Stop recording clicks. Describe the goal.
Record and replay testing was the first way to automate a browser without code, and its tests break for the same reason every time: they remember how you clicked, not what you meant. Testorim is the autonomous alternative. You write the goal, it plans and runs the steps in a real browser, and a run you trust replays like a recording that does not depend on selectors.
Join the waitlistWhat is record and replay testing?
A tool records your clicks and typing once, with a selector for each element, and replays them to check the app still works. It is also called record and playback testing.
Why do the tests break?
A renamed class, a moved button or a new form step fails a replay even when the app works, and every fix is another recording session.
The autonomous alternative
State the goal and the expected result in a sentence. An agent plans the steps, runs them in a real browser, finds elements by role, label and visible text, and reports what happened. Save the good run and it replays on a schedule or from CI.
How an autonomous run replaces a recording.
This is agentic testing, or AI test automation, in practice: the agent owns the steps, you own the goal.
- 01
State the goal, not the clicks
"Sign in as the demo user, add the backpack to the cart, and check the cart badge shows 1." That sentence is the whole test. There is no recording session.
- 02
The agent plans the steps
An AI model turns the sentence into steps, and a second model checks that the plan covers everything you asked before anything runs.
- 03
It runs in a real browser
Chromium drives the app like a person, finding each element by its role, label, placeholder or visible text. Firefox and Safari are on the Team plan.
- 04
You get a verdict with evidence
Passed, failed or needs review, with a video, screenshots, a Playwright trace and a report saying whether the app or the test was at fault.
- 05
Keep it, and it replays
Save the run as a procedure. Replays reuse its steps without planning again, on a schedule, from CI, or on a pull request's preview link.
Record and replay vs a described, autonomous run.
Recorders earned their place: anyone can make a test by using the app once. The cost comes later, in every replay that fails because the page changed shape while the app kept working.
| Record and replay | Testorim | |
|---|---|---|
| Authoring | Click through the flow once while the tool records. | Write the goal and the expected result in a sentence. |
| What is stored | Each click and keystroke, with a selector for the element. | Steps named by what they act on: the Sign in button, the Email field. |
| When the UI changes | A new class or a moved element fails the replay until it is re-recorded. | Elements are found again by role, label and text on every run. |
| When the flow changes | Record it again. | Describe it again, or edit the sentence, and save the new run. |
| A failure tells you | Which recorded step could not find its element. | Which step failed, what the page showed, and whether the app or the test was at fault. |
| Leaving | The recordings stay in the tool's format. | Saved procedures export as Playwright TypeScript. |
When a recorder is still the better choice.
- You need an exact sequence of low-level input, such as drawing on a canvas or dragging to precise coordinates.
- The app is a native mobile or desktop app; Testorim tests web apps only.
- Your team already owns a large recorded suite that rarely breaks, and nobody is paying for its upkeep.
What it cannot do.
Web apps only
No native iOS or Android apps, and no desktop software.
It does not explore on its own
It tests the goals you give it. It does not crawl your app for things to check.
Codes stop unattended runs
A scheduled or CI run cannot type a code from an email or SMS. Use a test account without a code step.
Public addresses
localhost and private network addresses are refused; use a staging or preview address.
No importing recordings
Recordings from other tools do not import. Each flow is described again, once.
Real side effects
A run signs up, orders and submits like a user. Use staging and stop before payment where you can.
Quick answers
What is record and replay testing?
A way to automate a browser test without writing code: a tool records your clicks and typing while you use the app once, stores them with a selector for each element, and replays them later to check nothing broke. It is also called record and playback testing.
Why do record and replay tests break?
The recording stores how you did something, not what you meant. A renamed class, a moved button, a new step in a form or a slower page can each fail a replay that had nothing wrong with it, and every fix is another recording session.
What is the autonomous alternative to record and replay testing?
Instead of recording steps, you state the goal and the expected result in a sentence. An AI agent plans the steps, runs them in a real browser, finds each element by its role, label and visible text, and reports what happened. The good run is saved and replayed like a recording, but its steps were never tied to a recorded selector.
What is agentic testing?
Testing where an AI agent works out the steps toward a goal you give it, runs them and judges the result, instead of replaying steps a person recorded or scripted. It is the practical form of artificial intelligence in test automation, and it is how every Testorim run starts.
Do the tests auto-heal?
Each step finds its element again on every run, by role, label, placeholder and visible text, so a changed class or a moved button does not break it. When nothing matches exactly, a model picks the element from the live page in front of it. A replay never changes the saved steps: when the flow itself changes, you describe it again.
How can I automate routine tests without code?
Describe each routine check in plain English, run it once and keep the run that did what you meant, save it, then run the saved checks on a schedule, from CI or on each pull request. Testorim does this for web apps; nothing is recorded and no script is written.
Are mabl and Reflect record and replay tools?
Both can record, and both have moved beyond pure recording: by their own sites, mabl creates tests from a plain-English description or a point-and-click interface and says its tests self-heal, and SmartBear Reflect records tests or takes plain-English steps and says its tests adapt when the UI changes. Check each product's site for its current features and pricing.
Is Testorim fully autonomous?
It plans and runs the steps for the goal you give it, on its own. It does not wander your app looking for things to test: you decide what is checked, and you keep the runs you trust.
Can I get code out of it?
Yes. A saved procedure exports as Playwright TypeScript, so a run can move into a code-owned suite when a team wants that.
Keep reading.
Record-and-playback alternative
The product side-by-side: the same flow before and after a redesign.
Non-regression testing
How to automate the checks you repeat before every release, without code.
No-code regression testing
Save the flows that must not break and replay them before each deploy.
AI browser testing
What happens inside a run, from the sentence to the report.