https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/categories/keywords/ Recent content in Keywords on Step Documentation Hugo -- gohugo.io en Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0100 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/userdocs/plans/keywords-in-plans/ Thu, 28 Feb 2019 14:08:01 +0100 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/userdocs/plans/keywords-in-plans/ Keywords serve as the fundamental building blocks for implementing automation. From a business perspective, a Keyword symbolizes a functionality to be automated. It might represent a fully automated flow or be as simple as a single user action or service call. A Plan represents an automated scenario and will normally consist of one or more Keywords. Whenever a Keyword is encountered during Plan execution, it leads to a Keyword call. This section focuses on the usage of Keywords within a Plan. https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/userdocs/keywords/ Thu, 28 Feb 2019 14:08:01 +0100 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/userdocs/keywords/ This section explains how to register and use existing Keywords. To learn how to develop custom keywords, check the Developer guide overview. What is a Keyword? Keywords are the fundamental building blocks of Plans. They encapsulate automation logic, often referred to as scripts. A Keyword can represent a fully automated flow or a more granular action, such as a user interaction or an API call. In general, finer-grained Keywords are preferred because they are easier to reuse across multiple business flows through Plans. https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/releasestrategy/keyword-api-release/ Tue, 14 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/releasestrategy/keyword-api-release/ Overview The Step Keyword API is maintained and versioned independently of the Step platform. This independent versioning allows for more flexible updates and backward compatibility across different Step versions. Versioning Scheme The Keyword API follows semantic versioning with the format: MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH Major version: Significant API changes or breaking changes Minor version: New features and enhancements Patch version: Bug fixes and minor improvements Independent Versioning The Keyword API uses a single version across all supported programming languages (Java, . https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/userdocs/keywords/keywords-deployment/ Mon, 19 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/userdocs/keywords/keywords-deployment/ You can add and manage Keywords by manual registration or automatically using Automation Packages. Adding a new Keyword by manual registration In order to use your Keywords with Step, you need to register them. This can be done through the web interface or the Java API. Generic fields From the Keyword collection window, use the + button to open the following New keyword dialog. The dialog is a visial editor that lets you fill in generic and type specific information for your Keyword. https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/libraries/groovy_lib/ Wed, 22 May 2019 14:08:01 +0100 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/libraries/groovy_lib/ Select For Update (atomic transaction) Below an example of Groovy script used to open an sql connection, update a column of the first row of a table, then close the connection. sql = groovy.sql.Sql.newInstance('jdbc:mysql://localhost/step','step','init') sql.execute('begin') sql.firstRow('select myColumn from myTable for update')[0] sql.execute('update myTable set myColumn = myColumn + 1'); sql.execute('commit') sql.close() Copy a file from a path to another java.nio.file.Files.copy(java.nio.file.Paths.get(file), java.nio.file.Paths.get(file+'2')) REST call with JSON response response = new URL("http://localhost:8080/rest/grid/agent").text json = new com. https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/plugins/cypress/ Wed, 10 Apr 2019 14:24:01 +0100 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/plugins/cypress/ This page describes how to install, configure and use the Step plugin for Cypress. The Cypress plugin allows you to declare Step Keywords that run Cypress specs or commands and thus leverage the combined power of Step and Cypress. Installation The Cypress plugin is enabled by default for the Enterprise and SaaS versions of Step. To use the plugin you simply have to install Node.js on the Step Agents you’ll want to run Cypress Keywords on. https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/plugins/k6/ Wed, 10 Apr 2019 14:24:01 +0100 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/plugins/k6/ Grafana k6 is a powerful, open-source load testing tool developed by Grafana Labs. It is widely used for scripting and executing performance tests with high efficiency and developer-friendly ergonomics. The k6 plugin for Step enables seamless integration of existing k6 scripts into the Step platform, unlocking a broader range of automation capabilities. This integration allows users to combine the strengths of both tools, leveraging k6’s expressive scripting model alongside Step’s orchestration, scheduling, and extensibility. https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/plugins/sikulix/ Wed, 10 Apr 2019 14:24:01 +0100 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/plugins/sikulix/ SikuliX is a simple but efficient open source tool for UI automation. It provides an intuitive IDE to record and replay UI automation scripts based on image and text recognition. The SikuliX plugin for Step enables the out-of-the-box integration of SikuliX scripts in Step. The combined power of Step and SikuliX enables all-round UI automation at scale and makes it possible to create simple UI automation scripts and use them