How steps read

Every step of Axx’s packs follows the same grammar. The pack pages list each step with its parameters, the rows its table takes, its variants and an example.

Optional parts

An expression writes optional parts as [[ ... ]]. A step matches with or without each of them. the[[ {ordinal} ordered]] response status code is {int}[[ on {service}]] matches:

• the response status code is 200
• the 2nd ordered response status code is 201
• the response status code is 200 on parcels
• the 2nd ordered response status code is 201 on parcels

axx steps show prints every variant of a step, given its id, its expression or a line that uses it.

Services

A step without a service name uses the default service: the first one of its kind registered in the scenario. The named form (on parcels, on parcels-db, on the events kafka service) picks another.

Ordinals

1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, … count requests, selections and events within a scenario, starting at 1. A step without an ordinal uses the first.

Arguments

• {string} takes single or double quotes; the quotes are removed, and where the step sets or checks a value, what is inside them is that value: see Values.
• a(n), time(s), row(s), document(s) and item(s) are optional text: 1 time and 2 times both match.
• A step that ends with : takes a data table, or a doc string, on the following lines. Its entry shows the table’s columns and the rows it knows.
• What a value means is the same in every step: see Values.

Values

A value means what it says, the same in every pack, whether a step sets it or checks it (ADR 0014).

Written	Is
42	an integer
42L	a long: an integer, which a MongoDB query sends as an int64
1.5, 2.0	a decimal
true, false	a boolean
null	null
undefined	no such property: a check that it is absent, or a property removed
{"country": "DE"}, ["EXPRESS"]	JSON
"42", "true", "null", "undefined", "01067"	the string inside the double quotes
any other text, like REGISTERED or PX-4101	a string

• Nothing is inferred, from an example, a schema or a column’s type. | postcode | 10115 | sets and checks the number 10115, and the string is "10115".
• A value of the wrong type is sent as written, so a test can still send one on purpose: | weightGrams | "1200" |.
• Checks are strict: types must match. 42 does not match the string “42”, nor 2 the decimal 2.0.
• A where: is held to the column’s real type, before the query, as a database would otherwise convert one of them: | postcode | 10115 | on a text column asks for "10115", and | price | 12 | on a decimal one for 12.0.
• Sources keep their types. A whole double is a decimal (6.0), a BigQuery NUMERIC a decimal, a MongoDB Decimal128 the number of its digits, and a protobuf message’s int64 fields are numbers.
• A value that could be read two ways fails, and its message gives the forms to write:
  • an empty cell: "" for the empty string, null for null, and undefined for no such property where the step takes it;
  • a number in a form JSON does not have: a leading zero (01067), a sign (+5), a suffix (1.5f), NaN or Infinity.
• Where a value can only be text, one that reads as anything else fails too: a header, a query parameter or form field, a Redis string, a line of a file or of output, text on a screen. | Retry-After | 5 | asks for "5". A table’s entry says when its values are text.
• In a step’s own text, the quotes are the step’s, and the value inside them follows the rule: the response payload property priceCents is '690' checks the integer, and is '"690"' the string. REST’s property steps also take an integer without quotes: is 690. Where only text fits, the response header Retry-After is '5' asks for '"5"', which is the text 5, and is 'application/json' is plain text. A ${env:…} reference is text, whatever it expands to.
• To find JSON as text, put it in double quotes inside the step’s own: the response body contains '"{"status":"ok"}"'. Without them, '{"status":"ok"}' reads as JSON, and fails asking for them. A pair of double quotes around the whole value is always the rule’s: '"status":"ok"' looks for status":"ok, and '""status":"ok""' for "status":"ok".
• A name or a pattern is not a value. A name finds something, as written: a button, a field’s label, a page, a file, a tab. A pattern (… match:, matching '…', the page's requests to '…') and a command line have grammars of their own. So the "5" button is clicked is the button named 5, and a pattern matches the value’s text: | postcode | ^[0-9]{5}$ |.

axx validate, the MCP server’s feature_validate and the editors report what a feature shows on its own, as AXX-E0207: empty cells, numbers in other forms, and values that are not text where only text fits, in a table or in a step’s own text. The steps fail with the same messages when they run.

