Automated QA

AI-powered automated testing for your app previews

Tuist’s Automated QA uses AI to test your app previews, finding bugs, UI issues, and unexpected behavior before your users do.

Overview

Automated QA leverages Claude and GPT models to interact with your app like a real user, following test prompts and reporting issues automatically.

Automated QA provides:

• Natural language test prompts - Describe tests in plain English
• AI-powered execution - Claude/GPT controls the app
• Visual documentation - Screenshots and screen recordings of every test
• Issue detection - Automatic identification of crashes, errors, and UI problems
• VCS integration - Post test summaries to pull requests

How It Works

1. Create a preview of your app
2. Write a test prompt describing what to test
3. AI agent launches the app and follows your instructions
4. Issues are detected and documented with screenshots
5. Test report is generated and posted to your pull request

Creating QA Tests

Basic Test

1. Create an app preview

   First, create a preview of your app:

   tuist share
   
2. Run a QA test

   Define what to test in natural language:

   tuist qa run "Open the app, log in with test credentials, \
     navigate to the profile screen, and verify the user's name is displayed"
   
3. View results

   Watch the test execute in real-time or check the results in Tuist Cloud:

   ✓ QA test started
   🔗 https://tuist.dev/acme/myapp/qa/runs/xyz789
   

Test Prompts

Write effective test prompts by:

Be Specific

“Tap the blue Login button in the top right”

Not: “Log in”

Include Context

“Navigate to Settings > Account > Privacy”

Not: “Check privacy settings”

Define Success

“Verify the success message appears”

Not: “Submit the form”

Mention Credentials

“Use email: [e-mail], password: Test123”

Not: “Sign in”

Example Test Prompts

Authentication

Test the login flow:
1. Launch the app
2. Tap 'Sign In'
3. Enter email: [e-mail]
4. Enter password: TestPass123
5. Tap 'Log In' button
6. Verify the home screen loads
7. Check that the user's name appears in the top right

E-commerce

Test the checkout process:
1. Browse to the Products tab
2. Select the first product
3. Tap 'Add to Cart'
4. Navigate to the cart
5. Verify the product is listed
6. Tap 'Checkout'
7. Fill in test payment details
8. Complete the purchase
9. Verify the confirmation screen shows

Navigation

Test navigation throughout the app:
1. Start on the home screen
2. Navigate to each main tab
3. Verify content loads on each screen
4. Check for any error messages
5. Test the back button from each screen
6. Return to home and verify state is preserved

Test Configuration

Launch Arguments

Pass launch arguments to configure your app for testing:

tuist qa run "Test the feature" \
  --launch-arguments "-UITest YES -MockData enabled"

App Description

Provide context about your app to improve AI understanding:

// In your project configuration
import ProjectDescription

let project = Project(
    qaAppDescription: """
        MyApp is a social media application.
        Users can create posts, follow friends, and chat.
        The app requires login before accessing any features.
        """
)

Test Credentials

Configure default test credentials:

let project = Project(
    qaEmail: "[e-mail]",
    qaPassword: "TestPassword123"
)

Never commit real user credentials. Use test accounts specific to QA testing.

Understanding Results

Test Report

Each QA run generates a detailed report:

• Status - Completed, Failed, or In Progress
• Duration - Total test execution time
• Steps - Breakdown of actions taken
• Issues - Bugs and problems found
• Screenshots - Visual documentation of each step
• Video recording - Complete screen recording of the test

Issue Detection

The AI automatically identifies:

Crashes

• App crashes or force quits
• Unhandled exceptions
• System errors

UI Issues

• Missing or broken UI elements
• Incorrect labels or text
• Layout problems

Functional Issues

• Buttons that don’t respond
• Failed network requests
• Incorrect app behavior

Performance Issues

• Slow loading screens
• Laggy interactions
• Memory warnings

Test Logs

View detailed logs of AI decision-making:

10:23:45 ASSISTANT: Launching app
10:23:47 TOOL: screenshot - Captured home screen
10:23:48 ASSISTANT: Locating login button
10:23:49 TOOL: tap - Tapped 'Sign In' at (200, 450)
10:23:50 TOOL: screenshot - Login screen displayed
10:23:51 ASSISTANT: Entering test credentials
10:23:52 TOOL: type_text - Entered email

VCS Integration

Automatically post test results to your pull requests:

Setup

1. Connect VCS

   Link your GitHub/GitLab repository in Tuist Cloud

2. Enable PR comments

   Configure QA to post comments automatically:

   tuist project update --enable-qa-comments
   
3. Run QA in CI

   Add QA tests to your CI pipeline:

   - name: Run QA tests
     run: |
       tuist share
       tuist qa run "Test core user flows"
   

PR Comments

QA results appear as comments on your pull request:

## 🤖 Tuist QA Test Results

**Status:** ✅ Passed (3/3 flows tested)
**Duration:** 2m 34s

### Test Summary
- ✅ User login flow
- ✅ Product browsing
- ✅ Checkout process

### Issues Found
- ⚠️ Minor: Loading spinner doesn't center on iPad

[View Full Report](https://tuist.dev/acme/myapp/qa/runs/xyz)

CI/CD Integration

GitHub Actions

name: QA Tests
on:
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  qa:
    runs-on: macos-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      
      - name: Install Tuist
        run: curl -Ls https://install.tuist.io | bash
      
      - name: Build preview
        run: tuist build --platform iOS --configuration Release
      
      - name: Create preview
        run: tuist share --track pr-${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
        env:
          TUIST_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.TUIST_TOKEN }}
      
      - name: Run QA tests
        run: |
          tuist qa run "Complete user onboarding flow" \
            --wait
        env:
          TUIST_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.TUIST_TOKEN }}

Use --wait flag to make CI wait for QA completion. Without it, the command returns immediately.

Best Practices

Test Critical Flows

Focus on user journeys that must work:

• Authentication
• Core features
• Checkout/payments
• Navigation

Keep Tests Focused

Each test should validate one flow:

• Don’t combine unrelated features
• Break complex flows into steps
• Test edge cases separately

Use Test Data

Configure your app for testing:

• Mock network responses
• Use test accounts
• Enable debug features
• Fast animations

Review Results

Act on QA findings:

• Watch recordings for context
• Fix high-priority issues
• Update test prompts as needed
• Track issue trends

Pricing & Limits

Automated QA uses AI tokens:

• Token usage tracked per test run
• Costs based on test complexity and duration
• View usage in Tuist Cloud billing dashboard

Typical test run: 50,000-200,000 tokens depending on test complexity and duration.

Troubleshooting

QA test times out

Possible causes:

• Test prompt too complex
• App hangs or freezes
• Network delays

Solutions:

• Simplify test into smaller steps
• Check app for blocking operations
• Use mock data to avoid network calls

AI can't find UI elements

Possible causes:

• Element not visible on screen
• Accessibility labels missing
• Dynamic content loaded slowly

Solutions:

• Add accessibility labels to UI elements
• Wait for content to load in test prompt
• Use more specific descriptions

Test passes but issues exist

Possible causes:

• Test prompt not specific enough
• AI missed subtle issues
• Visual-only problems

Solutions:

• Add explicit verification steps
• Review screenshots manually
• Refine test prompt with more detail

Next Steps

App Previews

Learn more about creating shareable previews

Build Insights

Track QA test trends and success rates