Ply

API Automated Testing

Ply is simply a more intuitive way of autotesting your REST and GraphQL APIs. Create and run HTTP requests using Ply's visual request editor.

request-recording

Then reuse your requests in Ply's graphical flow builder.

flow-recording

Or edit raw YAML describing your request sequence. Run Ply to submit these requests and compare actual results against expected, with template literal placeholders for dynamic values.

The Ply extension gives you a side-by-side diff view so you can compare results at a glance.

diff

Checkmarks indicate diff lines that're okay, such as substituted values or comments; whereas Xs indicate significant differences causing test failure(s).

When you need even greater control, Ply cases give you programmatic access via TypeScript to supplement this built-in expected/actual verification.

Features

Visual HTTP request editor for sending REST and GraphQL requests
Graphical flow builder makes it easy to sequence requests
Side-by-side diff view compares expected/actual results, with smart decorations aware of runtime values
Auto-generate result files by capturing actual good responses
Reference env values and/or upstream response props using template expressions
Ply Explorer sidebar shows all Ply flow/request/case suites along with their statuses
CodeLens links in your Ply test files for running and debugging tests
Built-in GraphQL support providing the same intuitive workflow as REST
Decorations on your Ply test flows and files showing test statuses and results
Test log displayed in Output view when a test is selected in Ply Explorer
Import Ply requests from Postman collections

Dependencies

Requires Test Explorer UI extension.

Configuration

Ply configuration is read from plyconfig.json/yaml. Other values are configured through vscode settings:

Setting	Description	Default
`ply.logpanel`	Write detailed log output to the Ply Invoker output panel	false
`ply.websocketPort`	WebSocket port for Ply flow live updates (0 to disable). Modify in Workspace settings to avoid conflicts.	9351
`ply.customSteps`	Glob pattern for step descriptor JSON files, relative to workspace folder
`ply.debugPort`	Port to use for debug connections	9229
`ply.debugConfig`	Name of a launch configuration to use for debugging	(see below)
`ply.nodePath`	Path to node executable	Find on your PATH; if not found, use node shipped with VS Code
`ply.plyPath`	Path to ply package (relative to workspace folder) eg: "node_modules/@ply-ct/ply"	Use a bundled version of ply
`ply.cwd`	Working directory for Ply test execution (relative to workspace folder)	Workspace folder root
`ply.env`	Environment variables to apply for Ply test execution
`ply.saveBeforeRun`	Automatically save dirty test editor documents before running	true
`ply.openRequestsAndFlowsWhenRun`	Automatically open requests/flows in custom editor when executing from Ply Explorer	If Single (running a single suite)
`ply.plyExplorerUseRequestEditor`	When opening individual requests within flow/request suites from Ply Explorer, open in request editor	true
`ply.useDist`	TODO	false
`ply.requireTsNode`	TODO	false
`ply.previewEnabled`	Enable Ply preview features	false

Custom debug configuration

You can specify a custom vscode debug configuration to use for Ply cases instead of the built-in default. Do this by creating a debugging configuration in .vscode/launch.json. Then specify the name of that in setting ply.debugConfig. The default built-in debug configuration looks like this:

{
  "name": "Ply Debugging",
  "type": "node",
  "request": "attach",
  "port": 9229,
  "protocol": "inspector",
  "timeout": 10000,
  "continueOnAttach": true
}

Troubleshooting

If your Ply tests are not displayed or not executing correctly, you can diagnose problems by turning on logging to "Ply Invoker" in Output view through this VS Code setting:

ply.logpanel