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qawolf init scaffolds a project for writing flow files by hand. Most users should pull flows from QA Wolf instead — the platform is where flow creation, AI-powered test generation, and team collaboration live, and qawolf flows pull brings those flows into a local cache the CLI can run from. Reach for qawolf init only when you want to author flows locally without the platform.

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Scaffold a new project

1
Open a terminal in the directory you want to use as the project root:
cd path/to/your/project
2
Run the init command:
qawolf init
The CLI prompts before overwriting any existing files. To skip the prompts, pass --yes.
The command creates the following files:
  • qawolf.config.ts — a project configuration file generated for future use; the CLI does not read it yet.
  • src/flows/example.flow.ts — a minimal web flow you can edit or delete.
  • .qawolf/.gitignore — ignores the contents of .qawolf/, such as flows pulled from the platform. Run artifacts in qawolf-output/ are not covered.
If your directory has no package.json, the CLI creates one with "type": "module", the @qawolf/flows dependency, and a test:e2e script that runs qawolf flows run. If a package.json already exists, the CLI only adds the test:e2e script.

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Write a flow

Flow files live anywhere in your project as long as they match the glob **/*.flow.{ts,js}. The example flow is a good starting point: 
import { expect, flow } from "@qawolf/flows/web";

export default flow(
  "Example",
  { launch: true, target: "Web - Chrome" },
  async ({ page, test }) => {
    await test("navigate to example.com", async () => {
      await page.goto("https://example.com");
      await expect(page).toHaveTitle(/Example/);
    });
  },
);
For the full flow authoring surface, see the @qawolf/flows API reference.

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Verify the setup

qawolf flows list
The command lists every flow the CLI can find in the project. If the example flow appears, the project is ready to run.
Last modified on June 16, 2026