"Testing" actions.

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Posted on by Jagster

I just noticed a "Testing" category in my actions pane and am wondering what they do. The actions are named Assert and Test a desktop flow. The More info links go to the URLs https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-automate/desktop-flows/actions-reference/testing#assertaction and https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-automate/desktop-flows/actions-reference/testing#runtestflow but that page returns a 404 error at this time - the page does not exist.

I'd like to learn more about these, for example how is Testing > Test a desktop flow different from Run flow > Run desktop flow, and examples of using Assert. Is there another URL that covers these actions?

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ronaldwalcott 3,847 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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I have not seen a URL which describes these features but "Test a desktop Flow" should test the flow without affecting the environment that it is being tested and Assert is used to assert that some variable has a value or some condition is true (basically run this test with this variable set to this value). This is how equivalent options work with other tools.

Hopefully they should provide documentation which details how to effectively use these options.

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Jagster 40 on at

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Thanksronaldwalcott, I'm just still not grasping it and could definitely use examples. I don't quite understand what is meant by "test the flow without affecting the environment that it is being tested". And also don't understand why I wouldn't just use the regular Run desktop flow action, along with various IF/THEN actions to check for expected outputs. When I use the Test a desktop flow action, it just runs the selected flow, just as Run desktop flow does. I notice no difference. I'm sure after some use cases and examples it will make sense though.... they've added it for a reason and I'm curious.

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CU20012229-0 12 on at

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This is standard testing methodology. The idea is to decouple this 'module' from the rest of the code so that if it fails it is not because the input was invalid. Essentially you provide 'hardwired' inputs and define (assert) what the output should be. This link gives the general idea. https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/how-to-do-unit-testing-detailed-guide-with-best-practices/

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CU20012229-0 12 on at

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This is standard unit testing approach. The idea is to decouple the module from its inputs so that you dont say it failed if the inputs were invalid. So you "hardwire' the inputs for each test case and "Assert' what the output should be.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_testing

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ronaldwalcott 3,847 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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Testing allows you to check that the action completes without creating a permanent change to your environment.

Consider that you want to change the first row and first column in an Excel table to some value which originates from some other place. If you use Run the desktop flow you have to ensure that you can access the location to get the value to add to your Excel table. If you use Test a desktop flow you should be able to use assert to set the value without having to read it from the other place.

In some cases using Test allows you to test individual parts of your flow without having any needed inputs also configured.

In other cases you don't need it.

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