Advanced

Introduction

What is the Advanced screen?

Advanced (at /advanced) is where you execute run commands against the connected server. It gathers the two execution surfaces that used to be separate screens into one place, as tabs:

Tab	What it does
Runner	Type a command, press Run, and watch the output stream live. Execution starts immediately and once.
Schedules	Save a command with a cron expression so the server runs it on a repeating timetable, unattended.

The distinction is simply when the command runs: Runner is now, Schedules is later and repeatedly. Everything else — the command you type, where it executes, and where the results land — works the same way in both tabs.

Note

In one sentence: Advanced is the “run a command” screen — immediately from the Runner tab, or on a schedule from the Schedules tab.

Who this guide is for

• QA engineers who want to launch a suite and watch it run without keeping a terminal open.
• Anyone who needs a suite to run overnight, hourly, or every weekday morning without a CI pipeline.
• Mobile testers running Appium-family suites against local devices or a cloud device grid.

Where to find it

Look for Advanced in the left navigation under Test Automation, marked with a terminal (>_) icon. When a run is in progress the icon carries a pulsing dot, so you can tell at a glance that something is executing even from another screen.

Tip

The old /runner and /schedules URLs still work — they redirect to the matching tab. Old bookmarks and links don’t break.

Getting Started

Switching tabs

The two tabs sit in a bar across the top of the screen, in the same style as the Tests / Suites tabs on Test Explorer. Click either one to switch.

The active tab is remembered in the address bar, so:

• /advanced?tab=runner opens straight to the Runner
• /advanced?tab=schedules opens straight to Schedules

That means you can bookmark or share a link to a specific tab, and a browser refresh keeps you where you were.

Which tab do I want?

You want to…	Use
Run the suite right now and watch it	Runner
Re-run the last command you used	Runner (Commands menu → Recent)
Run a smoke suite every morning at 8	Schedules
Run a regression pack nightly and check results in the morning	Schedules
Try a command once before scheduling it	Runner first, then save it as a schedule

Tip

A good habit: prove a command works in the Runner tab first. Once you see it pass, copy the exact same command into a schedule. That way you never schedule a command with a typo in it.

At a glance

• Both tabs accept any run command — they are not limited to a particular framework.
• Both execute on the connected server, not in your browser.
• Both write their results to the Results screen, so history is in one place regardless of how the run was triggered.
• Cloud grids and mobile devices are available from both tabs when the matching connector is enabled.

The Runner tab

The Runner takes the command you’d normally type in a terminal, runs it, and streams the output back with live progress and a pass/fail summary.

Highlights:

• Command box — type any run command; autocomplete offers your saved commands and the framework’s Run All preset.
• Run on — choose Local, a connected device, or a cloud grid.
• Live output — colorized console output, a progress bar, and counters that tick up as tests finish.
• Run history — your recent runs (status, command, duration, start time) listed beside the output; open a finished run’s full details from the Run Complete card’s View Details.
• Live device preview — for mobile runs, a picture of the device the test is driving.

See the Runner tab guide for the full walkthrough.

The Schedules tab

Schedules stores commands with a cron expression and runs them on the server at the specified times, whether or not anyone is signed in.

Highlights:

• Cron builder — pick a frequency tab (Minutes, Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Monthly) or type a custom expression on the Advanced tab.
• Next runs preview — see the next few fire times before you save, so you can confirm the schedule means what you think.
• Run now — trigger a scheduled command immediately without waiting for its next slot.
• Pause / resume — temporarily stop a schedule without deleting it.
• Cloud and device targets — schedule runs against a cloud grid or local devices, same as the Runner.

See the Schedules tab guide for the full walkthrough.

Common Tasks (How Do I…?)

How do I run a command right now?

1. Open Advanced → Runner.
2. Type your command (or pick one from the Commands menu).
3. Choose a target under Run on if you don’t want the default.
4. Press Run.

How do I turn a working command into a nightly run?

1. Run it once in the Runner tab and confirm it passes.
2. Copy the command text.
3. Switch to the Schedules tab → Add Schedule.
4. Give it a name, paste the command, open the Daily tab and set 10 PM : 00, then click Create.

How do I check what a scheduled run produced?

Scheduled runs write to the same place as manual ones. Open Results and look for the run by time — there’s no separate “scheduled results” screen to hunt through.

How do I link straight to one tab?

Use /advanced?tab=runner or /advanced?tab=schedules. Both are safe to bookmark and share.

Tips & Best Practices

• Prove it in Runner, then schedule it. A scheduled command that fails at 2 AM is much harder to debug than the same command failing in front of you.
• Keep an eye on the sidebar dot. The pulsing indicator on the Advanced entry tells you a run is active without switching screens.
• Don’t schedule everything. Frequent schedules against a cloud grid consume paid minutes; start with a daily or weekday cadence and tighten only if you need it.
• Name your saved commands clearly. Smoke — headed is easier to pick from the Commands menu six weeks later than a bare command string.

Troubleshooting & FAQ

The Advanced entry isn’t in my sidebar. Make sure you’re looking under the Test Automation group; it sits directly below Results with a >_ terminal icon.

My old /runner bookmark went somewhere else. It redirected to /advanced?tab=runner, which is the same screen it always was — just now presented as a tab. Nothing was removed.

Do the two tabs share state? No. Typing a command in the Runner does not create a schedule, and editing a schedule does not affect what’s in the Runner’s command box. They’re independent surfaces that happen to live on one screen.

Can I run two things at once? The Runner panel follows one run at a time; other active runs — scheduled ones, for example — fire on their own timetable and appear under Current Runs in the Runner’s side column, in the sidebar indicator and on the Results screen.

Related

• Runner tab — full guide to running a command now.
• Schedules tab — full guide to cron-based recurring runs.
• Results — where every run, manual or scheduled, is recorded.
• Manage — project config, CI/CD, and browser sessions.
• Test Explorer — run an individual test instead of a whole command.