Test Studio R1 2022 Removes Barriers to Native Chrome Automation

Test Studio R1 2022 release removes barriers to native test automation in Google Chrome by lifting the mandatory installation of the Chrome Extension, which makes Test Studio a pioneer in extensionless browser automation.

Native Chrome Automation, Truly Extensionless

On September 23, 2021, Google announced that effective from January 2023, third-party MV2 extensions (Manifest V2) will no longer be supported and allowed to run in Chrome. This major update in Chrome extension policy affects all commercial test automation tools that require the installation of an extension for in-browser automation.

With the R1 2022 release, Test Studio is ready to introduce extensionless Chrome automation far in advance of Google’s policy update—to provide users with enough time to adapt their tests and get used to the new automation workflow.

Benefits of Extensionless Test Automation

Besides providing truly native Chrome Automation, eliminating the need for an extension for test recording and execution in Chrome provides automation engineers with a few more advantages.

For one, the additional step of installing the extension to get started with test automation is now removed. Organizations with complex test labs utilizing several remote machines or servers will benefit from the change tremendously, as for them installing an extension typically causes significant testing slows downs. The prevented delays can be calculated by multiplying the time needed to install the extension by the number of machines tests run on.

What’s more, test execution can now be significantly faster, as no extension needs to load every time a test or a test list gets executed. Again, the time multiplied by the number of machines you run tests on will show you the time savings potential of the new extensionless automation mode.

Finally, organizations that restrict the use of third-party extensions due to security reasons will no longer experience difficulties in using Test Studio in their automation efforts. Trialists will also benefit from the new workflow as their onboarding experience with Test Studio is now a lot more straightforward.

Switching to Extensionless Mode in Test Studio

Introducing extensionless recording will inevitably change some workflows in Test Studio, which is the reason why, for the time being, users will have the option to choose if they want to automate with or without using the extension. To ease the whole process, the extensionless mode will be switched off by default. Users can access it and turn it on through the Chrome browser configuration settings as described in this Configuring Chrome for Test Studio Automation article.

Switching to extensionless mode might affect existing tests in some rare cases, which is why we recommend gradual transition to the new workflow, allowing users to adapt their automated tests at their own pace. The Test Studio team will be providing onboarding content as well as ongoing support to teams that need assistance to update their test case programs due to this change.

By the time Test Studio officially terminates the support for the Chrome extension, which will be no earlier than 2023, all users should have switched to extensionless test automation. If you experience difficulties or need assistance to use the extensionless mode, make sure to get in touch with our Support Team by submitting a ticket.

Visual Studio 2022 Support

To address customer feedback and ensure coverage of the latest frameworks and technologies, Test Studio is extending support for Visual Studio 2022. The Test Studio Visual Studio plugin now runs on Visual Studio 2022. The Visual Studio extension is available both in Test Studio Dev Edition as part of the DevCraft Ultimate product bundle and in the Test Studio standalone application. Depending on the structure and size of your team, Test Studio offers different editions to meet your automated testing needs. Read more about test automation for agile teams.

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