Test Steps Overview

A test step is the smallest unit of work in an Aethrix test case. Steps execute sequentially and can read/write variables, send requests, run scripts, query databases, and more.

Step Structure

All steps share common properties (configured in the step header and the Details panel):

Property	Description
Name	Descriptive label shown in the test case tree and report
Description	Optional detailed notes about the step's purpose
Enabled	Toggle a step on/off without deleting it
Continue on Failure	If checked, execution proceeds even if this step fails

Available Steps

API & Requests

Step	Icon	Description
Send Request		Send HTTP, SOAP, REST, or GraphQL requests — the most commonly used step

Validation

Step	Icon	Description
Assert		Validate response values, variables, status codes, headers, and more

Scripting

Step	Icon	Description
C# Script		Execute custom C# code with full .NET API access, IntelliSense, and a debugger
JavaScript		Execute JavaScript (V8) with native assertions and Postman/Insomnia compatibility
Shell Script		Execute shell commands, PowerShell, bash, or any executable

Database

Step	Icon	Description
SQL Query		Execute SQL statements against SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and more
NoSQL Query		Query MongoDB and other NoSQL databases

Data

Step	Icon	Description
Data Transfer		Extract values from a step's request or response into variables
Data Generation	science	Generate random, sequential, or table-driven test data for load tests

Authentication

Step	Icon	Description
JWT		Generate or validate JSON Web Tokens with configurable claims
OAuth 2.0 Get Token		Obtain OAuth 2.0 access tokens programmatically

Messaging & Communication

Step	Icon	Description
Send Mail		Send emails via SMTP
Receive Mail		Read emails from IMAP/POP3 mailboxes
Wait Message		Wait for a message on a Kafka topic or message queue
WebSocket Connect		Opens a named WebSocket connection for use by subsequent WebSocket steps
WebSocket Send		Sends a message on a named WebSocket connection
WebSocket Receive		Receives messages on a named WebSocket connection
WebSocket Close		Closes a named WebSocket connection

Control Flow

Step	Icon	Description
Loop		Repeatedly execute child steps until an exit condition, timeout, or max iterations
Conditional		Evaluate a condition and execute Then or Else branches of child steps
Wait		Pause execution for a fixed duration
Run Action		Invoke a reusable action (sub-flow of steps)
Copy Files		Copy files or directories on the file system

Service Simulation

Step	Icon	Description
Service Simulation Control		Start or stop simulated servers mid-test
Service Simulation Update		Change simulated response configurations mid-test

Infrastructure

Step	Icon	Description
Window Service Control		Start or stop Windows services

Other

See Other Steps for less commonly used step types.

Next Steps

• Send Request Step →
• Assertions →
• Creating Your First Test →