---
title: "TestDriver Client"
sidebarTitle: "Client"
description: "Initialize and configure the TestDriver SDK client"
icon: "plug"
---

## Overview

The `TestDriver` client is the main entry point for the SDK. It handles authentication, sandbox connection, and provides access to all testing methods.

## Constructor

```javascript
const testdriver = new TestDriver(apiKey, options)
```

### Parameters

<ParamField path="apiKey" type="string" required>
  Your TestDriver API key from the [dashboard](https://console.testdriver.ai/team)
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="options" type="object">
  Configuration options for the client
  
  <Expandable title="properties">
    <ParamField path="os" type="string" default="linux">
      Operating system for the sandbox: `'windows'` or `'linux'`
    </ParamField>
    
    <ParamField path="resolution" type="string" default="1366x768">
      Screen resolution for the sandbox (e.g., `'1920x1080'`, `'1366x768'`)
    </ParamField>
    
    <ParamField path="apiRoot" type="string">
      API endpoint URL (typically only changed for self-hosted deployments)
    </ParamField>
    
    <ParamField path="analytics" type="boolean" default="true">
      Enable or disable usage analytics
    </ParamField>
    
    <ParamField path="logging" type="boolean" default="true">
      Enable or disable console logging
    </ParamField>
    
    <ParamField path="autoScreenshots" type="boolean" default="true">
      Automatically capture screenshots before and after each command. Screenshots are saved to `.testdriver/screenshots/<test>/` with descriptive filenames that include the line number and action name. Format: `<seq>-<action>-<phase>-L<line>-<description>.png`
    </ParamField>
    
    <ParamField path="newSandbox" type="boolean" default="true">
      Force creation of a new sandbox instead of reusing an existing one
    </ParamField>
    
    <ParamField path="reconnect" type="boolean" default="false">
      Reconnect to the last used sandbox instead of creating a new one. When `true`, provision methods (`chrome`, `vscode`, `installer`, etc.) will be skipped since the application is already running. Throws error if no previous sandbox exists.
    </ParamField>
    
    <ParamField path="keepAlive" type="number" default="60000">
      Keep sandbox alive for the specified number of milliseconds after disconnect. Set to `0` to terminate immediately on disconnect. Useful for debugging or reconnecting to the same sandbox.
    </ParamField>
    
    <ParamField path="preview" type="string" default="browser">
      Preview mode for live test visualization:
      - `"browser"` — Opens debugger in default browser (default)
      - `"ide"` — Opens preview in IDE panel (VSCode, Cursor - requires TestDriver extension)
      - `"none"` — Headless mode, no visual preview
    </ParamField>
    
    <ParamField path="headless" type="boolean" default="false">
      **Deprecated**: Use `preview: "none"` instead. Run in headless mode without opening the debugger.
    </ParamField>
    
    <ParamField path="debugOnFailure" type="boolean" default="false">
      Keep the sandbox alive when a test fails so you can reconnect and debug interactively. The sandbox ID is printed to the console.
    </ParamField>
    
    <ParamField path="ip" type="string">
      Direct IP address to connect to a running sandbox instance (for self-hosted deployments)
    </ParamField>
    
    <ParamField path="sandboxAmi" type="string">
      Custom AMI ID for the sandbox instance (AWS deployments, e.g., `'ami-1234'`)
    </ParamField>
    
    <ParamField path="sandboxInstance" type="string">
      EC2 instance type for the sandbox (AWS deployments, e.g., `'i3.metal'`)
    </ParamField>
    
    <ParamField path="cache" type="boolean | object" default="true">
      Enable or disable element caching, or provide advanced threshold configuration.
      
      <Expandable title="advanced config">
        <ParamField path="enabled" type="boolean" default="true">
          Enable or disable caching
        </ParamField>
        
        <ParamField path="thresholds" type="object">
          Fine-tune cache matching
          
          <Expandable title="properties">
            <ParamField path="find" type="object">
              Thresholds for `find()` operations
              
              <Expandable title="properties">
                <ParamField path="screen" type="number" default="0.05">
                  Pixel diff threshold for screen comparison (0-1). `0.05` = 5% diff allowed.
                </ParamField>
                
                <ParamField path="element" type="number" default="0.8">
                  OpenCV template match threshold for element matching (0-1). `0.8` = 80% correlation.
                </ParamField>
              </Expandable>
            </ParamField>
            
            <ParamField path="assert" type="number" default="0.05">
              Pixel diff threshold for `assert()` operations (0-1). `0.05` = 5% diff allowed.
            </ParamField>
          </Expandable>
        </ParamField>
      </Expandable>
    </ParamField>
    
    <ParamField path="cacheKey" type="string">
      Cache key for element finding operations. If provided, enables caching tied to this key.
    </ParamField>
    
    <ParamField path="dashcam" type="boolean" default="true">
      Enable or disable Dashcam video recording
    </ParamField>
    
    <ParamField path="redraw" type="boolean | object" default="true">
      Enable or disable screen-change (redraw) detection, or provide advanced configuration.
      