Parameter types

Parameter	Takes	Values	For example	Pack
{anchor}	the point of a control that places on it are measured from: its middle, or a corner. Places run right and down from it, so one left of or above it is negative	middle, top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right	middle, bottom right	desktop-core
{bigdecimal}	a decimal number of any precision		0.1000000000000000055	cucumber
{biginteger}	a whole number of any size		123456789012345678901234567890	cucumber
{byte}	a whole number, from -128 to 127		12	cucumber
{connection}	a connection: the name of a proxy in Toxiproxy’s config		parcels-db, cache	faults
{control}	a kind of control an app shows, found by the name people see: a button by its text, a field by its label, a list item or a row by one of its texts, a menu item in its open menu, an element is anything, by its text or accessibility label; a phone’s notification is tapped, by a text in its title or its text. A kind an app’s platform does not have (a phone has no menu bar) fails the step	button, field, checkbox, radio button, switch, tab, menu, menu item, list item, row, link, image, text, element, notification	button, list item	app-core
{dataDirection}	the direction of a connection’s data a fault applies to: coming back to the service, or going out from it		coming back, going out	faults
{dbService}	the name of a database registered in the scenario		parcels-db	sql
{direction}	where a swipe goes, as the finger moves (down from the top pulls a list to refresh); or which way a phone moves or turns in the scene its camera sees, where it also moves forward and back	up, down, left, right, forward, back	down, left, forward	mobile-core
{double}	a decimal number		19.90	cucumber
{duration}	a duration in milliseconds (ms), seconds (s) or minutes (m)		5s, 2m, 500ms	core
{element}	a kind of element on the page, plural after a number (buttons): a field by its label or placeholder, an option is a radio button, an element is anything, by its text, label, alternative text or title	button, field, checkbox, option, link, tab, menu item, element	button, field	web-core
{filepath}	a file of the project: a path relative to the feature file’s directory, the resources directories or axx.yaml’s directory (looked for in that order), or an absolute path, quoted when it has a space		seeds/parcels.yaml, kafka/scan-delivered.json, "seeds/day one.yaml"	core
{float}	a decimal number		2.5, 0.1	cucumber
{gaugeValue}	a gauge’s value, of its type: 4 an integer, and 4.0 a decimal		4, 4.5	otel
{int}	a whole number		200, 3	cucumber
{integer}	an integer, in a step’s text without quotes: is 2500 says what is '2500' says		2500	rest
{long}	a whole number, however large		9007199254740993	cucumber
{mimeType}	a content type	application/json, text/json, application/problem+json, application/x-www-form-urlencoded	application/json	core
{mockedService}	the name of a mocked service the scenario registered		addresses	mock
{mongoService}	the name of a MongoDB database registered in the scenario		tracking-db	mongo
{ordinal}	a position, counting from 1; an optional ordinal left out is the first		1st, 2nd, 3rd	core
{path}	a path in a folder or a store, like manifests/M-1/report.csv, quoted when it has a space. A * stands for any characters but a slash, for a name a check cannot know (snap-*.json, named by the time): the path then names the one file it matches		manifests/M-KESTREL-0412/report.csv, "Parcels/Depot desk/arrivals.json", snap-*.json	core
{pattern}	a regular expression (Java syntax) with no spaces, which matches the whole value		PX-\d{4}, [A-Z]{2}-\d+	core
{service}	the name of a REST service the scenario registered		parcels	rest
{short}	a whole number, from -32768 to 32767		1200	cucumber
{speed}	how fast a phone travels: 25 mph, 40 km/h or 11 m/s; or, for a GPX file with times, how many times its own pace: 4x		25 mph, 40 km/h, 4x	mobile-core
{sqlState}	a five-character SQLSTATE error code, like 40001 (serialization failure) or 23505 (unique violation); on Oracle, an ORA error, like ORA-20001, or its five digits		40001, 23505, ORA-20001	sql
{string}	text in double or single quotes, which the step leaves out		"Get a quote", 'Express'	cucumber
{telemetry}	the name of telemetry registered in the scenario		parcels-api	otel
{travel}	whether the step waits for the phone to arrive (travels), or lets the scenario go on while it moves (starts traveling)	travels, starts traveling	travels, starts traveling	mobile-core
{word}	one word, with no spaces		parcels, PX-4101	cucumber