Automated Visual Regression Testing Workflow
Google Drive Automate streamlines visual regression testing by automatically generating base screenshots and comparing them against updated webpage images. This workflow integrates with Google Sheets to manage webpage lists, utilizes Apify for screenshot generation, and employs AI vision models to detect changes. Scheduled runs ensure regular updates, while reports are generated in Linear for easy tracking of detected changes, enhancing website quality assurance and reducing manual oversight.
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Workflow Overview
Google Drive Automate streamlines visual regression testing by automatically generating base screenshots and comparing them against updated webpage images. This workflow integrates with Google Sheets to manage webpage lists, utilizes Apify for screenshot generation, and employs AI vision models to detect changes. Scheduled runs ensure regular updates, while reports are generated in Linear for easy tracking of detected changes, enhancing website quality assurance and reducing manual oversight.
Target Audience
- Web Developers: Those who maintain websites and need to ensure visual consistency over time.
- Quality Assurance Teams: Professionals responsible for testing and validating web applications.
- Product Managers: Individuals who oversee product releases and require visual validation of changes.
- Marketing Teams: Teams that need to ensure brand consistency across web pages.
- Freelancers & Agencies: Service providers who offer website maintenance and testing services.
Problem Solved
This workflow addresses the challenge of visual regression testing, which is crucial for detecting unintended changes in the appearance of web pages. By automating the process of capturing screenshots and comparing them with previously stored base images, it helps identify discrepancies that could affect user experience, functionality, and brand integrity. This ensures that any visual changes are intentional and not the result of bugs or errors.
Workflow Steps
- Schedule Trigger: The workflow is initiated on a weekly basis at 6 AM every Monday.
- Get Webpages List: It retrieves a list of URLs from a Google Sheet that need to be tested.
- For Each Webpage: Each URL is processed in batches:
- Run Webpage Screenshot: Captures the current screenshot of the webpage using Apify.
- Base Image: Downloads the corresponding base image from Google Drive for comparison.
- Combine Screenshots: Merges the base and new screenshots for analysis.
- Visual Regression Agent: Uses AI to identify changes between the two images, focusing on text, colors, images, and layout differences.
- Has Changes: Filters results to check if any changes were detected.
- Create Report: If changes are found, a report is generated and documented in Linear for tracking.
- Update Base Image: If necessary, updates the base image in Google Sheets to reflect the latest version of the webpage.