---
title: Waiting in TestDriver
sidebarTitle: Waiting
description: "Waiting in TestDriver: Ensuring Stability and Reducing Flakiness"
icon: "clock"
---

# Waiting in TestDriver: Ensuring stability and reducing flakiness

Waiting is a critical feature in TestDriver that ensures tests are stable and reliable, even in dynamic or slow-loading environments.

- Automatically adjusts to varying load times, reducing the need for hardcoded delays.
- Ensures that tests wait for dynamic elements to appear, reducing false negatives caused by incomplete rendering.
- By waiting for the screen and network to stabilize, `redraw` minimizes the risk of interacting with incomplete or incorrect elements.

## Summary of waiting features

| **Feature**                                      | **Description**                                                                |
| ------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **`redraw`(automatic)**                          | TestDriver automatically waits for UI changes and network activity to resolve. |
| **[`wait-for-text`](/commands/wait-for-text)**   | Waits for specific text to appear on the screen.                               |
| **[`wait-for-image`](/commands/wait-for-image)** | Waits for a specific image or visual element to appear on the screen.          |

## Key waiting features in TestDriver

1. **Automatic Waiting with `redraw`**:

- TestDriver automatically waits for the machine before moving to the next step.
- This includes waiting for:
  - UI changes to complete.
  - Network activity to stabilize (for example, API calls).
- Reduces the need for manual waits, making tests faster and less prone to flakiness.

2. **[`wait-for-text`](/commands/wait-for-text) Command**:

- Waits for specific text to appear on the screen.
- Useful for validating dynamic content or ensuring that a page has fully loaded before proceeding.

3. **[`wait-for-image`](/commands/wait-for-image) Command**:

- Waits for a specific image or visual element to appear on the screen.
- Ideal for verifying the presence of icons, logos, or other graphical elements.

## Commands for explicit waiting

### 1. **[`wait-for-text`](/commands/wait-for-text)**

The [`wait-for-text`](/commands/wait-for-text) command pauses the test until the specified text appears on the screen. This is particularly useful for dynamic content that takes time to load.

#### Syntax

```yaml
- command: wait-for-text
  text: <text to wait for>
  timeout: <time in milliseconds> # Optional, defaults to 5000ms or 5 seconds
```

#### Example

```yaml
- command: wait-for-text
  text: Welcome, Test User!
  timeout: 10000
```

In this example, the test waits up to 10 seconds for the text "Welcome, Test User!" to appear.

### **[`wait-for-image`](/commands/wait-for-image)**

The [`wait-for-image`](/commands/wait-for-image) command pauses the test until the specified image or visual element appears on the screen.

#### Syntax:

```yaml
- command: wait-for-image
  description: <description of the image>
  timeout: <time in milliseconds> # Optional, defaults to 10000ms or 10 seconds
```

#### Example:

```yaml
- command: wait-for-image
  description: Company logo in the top-left corner
  timeout: 8000
```

In this example, the test waits up to 8 seconds for the company logo to appear in the top-left corner.

## Automatic waiting with `redraw`

TestDriver's **`redraw` function** is a built-in mechanism that automatically waits for the screen to stabilize before proceeding to the next step. This includes:

1. **UI Changes**:

- Waits for animations, transitions, or DOM updates to complete.
- Ensures that the screen is fully rendered before interacting with elements.

2. **Network Stabilization**:

- Waits for network activity (for example, API calls, AJAX requests) to finish.
- Ensures that dynamic content is fully loaded before proceeding.

3. **Screen Stabilization**:

- Continuously monitors the screen for changes and only moves forward when the screen is stable.

---

## Best practices for waiting

2. **Leverage Automatic Waiting**:

- Rely on TestDriver's `redraw` function to handle most waiting scenarios automatically.

1. **Use Explicit Waiting for Dynamic Elements**:

- Use [`wait-for-text`](/commands/wait-for-text) or [`wait-for-image`](/commands/wait-for-image) for elements that take time to load.

3. **Avoid Hardcoded Delays**:

- Replace hardcoded `sleep` or [`wait`](/commands/wait) commands with dynamic waiting commands to improve test reliability.

4. **Set Appropriate Timeouts**:

- Use reasonable timeouts for explicit waiting commands to balance reliability and test execution time.

5. **Test Incrementally**:

- Add waiting commands step-by-step to ensure each part of the workflow is stable.