      <Expandable title="advanced config">
        <ParamField path="enabled" type="boolean" default="true">
          Enable or disable redraw detection
        </ParamField>
        
        <ParamField path="thresholds" type="object">
          Threshold configuration
          
          <Expandable title="properties">
            <ParamField path="screen" type="number | false" default="0.05">
              Pixel diff threshold (0-1). Set to `false` to disable screen redraw detection.
            </ParamField>
            
            <ParamField path="network" type="boolean" default="false">
              Enable or disable network activity monitoring
            </ParamField>
          </Expandable>
        </ParamField>
      </Expandable>
    </ParamField>
    
    <ParamField path="environment" type="object">
      Additional environment variables to pass to the sandbox
    </ParamField>
    
    <ParamField path="ai" type="object">
      Global AI sampling configuration. Controls how the AI model generates responses for `find()` verification and `assert()` calls. Can be overridden per call.
      
      <Expandable title="properties">
        <ParamField path="temperature" type="number">
          Controls randomness in AI responses. `0` = deterministic (best for verification), higher values = more creative. Default: `0` for find verification, model default for assert.
        </ParamField>
        
        <ParamField path="top" type="object">
          Nucleus and top-k sampling parameters
          
          <Expandable title="properties">
            <ParamField path="p" type="number">
              Top-P (nucleus sampling). Limits token choices to the smallest set whose cumulative probability exceeds P. Lower values = more focused responses. Range: 0-1.
            </ParamField>
            
            <ParamField path="k" type="number">
              Top-K sampling. Limits token choices to the top K most likely tokens. `1` = always pick the most likely token. `0` = disabled (consider all tokens).
            </ParamField>
          </Expandable>
        </ParamField>
      </Expandable>
    </ParamField>
  </Expandable>
</ParamField>

### Example

```javascript
import TestDriver from 'testdriverai';

// API key is automatically loaded from TD_API_KEY in .env
const testdriver = new TestDriver({
  os: 'windows',
  resolution: '1920x1080',
  logging: true,
  analytics: true
});

// With AI config for stricter verification
const testdriver = new TestDriver({
  ai: { temperature: 0, top: { p: 0.9, k: 40 } }
});

// Or pass API key explicitly
const testdriver = new TestDriver('your-api-key', {
  os: 'windows'
});
```

## Authentication

### auth()

Authenticate with the TestDriver API.

```javascript
await testdriver.auth()
```

**Returns:** `Promise<string>` - Authentication token

**Example:**
```javascript
await testdriver.auth();
```

<Note>
  You must call `auth()` before `connect()`. Most examples call both sequentially.
</Note>

## Connection Management

### connect()

Connect to a sandbox environment. This creates or reconnects to a virtual machine where your tests will run.

```javascript
await testdriver.connect(options)
```

#### Parameters

<ParamField path="options" type="object">
  Connection options
  
  <Expandable title="properties">
    <ParamField path="newSandbox" type="boolean" default="false">
      Force creation of a new sandbox instead of reusing an existing one
    </ParamField>
    
    <ParamField path="sandboxId" type="string">
      Existing sandbox ID to reconnect to
    </ParamField>
    
    <ParamField path="ip" type="string">
      Direct IP address to connect to (for self-hosted sandboxes)
    </ParamField>
    
    <ParamField path="sandboxAmi" type="string">
      AMI to use for the sandbox (AWS deployments)
    </ParamField>
    
    <ParamField path="sandboxInstance" type="string">
      Instance type for the sandbox (AWS deployments)
    </ParamField>
    
    <ParamField path="preview" type="string" default="browser">
      Preview mode for live test visualization:
      - `"browser"` - Opens debugger in default browser (default)
      - `"ide"` - Opens preview in IDE panel (VSCode, Cursor - requires TestDriver extension)
      - `"none"` - Headless mode, no visual preview
    </ParamField>
    
