---
title: Creating a test
description: >-
  Learn how to create a test by choosing a channel, setting a starting point,
  configuring device options, and adding steps in the builder.
sidebarTitle: Create a test
lastUpdated: "2026-09-23"
---

> **For AI agents:** the complete documentation index is at [llms.txt](/llms.txt). Append `.md` to any page URL for its markdown version.

Creating a test starts with choosing a channel (Web, Smartphone, or Cellular), then setting a starting point and device. After creation, you add steps to define what the test does. This page walks through the setup flow for each channel.

![The Create new test modal with the Classic, Web (New experience), and Smartphone (New experience) choices](/images/test-create-modal.webp)

## Start a new test

Click **+ Create new test** in your collection. A modal asks which authoring experience to use:

- **Classic**: the established builder, covering all channels (Web, Smartphone, and Cellular).
- **Web (New experience)** and **Smartphone (New experience)**: the next-generation builders for those channels.

Then pick your channel and set its starting point:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Web">
    Web tests run automated interactions in a browser, clicking links, filling forms, checking content.

    In the **Web (New experience)** flow, the creation form asks for:

    - **Test name**: a clear, descriptive name
    - **Default agent**: the web agent the test runs on
    - **Start URL**: where the test begins (e.g., `https://example.com/login`)
    - **AI usage** (optional): check **Turn on AI for this test** to enable AI-assisted selectors from the start

    The browser configuration (browser type, window size, language, and more) comes from the **browser preset**, which you pick in the builder's Environment tab after creation. See [Browser presets](/tests/browser-presets).

    In the **Classic** flow, you set the browser options directly at creation:
    - **Browser type**: Chrome, Firefox, or Edge
    - **User agent**: use the default or add a custom suffix
    - **Language**: default or a specific locale (e.g., en-US)
    - **Window size**: default 1920×1080 or custom dimensions

  </Tab>
  <Tab title="Smartphone">
    Smartphone tests automate mobile app interactions, tapping buttons, filling fields, navigating screens.

    **Starting point:** Select an installed app.
    - **Android**: choose the app by package name. Kapptivate shows metadata like kind, name, and version.
    - **iOS**: choose the app by bundle ID.

    **Device properties available when building steps:**
    - Manufacturer (Android only)
    - Model
    - SDK version
    - Resolution
    - Roaming status per SIM

    **App reset:** You can configure the test to reset the app (clear data and cache) before each run to start from a clean state.

  </Tab>
  <Tab title="Cellular">
    Cellular tests interact with SIM devices to test USSD menus and SMS workflows on real phone networks.

    **Starting point:** Specify the SIM to dial (USSD menu code) or the recipient for SMS.

    **Note:** This feature may require additional setup. Verify that your workspace has cellular agents and SIM devices configured.

  </Tab>

</Tabs>

<Note>
To test an HTTP service, add [API steps](/tests/actions/api/overview) inside a Web or Smartphone test: set the method, URL, headers, and body, then assert on the response and extract values for later steps.
</Note>

## Test properties

In the Classic flow, you fill these in at creation. In the new experience, you give the test a name at creation and set the rest later in the builder's **Test settings** tab:

- **Test name**: a clear, descriptive name
- **Description** (optional): notes about what the test does
- **Collection**: which folder to place the test in
- **Tags** (optional): color-coded labels to organize and filter tests

## Next: Author your test

Once you create the test, the editor opens. You are ready to build your test's behavior by recording interactions or manually adding steps from the [actions library](/tests/actions/overview). The [test builder](/tests/builder) is where you'll spend most of your authoring time, organizing steps into groups, adding assertions, managing variables, and configuring advanced options.