Visual vs Fast Mode

CheckView offers two test modes that control how tests are executed: Visual and Fast. The mode you choose affects whether video is recorded, how quickly tests run, and what artifacts are available for debugging.

Visual Mode

Visual mode is the default. It runs tests with full rendering and records everything for review:

• Video recording — A full video of the test run is captured and available in the test results.
• Network Log (HAR) — All network requests are recorded for debugging.
• Screenshots — Captured at each step.
• Standard timeouts — Uses your configured step delay, action timeout, and element timeout values as-is.

Best for: Debugging test failures, reviewing how the bot interacts with your site, verifying that forms and checkout flows work correctly.

Fast Mode

Fast mode prioritizes speed over visibility. It applies aggressive performance optimizations to complete tests as quickly as possible:

• No video recording — Video is skipped entirely to save time and resources.
• No Network Log (HAR) — Network activity is not recorded.
• Screenshots still captured — Step-by-step screenshots are still available for review.
• Resource blocking — Images, media, fonts, and tracking scripts (Google Analytics, Facebook, Google Tag Manager) are blocked to speed up page loads.
• Optimized timeouts — Step delays are capped at 500ms, action timeouts at 15 seconds, and element timeouts are reduced based on step type (8–12 seconds depending on the assertion).
• Aggressive browser settings — GPU rendering, background processes, and non-essential browser features are disabled for maximum performance.

Best for: Scheduled monitoring where you only need to know pass/fail, high-frequency testing, and situations where test speed matters more than detailed recordings.

Comparison

Setting the Organization Default

The organization-level default applies to all test flows unless overridden.

1. Go to your organization’s Settings → Platform.
2. Under Default Test Mode, select:
   • Visual — records video (recommended)
   • Fast — no video recording
3. Click Save changes.

The default is Visual for new organizations.

Overriding per Test Flow

You can override the organization default for individual test flows.

1. Open the test flow and go to Settings.
2. Under Browser Details, find the Test Mode setting.
3. Select one of:
   • Inherit from organization settings — Uses the org default (this is the default).
   • Visual — records video (recommended)
   • Fast — no video recording
4. Save your settings.

How the Mode is Resolved at Runtime

1. If the test flow has a specific mode set (Visual or Fast), that mode is used.
2. If the test flow is set to Inherit (or not set), the organization’s default is used.
3. If the organization has no default configured, Visual is used.

Viewing Results from Fast Mode Tests

When reviewing results from a test that ran in fast mode:

• The Video section will show “No video available — This test ran in fast mode.”
• The Network Log section will not have a HAR file to download.
• Screenshots are still available for each step and can be used for debugging.

If you need a video recording for a test that previously ran in fast mode, switch the test flow to Visual mode and run the test again.

Tips

• Start with Visual. Use Visual mode while setting up and debugging your test flows. Once they are stable and passing consistently, switch to Fast for ongoing scheduled monitoring.
• Use per-test overrides for debugging. If a test running in fast mode starts failing, temporarily switch that specific test flow to Visual to capture a video and network log for investigation.
• Fast mode may affect some tests. Because fast mode blocks images and media, tests that interact with image-based elements (like image galleries or media players) may behave differently. Use Visual mode for these test flows.

Related Articles

• Test Flow Advanced Settings