for Synthetic Monitoring, RPA, Performance Tests and all other features covered by Step. https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/devdocs/dev_overview/ Thu, 28 Feb 2019 14:08:01 +0100 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/devdocs/dev_overview/ In these sections, you’ll get to know how to develop Keywords, as well as how to extend and customize Step using our APIs. API Description and links Keyword Development Before jumping into the Keyword API details, get to understand the concept of keyword development Keyword API To develop keywords you should refer to our Keyword API page and may follow our tutorials Automation as code Automation as code enables developers to define software automation workflows for the whole DevOps lifecycle as code. https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/userdocs/keywords/configuring-keywords/ Sun, 18 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/userdocs/keywords/configuring-keywords/ Step offers holistic business use cases that lets business and technical users reuse different automation components. To enhance interaction quality and prevent input mismatches, users can specify mandatory information required to execute a specific Keyword. Schema Optional and mandatory input keys can be specified in the form of a JSON schema tied to the Keyword. Schema can be provided manually as part of the Keyword’s generic fields or automatically populated based on the “schema” attribute of the Keyword annotation in Java and . https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/devdocs/keyword-development/ Thu, 28 Feb 2019 14:08:01 +0100 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/devdocs/keyword-development/ Keywords are the fundamental building blocks of Plans. They encapsulate the automation logic and can represent fully automated flows or finer-grained actions, such as single user interactions or service calls. This page is the entry point for developing your own custom keywords: it walks you through your first keyword from project setup to execution in Step, and highlights the concepts and best practices to consider along the way. Refer to the keyword API page for the technical documentation. https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/userdocs/plans/other-plans/ Thu, 28 Feb 2019 14:08:01 +0100 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/userdocs/plans/other-plans/ Calling another Plan To enable modular design of Plans Step makes it possible to recursively call other Plans. Using the Visual Plan Editor you can easily call other Plans using the tab “Other plans” from the component list: Using the plain-text syntax other plans can be called using the following syntax Call plan "Test Case 01" Call plan "Test Case 02" Call plan "Test Case 03" Composite Keywords You can also achieve modularity using so called composite keywords. https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/devdocs/keyword-javascript/ Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0100 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/devdocs/keyword-javascript/ JavaScript keywords use the Keyword API: each keyword is an exported async function placed in the keywords/ directory of an npm project, executed on the Node.js agent. TypeScript keywords are executed exactly the same way once compiled, see TypeScript Keywords for the project setup. If you are new to keyword development, read the Keyword Development page first. Execution on the Node.js agent Before a keyword is invoked, the Node.js agent prepares the npm project the keyword belongs to. https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/devdocs/keyword-csharp/ Thu, 02 Jul 2026 14:08:01 +0100 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/devdocs/keyword-csharp/ C# keywords use the Keyword API and are executed on the .NET agent, which is currently available with Step Enterprise and Step SaaS. This page describes the C#-specific project setup, local testing, and deployment. If you are new to keyword development, read the Keyword Development page first. Project setup Create a new Console Application project in Visual Studio. The .NET agent requires .NET 8, so your keyword project must target the net8. https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/devdocs/keyword-typescript/ Thu, 02 Jul 2026 14:08:01 +0100 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/devdocs/keyword-typescript/ TypeScript keywords use exactly the same Keyword API as JavaScript: each keyword is an exported async function receiving the same arguments, executed on the Node.js agent. The only difference lies in the project setup, described on this page: the Node.js agent executes CommonJS JavaScript, so the TypeScript sources are compiled into the project’s keywords/ directory as part of your build. If you are new to keyword development, read the Keyword Development page first. https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/userdocs/keywords/prebuilt-keyword-libraries/ Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/userdocs/keywords/prebuilt-keyword-libraries/ Step ships a small set of officially-maintained, ready-to-use keyword libraries. This page lists them, and explains where they come from and how to use them. For where these libraries fit among the other Keyword types, see the Keywords overview. Where they are published The official prebuilt libraries are published as Maven artifacts under the group ch.exense.step.library on mvnrepository.com/artifact/ch.exense.step.library. All libraries are released together and share the same version number. Library Use it for Key Keywords Artifact ID system Running OS commands, scripts, or existing external tools/projects from a Plan — the general-purpose escape hatch when no dedicated plugin exists (see Generic command execution). https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/devops/automation-package-libraries/ Mon, 24 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/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/31/whatsnew/release-notes-step-keyword-api/ Tue, 22 Apr 2025 06:27:34 +0100 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/whatsnew/release-notes-step-keyword-api/ The Keyword API is maintained and versioned independently of the Step platform. This page outlines the release history of the Keyword API. Each entry specifies the corresponding Step version in which the respective Keyword API version was introduced. Unless stated otherwise, the API is designed to be backward compatible, allowing older API versions to function seamlessly with newer Step versions. Java Keyword API Major release 1.6.0 since Step 30.0 The Java Keyword API (v1. https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/devdocs/keywordapi/ Thu, 28 Feb 2019 14:08:01 +0100 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/devdocs/keywordapi/ For a better understanding of the key concepts and best practices of keywords development, make sure to read first the Keyword development page. The versatility of Step and its keyword API allows developers to implement their own custom Step’s Keywords whether they use 3rd party automation framework or their own libraries. The Keyword API defines a clear interface to: define and configure Keywords access Keyword inputs, session objects, and report data (keyword outputs, performance measurements, attachments) implement hooks related to keyword executions (interceptors, error management) The Keyword API is natively available for Java, C#, and JavaScript/TypeScript — executed respectively on the Java, . https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/plugins/jmeter/ Wed, 10 Apr 2019 14:24:01 +0100 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/plugins/jmeter/ The JMeter integration plugin allows you to integrate existing JMeter tests into Step as Keywords, which can then be used in Plans like any other Keyword. This means that you can use existing JMeter tests for massively parallel load test executions (distributed across multiple Agents), synthetic monitoring or any other disciple supported by Step. It supports following features: Passing of Keyword inputs to JMeter Passing of Parameters (properties) to JMeter Automatic generation of performance measurements based on the JMeter samples Attachment of the JMeter logs Installation On-premises installation The JMeter plugin is provided by default with Step Open source and Step Enterprise, but JMeter needs to be downloaded separately on the controller and the following option should be modified accordingly in the step. https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/plugins/soapui/ Wed, 10 Apr 2019 14:24:01 +0100 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/plugins/soapui/ The SoapUI plugin allows you to execute parametrized test cases on Step Java agents. Note that an example of a SoapUI project is available in our samples repository available on github. Soap UI version 5.6+ is required. Installation In order to use the SoapUI plugin, you have to point the controller to your SoapUI installation. Note that the controller will automatically send to the agent the jar files needed from SoapUI. https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/plugins/pdfcompare/ Wed, 10 Apr 2019 14:24:01 +0100 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/plugins/pdfcompare/ Step’s PDF and Image compare plugins allow users to respectively validate the exactness of a rendered PDF or image file (called actual) when compared against a model (called expected document). As the PDF default comparison is an image-based comparison of every page of the actual document against that of the expected document, and as image types with multiple pages (such as tiff) are supported, both plugins work in a very similar manner. https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/whatsnew/news/new-case-study-dotnet/ Thu, 10 Oct 2019 10:31:00 +0100 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/whatsnew/news/new-case-study-dotnet/ We’re announcing the publication of a new case study and several tutorials documenting how we’ve helped clients automate workflows involving Win32 applications. The end-to-end testing of proprietary Win32 applications is known by testers as a difficult task. However, in certain scenarios, ignoring these applications can prove to be catastrophic and this is why we’ve decided to help our client cover this part of his application landscape. Take me to the Case Study Just click the button above to access the case study. https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/whatsnew/news/new-android-tutorial/ Sun, 01 Sep 2019 11:39:07 +0100 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/whatsnew/news/new-android-tutorial/ Today we’re publishing a step-by-step tutorial allowing step users to run automation against Android devices. This tutorial will take you from the installation of the Android Studio and SDK, to a local execution of Appium scripts as keyword and then all the way to a parallel execution on multiple devices using step’s agent. Keep in mind that exense offers highly competitive prices on managed Android emulators in the cloud. Check out our price calculator here for more information. https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/devdocs/ Wed, 13 Feb 2019 00:00:00 +0000 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/devdocs/ https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/libraries/ Wed, 13 Feb 2019 00:00:00 +0000 https://step.dev/knowledgebase/31/libraries/ In the enclose pages, you’ll find all sorts of information contributed by our development and consultancy teams as well as contributions from the community which we’ve compiled and made available for others to use.