> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.testyourappnow.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Verify Your Critical App Flows Before Every Deployment

> Learn how to identify your most critical user flows, build them in Test Your App Now! (TYAN), and run them before every deployment to catch regressions fast.

Stop manually clicking through your app before every deploy. TYAN lets you define the flows that matter most — checkout, signup, login, lead capture — and verify them automatically in five minutes, every time you ship.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Identify Your Critical Flows">
    Start by asking yourself: *what would cost me the most if it broke right now?* Those are your critical flows. Common candidates include:

    * **Checkout or payment** — a broken checkout directly kills revenue
    * **Signup and onboarding** — a failed signup means lost users before they ever see value
    * **Login** — if existing users can't log in, nothing else matters
    * **Lead or contact form** — a broken form means prospects silently disappear

    List every flow that, if broken in production, would require an immediate hotfix. Those are the ones to build first.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Build Each Flow in the UI">
    For each critical flow you identified, create a corresponding flow in TYAN:

    1. Open the **Flows** tab in your dashboard and click **New Flow**.
    2. Enter your app's starting URL as the first **Navigate** step.
    3. Add **Interact** steps to simulate user actions — clicking buttons, filling forms, submitting data.
    4. Add **Assert** steps to confirm the expected outcome is visible (e.g., "Order confirmation message is displayed").
    5. Name the flow clearly (e.g., `Checkout – Guest Purchase`) and click **Save**.

    Repeat this for every flow on your critical list.

    <Tip>
      Tag each flow with a `pre-ship` label as you create it. Tagging lets you run the entire group at once from the dashboard or via the API, so you never have to manually select individual flows before a deploy.
    </Tip>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Run the Flow Suite Before Shipping">
    Once your flows are built, run them as a group before every deployment. You have two options:

    **From the dashboard:** Filter flows by the `pre-ship` tag and click **Run All**.

    **From your CI pipeline:** Trigger a flow run via the API so verification happens automatically on every push:

    <CodeGroup>
      ```bash cURL theme={null}
      curl -X POST https://api.testyourappnow.com/v1/flows/{flow_id}/run \
        -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
        -H "Content-Type: application/json"
      ```
    </CodeGroup>

    Replace `{flow_id}` with the ID shown on the flow's detail page, and `YOUR_API_KEY` with a key generated in **Settings → API Keys**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Interpret the Results">
    After every run, each flow reports a clear status:

    * **Green (Passed)** — every step completed and every assertion was met. You're clear to ship.
    * **Red (Failed)** — at least one step or assertion failed. TYAN captures a screenshot at the point of failure so you can diagnose the issue immediately. Investigate and fix before deploying.

    A single red flow in your pre-ship suite means the deploy should wait. Fix the regression, re-run the suite, and ship only when everything is green.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  To trigger flow runs directly from GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or other pipelines, see the [CI/CD Integration guide](/integrations/ci-cd).
</Note>