Getting started with GUI Test Studio

What GUI Test Studio is

You already test your application by hand: you click through a scenario and look at the screen.GUI Test Studio turns that walk-through into an automated test.You show it once, and it checks it on every run.

A test is made of the steps you performed and the checks that say what correct looks like.They are laid out on a timeline, like a video edit.There is no script to write.

There are two ways to create one.Record it yourself, as this article does.Or describe the workflow in a prompt: Claude records, verifies and runs it for you through GUI Test Studio's connector, in Claude Desktop, Claude Code or VS Code.Either way you get the same test.

One installer gives you three tools that work on the same test files.

It tests whatever your screen shows: websites in any browser, Windows programs, phone screens, virtual machines and games.Read more in How GUI Test Studio works.

Step 1: Install it

1. 1

   Create your free account

   Sign up on our website with your email address, or with Google.Your 15-day trial starts right away, with every feature, and no payment details.

2. 2

   Download and run the installer

   The installer is on your account page.It sets up GUI Test Runner-Recorder, GUI Test Studio and the command-line runner in one go.

3. 3

   Answer the first questions

   The first time, the app asks you to sign in once in your browser, then a few short questions about how you work.Skip keeps the recommended settings.

   

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Every detail is in Install and set up.

Step 2: Record your first test

Pick a short scenario in an app you know well.A login, a search, or adding an item to a basket are all good first tests.

1. 1

   Click Record

   The home page shows the two ways side by side: Record it yourself, with the red Record button, and Create Test From Prompt.Click Record.

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   1. 1Record: starts a new recording
   2. 2Create Test From Prompt: the other way: describe the test to Claude

2. 2

   Choose what to test

   The entire screen is the simplest choice for a first test.You can also pick one app, a web page, an area of the screen, or a phone.

   

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3. 3

   Do your scenario, then press Esc

   After a short countdown, click, type and scroll as a user would, at a normal pace.A small toolbar lets you pause or start over, and it never appears in the recording.

   

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Habits that make a recording reliable are in Record a test.

Step 3: Choose what it checks

When you stop, the app asks what this test should verify.A check is a moment where the test makes sure something is right: a button is there, a text says the right thing, a dialog appeared.

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For a first test, keep the choices as they are and click Save the Test.Saving takes a moment: that is when the checks are created, one for each element you clicked and for what appeared on the screen.

What each card means is in Choose what a test verifies, and every kind of check is in Choose the right check.

Step 4: Run it

Put your app back where the test starts, then click Run Test.

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1. 1Run Test: replays the test on the live screen
2. 2Runs: every past run; double-click one to open its report

After a short countdown, the test moves the mouse and types by itself, and a thin blue banner at the top of the screen says a test is running.Keep your hands off the mouse and the keyboard until it finishes.Press F2 to stop it at any moment.

Every run is kept.The Runs card of the test's page lists them, newest first, with the result, the duration and how many checks passed, and a double-click opens any run's report again.

More ways to run, such as from the middle of a test, are in Run a test.

Step 5: Read the report

When the run ends, the Confidence Report opens.The banner at the top gives the verdict.The list below shows every step and every check, in order.

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Click any check to see what was expected beside what was found.When something changed, it is lit up on the screen and the verdict says it in plain words.

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Changed something on purpose?Accept the new look in one click, and the test expects it from then on.Found a bug?Bug Report in the banner writes a report filled in from the run, as a PDF or an Excel file, or as a Jira issue once you connect your Jira site with Connect Jira.Every part of the report is explained in Read the Confidence Report.

Step 6: Polish it

Your test already works as it is.To make it yours, click Edit in GUI Test Studio on the test's page.The test opens on its timeline.

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1. 1

   Name the important steps

   Select a block and press F2: "Sign in button is there", "Type user name".The report then speaks your words.

2. 2

   Group steps into Scenarios

   Select the steps of one part and press Ctrl+G: "Sign in", "Search", "Check out".The report then says in which part a run stopped.

3. 3

   Adjust what needs it

   Add a check of your own, or give a slow screen more time.Every change can be undone.Or describe the change to Claude, which edits the test in place once you confirm.

Take A tour of GUI Test Studio, then learn to work on the timeline.

Step 7: Run it on every build

A test pays off when it runs every time your app changes.The command-line runner, gtr-cli, runs your tests from a script or a CI/CD pipeline, without a window, and writes results your pipeline reads.

gtr-cli run tests --countdown 0 --junit results\junit.xml

You do not have to write that command yourself.In either app, Command Line & CI/CD builds it for you, with a ready-made snippet for Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab, Azure DevOps and TeamCity.

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The whole setup is in Run tests in your pipeline.

Where to go next