Loop Step

The Loop step repeatedly executes a set of child steps until an exit condition is met, a timeout expires, or the maximum iteration count is reached.

When to Use

• Polling an API until a status changes (e.g., wait for "completed")
• Retrying an operation until it succeeds
• Iterating over a dynamic data set where the number of items is unknown
• Waiting for an asynchronous process to finish with a bounded retry

Configuration

Exit Condition

Defines when the loop should stop. The condition is evaluated after each iteration.

Field	Description
Variable Name	The name of the variable to evaluate. When empty, the loop body runs exactly once and exits.
Comparison Mode	How to compare the variable against the expected value
Expected Value	The value to compare against. Not used for Existence/NonExistence modes.
String Compare Mode	Binary (case-sensitive), CaseInsensitive, Loose (ignores spaces), or RegularExpression

Comparison modes:

Mode	Description
Existence	Variable exists (has been set)
NonExistence	Variable does not exist
Equals	Variable value equals the expected value
Contains	Variable value contains the expected value
NotContains	Variable value does not contain the expected value
StartsWith	Variable value starts with the expected value
EndsWith	Variable value ends with the expected value
MatchesRegex	Variable value matches the given regular expression pattern

Limits

Safety limits that prevent infinite loops.

Field	Default	Description
Max Iterations	100	Hard cap on the number of iterations (range 1–999999). When reached without the exit condition being met, the step fails.
Timeout	00:01:00	Total wall-clock time limit. When this expires, the step fails. Accepts formats like 00:01:30 or 30s.

Delays

Optional pauses to control pacing.

Field	Default	Description
Before First Iteration	00:00:05	Delay before the first iteration begins
Between Iterations	00:00:05	Delay between consecutive iterations

Steps

The child steps that execute on each iteration. Drag any supported step type into the Steps list. Steps are executed in order, top to bottom.

Runtime Behavior

1. The step checks for user abort (Stop flag) before each iteration.
2. If Before First Iteration delay is set, the step waits before the first iteration.
3. All enabled child steps run in order.
4. After each iteration:
   • The exit condition is evaluated.
   • If satisfied, the loop exits with Success.
   • If Max Iterations is reached or Timeout expires, the loop exits with Failure.
   • Otherwise, Between Iterations delay is applied and the next iteration begins.
5. Iteration progress is reported in the step output and test log.

If no exit condition variable is configured (Variable Name is empty), the loop body runs exactly once and the step returns Success.

Example: Polling for Completion

Step 1: Send Request (POST /api/jobs)
          → stores job ID in the variable JobId

Step 2: Loop
          Exit Condition:
            Variable Name: Status
            Comparison Mode: Equals
            Expected Value: completed
          Max Iterations: 20
          Timeout: 00:02:00
          Between Iterations: 00:00:05

          Steps:
            Step 2.1: Send Request (GET /api/jobs/${JobId})
                        → stores status in the variable Status
            Step 2.2: Assert
                        variable Status is not "failed"

Step 3: Assert
          variable Status equals "completed"

${JobId} is a variable reference in a URL, so it is substituted at send time. Status in the Variable Name field is the name itself, written bare.

See Also

• Conditional Step
• Wait Step
• Creating Your First Test