking.com/ entered and the Start recording button outlined.](https://s3.amazonaws.com/static-docs.testsigma.com/new/projects/applications/start_recording.png)

3. Click **Start recording**. Copilot opens the page in the live browser.
4. Perform the test in the live browser. Copilot records everything you do after the page opens as automated steps.

## End the session

1. Click the **Stop the run and go back to editing** icon at the top of the Copilot panel.

   ![The Stop the run and go back to editing icon at the top of the Copilot panel, with its tooltip.](https://s3.amazonaws.com/static-docs.testsigma.com/new/projects/applications/stop_run.png)

2. In the **End session and close this tab?** dialog, confirm that you want to end the session. Arcus stops the run and, on **Cloud**, releases the cloud machine.

If you end a learning session without clicking **Save and Run**, the steps Copilot already learned are still added to the **Automated steps** tab. Steps it hadn't learned yet aren't added.

Back on the test case, the **Automated steps** tab shows the steps, and **Automation Type** shows **Automated**. If it still shows **Not Automated**, refresh the page. After **Save and Run**, the run also appears in the runs card at the top of the right panel, for example **LAST 2 RUNS**.

## Write the steps yourself

On the **Automated steps** tab, click **Write the script manually**. The editor opens with an empty row, and **Debug with Copilot** appears in the header.

### Add a step

1. In the empty row, type the action in your own words, such as `go`, `enter`, or `click`. A list of matching steps opens, each with a short hint and its category: **Browser**, **Interact**, **Wait**, or **App**.

   ![The step suggestions list under a step where go is typed, showing Navigate to, Go back, Go forward, and Wait until an element is visible with their categories and keyboard hints.](https://s3.amazonaws.com/static-docs.testsigma.com/new/projects/applications/step_suggestions.png)

2. Highlight a step with `↑` and `↓`, and press `Enter` or `Tab` to insert it. The step shows a chip for each value it still needs, such as **URL** or **target**, and the count above the steps shows how many are left, such as "1 to fill".
3. Click each chip and fill it in. See [Fill in a value](#fill-in-a-value) and [Pick an element](#pick-an-element).
4. Press `Enter` to start the next step.

**Automation Type** changes to **Automated** as soon as you add the first step, even before you fill in its values.

The globe, Android, and Apple icons beside a step show the platforms it runs on: web, Android, and iOS. Some steps run on one platform only. **Navigate to**, for example, is a web step.

Press `Ctrl+Space` or `⌘+I` to show the suggestions before you type anything. Type `/` to insert a step group you created earlier.

### Fill in a value

A value is the text, URL, or key a step uses.

1. Click the value chip, for example **URL**.
2. Select where the value comes from:
   - **Plain text**: Arcus uses the value exactly as you write it.
   - **Runtime**: Arcus uses a value created while the test case runs.
   - **Parameter**: Arcus takes the value from a dataset.
3. Enter the value.

### Pick an element

Steps that act on an element, such as **Click on** and **Fill**, need a **target**. Pick an element from the element library, or describe it with a locator.

The element library lists the elements that steps in the project already use. Arcus has no separate page for managing elements.

To pick an element from the library:

1. Click the **target** chip. The popover opens on **element library**, which lists each element's name and the text it matches.

   ![The element library popover listing elements, with the element library tab outlined.](https://s3.amazonaws.com/static-docs.testsigma.com/new/projects/applications/element_library.png)

2. In the search field, enter part of the element's name or text.
3. Select the element.

To locate an element on the page:

1. Click the **target** chip, then click **find it on the page**.
2. Select the locator type. **Text** is selected by default.
3. Select the operator.
4. Enter the value.
5. Click **use this locator**. The chip then shows the locator, for example **text search**.

   ![The find it on the page popover with Text as the locator type, = as the operator, and the use this locator button outlined.](https://s3.amazonaws.com/static-docs.testsigma.com/new/projects/applications/find_it_on_the_page.png)

The locator types are grouped by platform:

- **Web and devices**: CSS, XPath, Text, Label, Name
- **Web**: Role, Placeholder, Title, Index, Alt text, Attribute, AI (describe it)
- **Android and iOS**: Accessibility ID, Class name
- **Android**: Android resource ID, Android UiAutomator
- **iOS**: iOS predicate, iOS class chain

### Change a step's settings

Select a step to open **Step settings** beside the editor, or click the step's ellipsis icon (⋮) and click **Step settings**. While a step still needs a value, the panel marks it **draft**. A warning names what's missing, for example "This step still needs an element."

![The Step settings panel for a Navigate to step, showing ELEMENT, ADD TO THIS STEP, OPTIONS, and PRINTS AS.](https://s3.amazonaws.com/static-docs.testsigma.com/new/projects/applications/step_settings_panel.png)

The panel has these sections:

- **ELEMENT**: the element the step acts on. For an element from the library, the **Web**, **Android**, and **iOS** tabs list the locators Arcus tries on each platform, in order, with a link to the element's details.
- **PRE-CONDITION**: on a step with an element, a condition Arcus checks before the action. Click **+ pre-condition**, or click **write it as text**. When the condition doesn't hold, the step is skipped or failed.
- **ADD TO THIS STEP**: **Verify** and **Store**. On a step without an element, **Only if** appears here too.
- **OPTIONS**: **Continue on failure**, **Skip this step**, **Screenshot**, **Wait before (s)**, **Retry**, and **Timeout (s)**. On a step with an element, **Only if present** appears here too, and the step row then shows **if present**.
- **PRINTS AS**: the step as script text, for example `nav "https://www.booking.com/"`.

![The ELEMENT section with the Web, Android, and iOS tabs outlined, listing two Web locators in the order they are tried.](https://s3.amazonaws.com/static-docs.testsigma.com/new/projects/applications/element_locators_by_platform.png)

If an element has no locator for a platform, the step uses auto-heal on that platform, and the tab says so: "No Android locator, so steps will go through auto-heal when you run on Android."

### Reorder or delete a step

Click the step's ellipsis icon (⋮) and click an action:

- **Move up**: `⌥+↑`
- **Move down**: `⌥+↓`
- **Duplicate**: `⌘+D`
- **Skip this step**: `⌘+/`, which also stops skipping a skipped step
- **Insert a step above** and **Insert a step below**: no shortcut
- **Delete**: `⌘+Delete`

To undo a change, press `⌘+Z`. To redo it, press `⇧+⌘+Z`. Click **Shortcuts** above the steps to see every keyboard shortcut in the editor.

## Check the Automation Type

**Automation Type** in the **AUTOMATION** section of the right panel shows whether the test case is automated:

- **Not Automated**: the value every new test case starts with.
- **Automated**: the value Arcus sets when the test case gets its first automated step, whether you write it, record it, or Copilot learns it.

Deleting the automated steps doesn't change the value back. **Automation Type** stays **Automated** until you select another value in the dropdown.

![The AUTOMATION section of a test case with Automation Type set to Automated.](https://s3.amazonaws.com/static-docs.testsigma.com/new/projects/applications/automation_type_automated.png)

## Debug the automated steps

Click **Debug with Copilot** in the test case header to run the automated steps in a live browser. The **Copilot configuration** panel opens with the same settings as in [Start a Copilot session](#start-a-copilot-session). See [Copilot execution](https://testsigma.com/docs/v2/docs/arcus/v2/automation/copilot/).

![A test case with 6 automated steps, starting with Navigate to https://www.booking.com.](https://s3.amazonaws.com/static-docs.testsigma.com/new/projects/applications/automated_steps_list.png)