Basic Authentication (Username & Password)

Basic auth is the simplest authentication type: email/username + password on a login form.

When to Use

• ✅ Traditional login forms (email + password)
• ✅ Email-based accounts
• ✅ No 2FA enabled
• ❌ For TOTP/MFA, use TOTP auth instead
• ❌ For OTP codes, use Email OTP instead

Setup Guide

Persona Fields

Using in Tests

In Manual Tests

1. Create a test case
2. When running, select the persona from dropdown
3. AI automatically logs in using the stored credentials

In AI-Generated Tests

Specify in the prompt:

"Generate tests for the admin dashboard. Use the QA Admin persona for login."

In Test Plans

Tests in the plan inherit the persona selection:

Test Plan: Admin Workflow
├─ Use Persona: QA Admin
├─ Test 1: Admin can view user list
├─ Test 2: Admin can delete users
└─ Test 3: Admin can reset passwords

What Happens During Execution

When a test with a persona runs:

1. Test starts
2. AI sees login page
3. AI decrypts persona (AES-256)
4. AI fills email field: qa-admin@example.com
5. AI fills password field: (from encrypted storage)
6. AI clicks Sign In button
7. Page navigates to dashboard
8. Session cached for future runs
9. Test continues with authenticated state

Result: Login is 100% automated. No manual password entry.

Session Caching

After first login, the session (cookies + localStorage) is cached for 8 hours:

Run 1: Login takes ~5 seconds
Run 2: Session restored, login skipped (~1 second)

To manually clear a cached session:

1. Go to Personas
2. Click the persona
3. Click “Clear Session” button
4. Next run will re-authenticate

Credentials Security

Your credentials are protected:

Important

• Never reuse production passwords for test personas
• Create dedicated test accounts for each persona
• Use strong passwords (12+ chars, mixed case, numbers, symbols)
• Rotate passwords periodically
• Delete unused personas to reduce attack surface

Multi-Persona Testing

Test role-based features with multiple personas:

Test: "Admin can invite user, user can accept"
├─ Step 1: Login as Admin (Persona: QA Admin)
├─ Step 2: Send invite to user@example.com
├─ Step 3: Logout
├─ Step 4: Login as User (Persona: QA User)
├─ Step 5: Verify invitation in inbox
├─ Step 6: Accept invitation
└─ Result: ✓ Pass

Each persona maintains its own session.

Troubleshooting

”Login Failed” Error

Likely causes:

• Wrong email or password
• Account is locked (too many failed attempts)
• Account is disabled or deleted
• MFA enabled (use TOTP auth instead)

Fix:

1. Verify credentials manually in your browser
2. Check if account is active in admin panel
3. Try resetting the account password
4. Confirm MFA is not enabled

Session Expires Mid-Test

Sessions cache for 8 hours. If a test runs > 8 hours after login:

• Option 1: Disable caching (clear session after each test)
• Option 2: Re-login mid-test (“Add login step midway”)
• Option 3: Increase session TTL (contact support)

Multiple Users with Same Email

Not supported. Create separate test accounts with different emails:

❌ Don't do this:
  Persona 1: admin@example.com (admin role)
  Persona 2: admin@example.com (user role)

✓ Do this instead:
  Persona 1: qa-admin@example.com
  Persona 2: qa-user@example.com

Best Practices

1. Use dedicated test accounts — Don’t use real user accounts
2. Strong passwords — 12+ chars, mix of upper/lower/numbers/symbols
3. Avoid special characters — Some login forms don’t handle them well
4. Test both success and failure — Valid AND invalid credentials
5. Rotate credentials — Change passwords quarterly
6. Document personas — Keep notes on which persona is which role
7. Secure persona emails — Use test domain if available (qa@example.com)

Next Steps

• TOTP / MFA Testing — For 2FA flows
• Email OTP Testing — For passwordless flows
• Session Management — Advanced caching
• How-To: Test Authenticated Flows — Full walkthrough