    <ParamField path="headless" type="boolean" default="false">
      **Deprecated**: Use `preview: "none"` instead. Run in headless mode without opening the debugger.
    </ParamField>
  </Expandable>
</ParamField>

**Returns:** `Promise&lt;Object&gt;` - Sandbox instance details including `instanceId`, `ip`, `vncPort`, etc.

#### Examples

**Basic connection:**
```javascript
await testdriver.connect();
```

**Reconnect to existing sandbox:**
```javascript
const instance = await testdriver.connect({ 
  sandboxId: 'existing-sandbox-id-123' 
});
```

**Self-hosted sandbox:**
```javascript
await testdriver.connect({ 
  ip: '192.168.1.100'
});
```

### disconnect()

Disconnect from the sandbox and clean up resources.

```javascript
await testdriver.disconnect()
```

**Returns:** `Promise<void>`

**Example:**
```javascript
afterAll(async () => {
  await testdriver.disconnect();
});
```

## Instance Information

### getInstance()

Get the current sandbox instance details.

```javascript
const instance = testdriver.getInstance()
```

**Returns:** `Object | null` - Sandbox instance information

**Example:**
```javascript
const instance = testdriver.getInstance();
console.log('Instance ID:', instance.instanceId);
console.log('IP Address:', instance.ip);
```

### getSessionId()

Get the current session ID for tracking and debugging.

```javascript
const sessionId = testdriver.getSessionId()
```

**Returns:** `string | null` - Session ID

**Example:**
```javascript
const sessionId = testdriver.getSessionId();
console.log('Session:', sessionId);
```

## Logging & Events

### setLogging()

Enable or disable console logging at runtime.

```javascript
testdriver.setLogging(enabled)
```

**Parameters:**
- `enabled` (boolean) - Whether to enable logging

**Example:**
```javascript
// Disable logging for cleanup operations
testdriver.setLogging(false);
await testdriver.disconnect();
testdriver.setLogging(true);
```

### getEmitter()

Get the event emitter for custom event handling.

```javascript
const emitter = testdriver.getEmitter()
```

**Returns:** `EventEmitter2` - Event emitter instance

**Example:**
```javascript
const emitter = testdriver.getEmitter();

emitter.on('command:start', (data) => {
  console.log('Command started:', data);
});

emitter.on('command:success', (data) => {
  console.log('Command succeeded:', data);
});

emitter.on('command:error', (error) => {
  console.error('Command failed:', error);
});
```

## Complete Example

```javascript
import { beforeAll, afterAll, describe, it } from 'vitest';
import TestDriver from 'testdriverai';

describe('My Test Suite', () => {
  let testdriver;

  beforeAll(async () => {
    // Initialize client - API key loaded automatically from .env
    testdriver = new TestDriver({
      os: 'windows',
      resolution: '1366x768',
      logging: true
    });
    
    // Set up event listeners
    const emitter = testdriver.getEmitter();
    emitter.on('log:info', (msg) => console.log('[INFO]', msg));
    
    // Authenticate and connect
    await testdriver.auth();
    const instance = await testdriver.connect();
    
    console.log('Connected to sandbox:', instance.instanceId);
  });

  afterAll(async () => {
    await testdriver.disconnect();
  });

  it('runs a test', async () => {
    // Your test code here
  });
});
```

## Best Practices

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Reuse sandboxes across tests">
    Use `beforeAll`/`afterAll` to create one sandbox per test suite rather than per test. This significantly reduces execution time.
  </Accordion>
  
  <Accordion title="Handle connection errors gracefully">
    Wrap `connect()` in a try-catch block to handle network issues or quota limits:
    
    ```javascript
    try {
      await testdriver.connect();
    } catch (error) {
      console.error('Failed to connect:', error.message);
      throw error;
    }
    ```
  </Accordion>
  
  <Accordion title="Always disconnect">
    Use `afterAll` or try-finally blocks to ensure `disconnect()` is called even if tests fail. This prevents orphaned sandboxes.
  </Accordion>
  
  <Accordion title="Use environment variables for API keys">
    Never hardcode API keys. The SDK automatically loads `TD_API_KEY` from your `.env` file:
    
    ```bash .env
    TD_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
    ```
    
    ```javascript
    // API key is loaded automatically - no need to pass it!
    const testdriver = new TestDriver();
    ```
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>
