Skip to content
Actify Studio
Download
Documentation

Actify Studio documentation

Turn manual browser testing into automated tests, without writing code.

What Actify Studio is

Actify Studio turns manual browser testing into automated tests without writing code. It is a desktop studio with a real Chromium browser built in. You open your web application inside the app and use it normally; every click, typed value, dropdown choice and key press is recorded as a step.

The steps are translated live into three formats: a runnable Playwright test, numbered Manual Steps in plain English, and a Gherkin (BDD) scenario. Saved tests run from the app itself, and a whole project can be exported as a standalone Playwright project.

Actify Studio is a free Windows desktop app, available through the Microsoft Store. These guides describe version 1.1.0: data-driven and dynamic tests, secrets, optional steps, dialogs, uploads, page health checks and step screenshots — see What’s new in 1.1.0.

New here? Start with Getting started: install the app, then record, save and run your first test in five minutes.

Guides

Get started

Getting startedInstall Actify Studio, then record, save and run your first test in five minutes.What’s new in 1.1.0Data-driven and dynamic tests, secure secrets, clearer test runs.FAQQuick answers: what Actify Studio produces, where to get it, and where your tests live.

Recording

RecordingBrowser controls, what gets captured, new tabs, repeating lists, session video, custom headers and editing a saved test.Action HistoryReorder, filter, comment and fine-tune recorded steps, without recording again.Generated outputEvery recording is translated live into a Playwright test, manual steps and a Gherkin scenario.AssertionsThe checks that make a test pass or fail: element checks, regular expressions, network checks and page health checks.Inspecting a pageExplore the DOM, network requests and console messages of the page you have open.

Dynamic & data-driven tests

Dynamic data & variablesRandom values at every run, random dropdown options, and values saved in one step and reused in the next.Test dataAttach a data table to a test and run it once per row, each row with its own result.SecretsKeep passwords and tokens out of your tests: encrypted on your PC, per environment.Optional steps, hover, dialogs, uploadsElements that appear only sometimes, menus that open under the mouse, browser dialogs and file uploads.

Test framework

Page ObjectsTurn recorded steps into reusable page models with named elements and methods.FlowsCompose Page Object methods into reusable flows or runnable tests.WorkspaceBrowse, open and organize the files of the active project.Running testsRun tests, folders and suites, headless or inside the app, read the step-by-step output and browse step screenshots.Projects & environmentsKeep work in separate projects, run the same tests against different servers, and export a standalone Playwright project.

Reference

SettingsApp preferences and their defaults.Shortcuts & UI mapThe keys that speed you up, and where every control lives.Privacy & dataWhat stays on your PC, and when the app uses the internet.Feedback & supportReport bugs and suggest improvements.

Key concepts

The words used across these guides, in plain language.

TermMeaning
Step (action)One thing the user did or checked: navigate, click, type, select, press a key, hover, upload a file, answer a dialog, wait, an assertion or a page health check.
LocatorHow the test finds an element on the page again (by test id, role and name, label, placeholder, text, CSS or XPath). Each step stores several alternatives.
AssertionA check that makes the test pass or fail, e.g. “this button is visible” or “this text equals Welcome”.
Page ObjectA reusable description of one page: its named elements and its methods.
MethodA named, reusable sequence of steps on a Page Object, e.g. login(email, password).
FlowA composition of methods from one or more Page Objects. Can be saved as a reusable building block or generated as a runnable test.
SuiteA named group of tests you run together.
ProjectA self-contained folder with its own tests, Page Objects and Flows.
EnvironmentA named base address for a project (e.g. dev → http://localhost:3000). Switching environment runs the same tests against another server.
Headless / In-AppThe two run modes: in a hidden background browser, or visibly inside the app’s browser.
Dynamic valueA value generated at each run instead of a fixed one, written as {{…}} — e.g. {{email}} for a random email.
VariableA value saved by one step (a typed value, a chosen option, the text of an element) and reused by later steps as {{name}}.
Test dataA table attached to a test: the test runs once per row, and each row gets its own result.
SecretA password or token stored encrypted on your PC, per environment, and used as {{secret:name}} — never written into the test.
Optional stepA step that is skipped, instead of failing the test, when its element does not appear in time (cookie banners, promos).
Actify Studio documentation