https://step.dev/knowledgebase/30/categories/ci/cd/ Recent content in CI/CD on Step Documentation Hugo -- gohugo.io en https://step.dev/knowledgebase/30/ai/ecosystem/ Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/30/ai/ecosystem/ In short The Step AI Ecosystem extends the Software Automation as Code approach with autonomous software testing capabilities powered by large language models (LLMs) and AI agents. The Step platform unifies AI-driven functional testing, load testing, and monitoring while integrating seamlessly into existing CI/CD and DevOps workflows. The Step AI Ecosystem is built on three layers: Step MCP Server for connecting AI assistants and coding agents to Step Reusable Testing Skills for packaging Step testing expertise into reusable workflows Step Testing Agent for generating, executing, self-healing and validating tests on Step Together, these capabilities enable agentic testing workflows that accelerate test creation, reduce maintenance effort, and improve automation reliability. https://step.dev/knowledgebase/30/devops/automation-as-code/ Wed, 21 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/30/devops/automation-as-code/ Step’s unique Software automation as Code approach (short Automation as code) enables developers to define software automation workflows for the whole DevOps lifecycle as code alongside the product code. This concept is the key enabler for shift-left in not just testing but for all disciplines relating to software automation. This ranges from large scale E2E acceptance tests to load and performance tests, synthetic monitoring, RPA, and much more. This pages presents the use-cases enabled by the Automation as Code approach. https://step.dev/knowledgebase/30/devops/automation-packages-overview/ Wed, 22 May 2019 14:08:01 +0100 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/30/devops/automation-packages-overview/ The concept of Automation Packages provides a standard for defining software automation workflows for the whole DevOps lifecycle in a unified way. Following the Automation as Code paradigm, it allows developers to define software automation logic as code alongside the actual application’s code, and provide all the means to execute and deploy this logic at the different stages of the DevOps lifecyle. Technically the Automation Package standard consist of: The Automation Package syntax that defines a standard to describe a wide range of automation workflows in a unified way The Automation Package format that defines a standard for packaging entities (like Keywords, Plans, Resources, data, etc) The Automation Package CLI that allows to build, execute and deploy Automation Packages Automation Packages in a nutshell In a nutshell an Automation Package is a self-contained set of Plans and their related entities (Keywords, Parameters, Resources…) that can be executed on a Step controller or deployed to it for later use. https://step.dev/knowledgebase/30/devops/automation-package-yaml/ Wed, 22 May 2019 14:08:01 +0100 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/30/devops/automation-package-yaml/ Automation Packages are defined in a declarative way using YAML alongside the automation code. The Step Automation Package YAML syntax is specified by the Automation Package JSON schema, for more convenient work you can configure the embedded file editor in your IDE (IntelliJ IDEA or Visual Studio) to associate this schema with the Step YAML automation packages. For Java Automation Packages, it is possible to directly declare certain entities in the code in addition to the YAML descriptor. https://step.dev/knowledgebase/30/devops/automation-package-cli/ap-maven-plugin/ Wed, 22 May 2019 14:08:01 +0100 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/30/devops/automation-package-cli/ap-maven-plugin/ The Step Maven plugin serves as Command Line Interface (CLI) for all operations related to Automation Packages in Java. It provides an integration with the Step server and an easy way to integrate Step with a CI/CD pipeline. For non-Java projects, it is recommended to use the Step CLI. The Step Maven plugin supports following operations: Upload Automation Packages to Step and execute them in isolation Deploy the content of Automation Packages to Step and enable the contained schedules Deploy an Automation Packages library to Step You can choose to integrate the plugin goals during the package phase or any later phase as you see fit in the Maven Lifecycle. https://step.dev/knowledgebase/30/devops/automation-package-libraries/ Mon, 24 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/30/devops/automation-package-libraries/ Overview Automation Package Libraries (AP Libraries) extend Step’s Automation Package model by enabling common code, libraries and entities to be packaged, deployed, and referenced independently from individual Automation Packages (APs). They offer a structured mechanism for sharing logic at scale and optimizing performance across large automation ecosystems. AP Libraries are reusable, versioned code artifacts that can provide: Shared logic across multiple Automation Packages Common utilities and helper classes Shared libraries Shared AP entities (Keywords, Plans) Important: https://step.dev/knowledgebase/30/devops/automation-package-multi-version/ Fri, 21 Nov 2025 07:08:01 +0100 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/30/devops/automation-package-multi-version/ Overview Step allows deploying multiple versions of the same Automation Package on a single Step instance. This is particularly useful when your system under test (SUT) exists in several versions across different environments (e.g., TEST, QA, PROD), each requiring a matching version of the automation code. Multi-version support enables: several versions of the same package to coexist automatic version selection at runtime consistent usage of keywords and plans from the selected version clear and predictable behavior across environments Step determines the correct version using activation expressions associated with each deployment. https://step.dev/knowledgebase/30/devops/automation-package-cli/step-cli/ Wed, 22 May 2024 14:08:01 +0100 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/30/devops/automation-package-cli/step-cli/ The Step CLI (Command Line Interface) is used for all operations with Step. It provides an integration with the Step server and an easy way to integrate Step with a CI/CD pipeline. Currently it is limited to the operations related to Automation Packages but might be extended in the future. For Java specific projects, the CLI is also available as a Maven plugin. The Step CLI supports following operations for Automation Packages: https://step.dev/knowledgebase/30/devops/automation-package-java/ Wed, 22 May 2019 14:08:01 +0100 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/30/devops/automation-package-java/ Automation package entities can be defined in a declarative way with the automation package descriptor (YAML) as well as directly in the code for Java Automation Packages. This page focuses on the declaration of Automation Package entities in the code which is supported for Keywords and Plans. Declaration of Keywords In addition to the declaration of Keywords in the automation package descriptor (YAML), Automation packages also fully support the Keyword API to declare Keywords directly in Java. https://step.dev/knowledgebase/30/ai/ Wed, 03 Jun 2026 11:00:00 +0200 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/30/ai/ This section is dedicated to AI-powered testing with Step. It covers the technologies, workflows, and capabilities that enable autonomous software testing across functional testing, load testing, and monitoring. Whether you are exploring AI-assisted test development through the Step MCP Server, leveraging Reusable Testing Skills, or adopting the Step Testing Agent, this documentation explains how Step integrates large language models (LLMs) into existing testing and CI/CD workflows. The goal is to help teams accelerate automation creation, reduce maintenance effort through self-healing capabilities, and deliver reliable, reproducible testing outcomes at scale. https://step.dev/knowledgebase/30/devops/automation-package-cli/ Wed, 21 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/30/devops/automation-package-cli/ Automation Packages come with a full-featured CLI that allows to build, execute and deploy Automation Packages. The CLI is available as native application for Windows and Linux, and as Maven plugin which is recommended for integration with Java projects. https://step.dev/knowledgebase/30/devops/ Thu, 28 Feb 2019 14:08:01 +0100 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/30/devops/ This section is dedicated to use of Step in the DevOps context. It targets developers who want to define their software automation artifacts for the whole DevOps lifecycle as code alongside their product code.