> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.qawolf.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Anatomy of a flow

> Learn the structure of every QA Wolf flow — the AAA framework, imports, the flow wrapper, launch styles, and callback parameters — and how that structure extends across web, iOS, and Android.

If the agent generated a flow for you and you want to understand what it produced, here's what each part does — and how those same parts extend once you're testing the same behavior on more than one platform.

If your team has written Playwright or Appium tests before, QA Wolf flows will look familiar. The selectors, interactions, and assertions work the same way. What's different is the wrapper around them.

Every flow is wrapped in `flow()` from the `@qawolf/flows` package — it tells the runner what to run, where to run it, and which runtime objects to inject into the callback.

## AAA framework

QA Wolf flows follow the Arrange, Act, Assert (AAA) format.

* **Arrange** — sets up state before the interaction.
* **Act** — performs the interaction being tested.
* **Assert** — verifies the expected outcome.

```typescript theme={null}
export default flow(
  "Complete checkout",
  { target: "Web - Chrome", launch: true },
  async ({ page, test }) => {
    await test("arrange", async () => {
      //--------------------------------
      // Arrange:
      //--------------------------------
      await page.goto(process.env.BASE_URL);
    });

    await test("act", async () => {
      //--------------------------------
      // Act:
      //--------------------------------
      await page.fill("[data-testid='email']", "test@example.com");
      await page.click("[data-testid='submit']");
    });

    await test("assert", async () => {
      //--------------------------------
      // Assert:
      //--------------------------------
      await expect(page).toHaveURL(`${process.env.BASE_URL}/confirmation`);
    });
  },
);
```

<Note>
  iOS and Android use `driver.$(...)` calls instead of `page` calls.
</Note>

## Import statement

<CodeGroup>
  ```typescript Web theme={null}
  import { flow, expect } from "@qawolf/flows/web";
  ```

  ```typescript iOS theme={null}
  import { flow, expect } from "@qawolf/flows/ios";
  ```

  ```typescript Android theme={null}
  import { flow, expect } from "@qawolf/flows/android";
  ```

  ```typescript Node theme={null}
  import { flow } from "@qawolf/flows/cli";
  ```
</CodeGroup>

<Warning>
  For web flows, always import `expect` from `@qawolf/flows/web` — not from `@playwright/test`, which causes assertions to bypass QA Wolf's reporting. iOS, Android, and Node flows don't have this pitfall: `expect` is wired to the QA Wolf runner automatically.
</Warning>

## Flow wrapper

```typescript theme={null}
export default flow(
  "Name shown in QA Wolf",
  { target: "Web - Chrome", launch: true },
  async ({ page }) => {
    // test steps go here
  },
);
```

* **Name** — what this flow is called in your results, bug reports, and QA Wolf dashboard. Make it descriptive enough that a failing flow name tells you where to look.
* **Configuration** — specifies where the flow runs and how it starts. Pass a plain target string to name the browser, device, or environment, or pass an object with `target` and `launch` to configure startup simultaneously — see [Target literals](/libraries/flows/api-reference/top-level#target-literals) for the exact matching rule and the list of values.
* **Callback** — the `async` function containing your test logic. What it receives depends on the launch style and platform (see below).

## Launch styles

| Style               | When to use                                                                   |
| ------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `launch: true`      | Most flows — default startup, no configuration needed                         |
| Options object      | Startup options are known up front — e.g., persistent browser context         |
| Explicit `launch()` | Startup depends on runtime logic — e.g., branching on an environment variable |

### Declarative launch — recommended

Pass `launch: true` to use the default startup, or pass an options object to customize it. Either way, QA Wolf starts the browser or app before your callback runs, and the callback receives the platform object ready to use.

<Tip>
  If you've used Playwright directly, this is the equivalent of calling `await browser.launch()` — QA Wolf handles that setup for you, so your callback starts with a ready-to-use `page`.
</Tip>

<CodeGroup>
  ```typescript Web theme={null}
  export default flow(
    "Sign in",
    { target: "Web - Chrome", launch: true },
    async ({ page, test }) => {
      await test("navigate to sign in", async () => {
        await page.goto(process.env.BASE_URL);
      });
    },
  );
  ```

  ```typescript iOS theme={null}
  export default flow(
    "Sign in",
    { target: "iOS - iPhone 15 (iOS 26)", launch: true },
    async ({ driver, test }) => {
      await test("launch app", async () => {
        // driver is ready to use
      });
    },
  );
  ```

  ```typescript Android theme={null}
  export default flow(
    "Sign in",
    { target: "Android - Pixel 9", launch: true },
    async ({ driver, test }) => {
      await test("launch app", async () => {
        // driver is ready to use
      });
    },
  );
  ```
</CodeGroup>

