{"id":9805,"date":"2018-03-20T22:35:38","date_gmt":"2018-03-20T22:35:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/abstracta.us\/blog\/?p=9805"},"modified":"2025-05-05T21:20:32","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T21:20:32","slug":"automatic-checks-scriptless-tool-ghost-inspector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abstracta.us\/blog\/test-automation\/automatic-checks-scriptless-tool-ghost-inspector\/","title":{"rendered":"Automatic Checks with Scriptless Tool, Ghost Inspector"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!-- Go to www.addthis.com\/dashboard to customize your tools --><script src=\"\/\/s7.addthis.com\/js\/300\/addthis_widget.js#pubid=ra-58d80a50fc4f926d\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h1><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ghost Inspector review:\u00a0Tool to automate tests without\u00a0the need for coding skills<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We just started a new project with a client from Silicon Valley in e-commerce where one of the first things we\u2019re working on is to review their current testing strategy, and within that, their automation strategy. The tool they use today is called <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ghost Inspector,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and although I personally had only heard about it, as my fellow \u2018Abstractans\u2019 have used it for some projects, I had not had the opportunity to seriously test it. Now that I&#8217;ve had the opportunity to see its use in a real project, I\u00a0figured I&#8217;d\u00a0share some of my comments and observations about this script-less automation tool.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Main_Features_of_Ghost_Inspector\"><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #00b674;\">Main Features of Ghost Inspector<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An automation tool, they describe it as &#8220;scriptless&#8221; meaning that there is no need to know how to program. The interesting thing is that not only is the execution in the Cloud, but you use the tool entirely through a browser. There is no IDE or client in which to design the tests. You simply install a plugin to &#8220;record&#8221; the actions of the test case, and the rest is all on the web.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abstracta.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/ghost-inspector-min.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-9806\" src=\"http:\/\/abstracta.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/ghost-inspector-min.png\" alt=\"Ghost Inspector\" width=\"700\" height=\"418\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tool offers 100 free executions per month<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> just to give it a try, so don\u2019t get too excited!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first thing to do is to create your user account on its <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ghostinspector.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">website<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Then you <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">can <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">install the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/chrome.google.com\/webstore\/detail\/ghost-inspector-automated\/aicdiabnghjnejfempeinmnphllefehc?hl=en-US\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">plugin<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to record tests. I say you can, because as with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.seleniumhq.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Selenium<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, after you get the hang of it, you don\u2019t need to use the recorder.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you want to use the plugin to record, simply log into the plugin with your account info, and then your recorded tests will be associated with your account in your repository in the Ghost Inspector website. The automation is then done by CSS selectors or xpath.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tests run in parallel as long as they execute as soon as possible. So, they do not run in a certain order (Keep an eye on that!). If the testing environment does not support a lot of load, you can limit the number of concurrent tests, so as not to overload it.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Advantages\"><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #00b674;\">Advantages<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It allows you to do an image comparison, in the style of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/applitools.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Applitools<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (but much more limited).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abstracta.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/screen-comparison-in-Ghost-Inspector.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-9807\" src=\"http:\/\/abstracta.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/screen-comparison-in-Ghost-Inspector.png\" alt=\"screen comparison Ghost Inspector\" width=\"379\" height=\"170\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It can be executed with different resolutions (like iPhone 6 portrait).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It can be run with Firefox in different versions or PhantomJS. In the paid account you can also select Chrome.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Apparently it supports data-driven testing, since you can load a file with data. I haven\u2019t tested this yet in detail. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Something very interesting is that you can choose from where in the world to do the execution. This is particularly helpful in my current project, since depending on the country, the currency should be automatically selected. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Limitations\"><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #00b674;\">Limitations<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Only supports Firefox and Chrome.<\/strong> Right now in the project, we also need to test on Internet Explorer 11 and Safari, so it does not meet the expectations that we have for our automation strategy.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Impossible to apply certain patterns and good automation practices,<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0such as the famous\u00a0<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">page object\u00a0<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">pattern,\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>although it can be modularized a bit<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>(using sub-routines)<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This makes the tests not as easy to maintain, so the selection of the cases that you want to automate with this approach is fundamental.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Doesn&#8217;t integrate\u00a0with CI\/CD tools<\/strong> or with cross-browser testing tools such as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/saucelabs.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SauceLabs<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.browserstack.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">BrowserStack<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> but, I found out you can invoke the execution of a test suite from your CI\/CD engine using a webhook.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>The videos are recorded on a single &#8220;layer.&#8221;<\/strong> It&#8217;s kind of weird, pop-ups or tooltip texts are not captured. This means that sometimes you do not understand what the script is doing.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>You can\u2019t see the execution running live on your browser<\/strong>, but have to wait for it to finish in order to see the video of the execution. It\u2019s very difficult to correct errors or strange behaviors, etc. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>No version control.<\/strong> When it comes to versions, every time I go to erase or modify something, I think about it three times first, since I have no way to go back. On the other hand when the automation is done with code, it\u2019s put in a Git repository or something similar, so you have more control. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Difficult to follow a BDD strategy.<\/strong>\u00a0Something that I am now appreciating a lot about Cucumber (beyond following BDD) is that you have to document the test before writing the automation code. So, if someone comes in after a while to see what I have automated, it will be easier to understand. It is hard for me to understand what each test does because it does not have enough comments that indicate what is meant to be tested in each test (this has more to do with people than with the tool).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion\"><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #00b674;\">Conclusion<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I think Ghost Inspector is an excellent alternative for the tester who does not know how to program. You have to roll up your sleeves with HTML and CSS selectors, but you always have to do that for automation. If utilized for the right purpose, I think it can be very useful. If you want to use it as the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">only<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> tool in your test automation strategy, then I think it will be very limiting. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Have you relied on Ghost Inspector for your test automation? What did you think?<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Looking for help with test automation? Our <a href=\"https:\/\/abstracta.us\/solutions\/test-automation\">automation experts<\/a> can help you design and execute the right automation strategy for you!<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Recommended_for_You\"><\/span><strong>Recommended for You\u00a0<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abstracta.us\/blog\/test-automation\/optimize-test-coverage-long-term\/\">How to Optimize Test Coverage in the Long Term<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/abstracta.us\/blog\/test-automation\/best-testing-practices-for-agile-teams-the-automation-pyramid\/\">Best Testing Practices for Agile Teams: The Automation Pyramid<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ghost Inspector review:\u00a0Tool to automate tests without\u00a0the need for coding skills We just started a new project with a client from Silicon Valley in e-commerce where one of the first things we\u2019re working on is to review their current testing strategy, and within that, their&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,61],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v14.0.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Automatic Checks with Scriptless Tool, Ghost Inspector | Abstracta<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Here&#039;s our unbiased review of the advantages and limitations of the popular, scriptless test automation tool, Ghost Inspector... 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