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An AI agent exploring the app under test: live preview on the left, the steps it took on the right

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Overview

Before writing any UI tests, TestSprite’s testing agent visits your live app and explores it feature by feature: opening real pages, trying common user flows, signing in if you configured login, and recording what it could and couldn’t reach. The test plan is then grounded in how your app actually behaves, not just how your PRD describes it. Feature exploration runs only for UI projects. API projects discover endpoints from your docs and probe them against your live API instead; see API Discovery.
Some features may explore only partially. You can still continue to the test plan: TestSprite uses what it observed and falls back to your PRD or description for the rest.

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How It Works

The agent opens your starting URL, identifies your features (e.g. Sign Up, Dashboard, Checkout), and walks through each one, clicking buttons, filling forms, and moving between pages. Features are explored in parallel, so a long flow doesn’t hold up the rest. Plans written from what it observed are more reliable:
  • Steps reference real selectors and copy from your pages
  • Edge cases come from real screens, not assumed ones
  • Auth flows match your actual login, including unexpected redirects
  • Features behind paywalls or plan gates in your app are flagged, instead of producing tests that can’t run
Exploration starts as soon as you click Create project and typically takes about 3 minutes for an average app; longer flows or large feature sets take more. You can leave and come back: if it’s still running when you return, TestSprite picks up where it left off.

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What You’ll See During Exploration

While exploration runs, the project’s Sources page shows a live view headed AI agent exploring your app (or AI agents exploring your app when several are working):
The exploration view with Live Explore, Steps, Page Visited and Captured Pages labelled
When exploration finishes, TestSprite composes your coverage map on Test Coverage.

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Reviewing the Results

Sources page: Live Site Exploration with its status chip, recording, and Re-explore
Results live under Live Site Exploration on the project’s Sources page. The Explore your site card has a status chip (Processing while agents work, Ready when done, Failed if the run didn’t complete) and one card per exploration run with its recording and captured pages. Click a run to open its recording and report.

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Adjusting Before Plan Generation

1

Reconfigure URL or credentials

If TestSprite couldn’t sign in or reached a different URL than expected, open Project Settings → Test Execution → Environment and correct the environment’s URL or test account.
2

Re-explore

Back on Sources, click Re-explore on the Explore your site card.

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Tips for a Good First Run

If your app requires sign-in, share a test account when you create the project. Without credentials, exploration is limited to what’s accessible without login.
Use the URL a real user lands on (your homepage or app dashboard), not a deep link into one tool. TestSprite uses the starting URL to discover the rest.
Add hints like “Skip the help center”, “Focus on the checkout flow”, or “The dashboard route is /app/v2/home”. TestSprite uses them to guide both exploration and plan generation.

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Where to Go Next

UI Testing

The full UI testing flow, with exploration as one step

Plan Generation & Editing

What happens with the results next