Quickstart: your first test in 10 minutes

Create a workspace, add your website, upload a screen recording, and watch ReplayQA turn it into a validated regression test you can replay.

3 min read · updated October 29, 2026

This tutorial takes you from a new account to a saved, replayable test. You need:

  • the address of a website you can test, ideally a staging or test copy, and
  • a short screen recording of one flow on that site (we'll make one in step 3 if you don't have one).

Step 1: Create your account and workspace

  1. Go to Start free trial and enter your name, email and a password.
  2. Under Name your workspace, enter your company or team name and press Continue.

Your first workspace comes with a free trial: you can turn one video into a test and replay it, no card needed. Everything you create lives inside the workspace. Choose a plan when you want to make more tests or invite teammates.

Step 2: Add the website you want to test

Under Which website do you want to test?, paste the site's address, for example https://staging.example.com, and press Continue.

This creates a project for the site. Test runs can only visit this site (and any other hosts you allow later), which keeps tests from wandering onto other websites.

Use a staging or test copy if you have one. Tests really click the buttons, so a checkout test places a real order on whatever site it runs against.

Step 3: Record a flow

If you already have a recording, skip to step 4. Otherwise, record one now with any screen recorder:

  • Windows: press Win + Alt + R (Xbox Game Bar) or use the Snipping Tool's video mode.
  • macOS: press Cmd + Shift + 5 and choose Record Selected Portion.

Record one flow from start to finish, for example "log in and open the account page", and stay on the final screen for a couple of seconds. How to record a good video has more tips.

Step 4: Upload the video

  1. Press Upload a video (or New test from video in the sidebar).
  2. Drop your file onto the page or press Choose file.
  3. Under What does the video show?, describe the flow, for example "Log in and open account settings".
  4. If the browser's address bar isn't visible in your video, enter the Page the video starts on.
  5. Press Upload, ReplayQA does the rest.

Step 5: Let ReplayQA build the test

ReplayQA now:

  1. Analyzes the video (usually under a minute) and drafts the steps.
  2. Repeats the steps in a real browser on your site. Press Watch it live to see it.
  3. Saves the test if every step works. Its status changes to Approved.

It only stops to ask you something the video can't show, typically the password for your test account. Enter it once; it's stored encrypted and reused for this site. See Test logins and passwords.

If a step can't be repeated, ReplayQA shows exactly where it stopped, with screenshots. Press Fix steps to correct it and Try again. See From video to validated test.

Step 6: Replay it

Open the test and press Play. The run takes a few seconds to a minute, and you get a screenshot of every step, a video of the run and a full trace.

From now on, press Play whenever you want to check that the flow still works, for example before every release.

What to do next

  • Record your other important flows: sign-up, checkout, search and your core create/edit screens.
  • Group them into a suite and run them together with Play All.
  • Invite your team.