Pass an options object instead of `true` when you need to customize startup, such as reusing a browser profile. See the [Web API Reference](/libraries/flows/api-reference/web) for the full list of options.

```typescript theme={null}
export default flow(
  "Sign in with saved profile",
  {
    target: "Web - Chrome",
    launch: {
      browserContext: "persistent",
      userDataDir: "/tmp/qawolf-profile",
    },
  },
  async ({ page, test }) => {
    await test("navigate to sign in", async () => {
      await page.goto(process.env.BASE_URL);
    });
  },
);
```

The callback receives a different object depending on the platform:

| Platform       | Callback receives                                           |
| -------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| Web browser    | `page`, `context`, optional `browser`                       |
| Web (Electron) | `page`                                                      |
| iOS            | `driver` — the Appium/WebdriverIO session for the device    |
| Android        | `driver` — the Appium/WebdriverIO session for the device    |
| Node           | nothing additional — only `inputs`, `setOutput`, and `test` |

### Explicit launch — advanced flows only

For advanced cases where the startup depends on runtime logic, you can call `launch()` explicitly inside the callback. See the [Web API Reference](/libraries/flows/api-reference/web) for details. For Electron desktop app testing, see [Testing Electron apps](/electron).

## Callback parameters

Every flow callback receives three parameters regardless of platform:

**`inputs`** — values passed into the flow from outside. Use this to read data published by another flow in the same run. Keys are uppercase by convention, e.g. `inputs["EMAIL"]`.

**`setOutput(...)`** — publishes one or more key-value pairs that a later flow in the same run can read via its `inputs`. Keys are uppercase by convention. You can publish multiple values in a single call:

```typescript theme={null}
setOutput("USER_ID", userId, "EMAIL", email);
```

<Info>
  A consumer flow will not run until its producer has called `setOutput`. See [Passing data between flows](/Pass-data-between-flows) for how producers and consumers work together.
</Info>

**`test(...)`** — wraps a named sub-step, grouping actions and assertions under a label that appears in your results. When a step fails, the label tells you exactly where in the flow the failure happened.

```typescript theme={null}
export default flow(
  "Create account",
  { target: "Web - Chrome", launch: true },
  async ({ page, inputs, setOutput, test }) => {
    await test("fill registration form", async () => {
      await page.goto(process.env.BASE_URL);
      await page.getByLabel("Email").fill(inputs["EMAIL"]);
      await page.getByRole("button", { name: "Sign up" }).click();
    });

    await test("confirm account created", async () => {
      const userId = await page.getByTestId("user-id").textContent();
      setOutput("USER_ID", userId);
    });
  },
);
```

Launch-enabled flows also receive the platform object (`page`, `context`, `browser`, or `driver`) as shown in the launch styles section above.

For the full callback context shape, see the API Reference for [Web](/libraries/flows/api-reference/web#flow-callback-context), [Android](/libraries/flows/api-reference/android#flow-callback-context), and [iOS](/libraries/flows/api-reference/ios#flow-callback-context).

<Note>
  `launch()`, `device`, and `platform.target` are stubs in the package code, and the runner replaces them at execution time. They only work while a flow is running inside the QA Wolf runner — keep them inside the flow callback, not at the module level. \
  \
  Module-level code should be limited to imports, constants, and pure helper functions. \
  \
  `platform.target` (full API in the [Top-Level Reference](/libraries/flows/api-reference/top-level)) lets a single flow branch on the active platform at runtime. Use it sparingly — prefer [separate platform-specific flows](#import-statement) if you find yourself branching often.
</Note>

### Pure helper functions for platform differences

For platform-specific implementation differences that don't fit neatly into a Page Object — such as log capture, where iOS uses `"safariConsole"` and parses JSON while Android uses `"browser"` with logging preferences — write a helper function that handles the difference internally. The flow calls the helper and stays linear.

```typescript theme={null}
// /src/helpers/console-logs-ios.ts
export async function getConsoleLogs(driver: WebdriverIO.Browser) {
  const raw = await driver.getLogs("safariConsole");
  return raw.map((entry) => JSON.parse(entry.message));
}

//helpers/console-logs-android.ts
export async function getConsoleLogs(driver: WebdriverIO.Browser) {
  const raw = await driver.getLogs("browser");
  return raw.map((entry) => entry.message);
}
```

Keep helper functions like this one pure. As noted above, runtime APIs only work inside the flow callback, not at module level.

## Environment variables

Reference environment variables with `process.env.VAR_NAME`. You typically use them in the Arrange section before any interactions begin.

```typescript theme={null}
await page.goto(process.env.BASE_URL);
```

To set environment variables for your flows, use the environment settings in the QA Wolf platform.