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Posted on Oct 24

Getting Started with LambdaTest: A Comprehensive Beginner’s Guide

#testing #webdev #programming #tutorial

Introduction

Today’s users expect flawless digital experiences, no matter which device, browser, or operating system they use. For developers and QA teams, ensuring that consistency across thousands of environments is no small feat.

LambdaTest makes that challenge simple. It’s a powerful cloud based testing platform that enables effortless manual and automated cross browser testing on more than 3,000 real browsers and devices, all without the need for local setups or physical labs.

Built for speed, scalability, and collaboration, LambdaTest integrates seamlessly with your existing CI/CD pipelines and popular tools like GitHub, Jenkins, and Jira. It supports leading automation frameworks such as Selenium, Cypress, Playwright, and Appium, empowering teams to test faster and release with confidence.

From real time debugging and visual regression testing to comprehensive analytics, screenshots, and video logs, LambdaTest gives you everything you need to ensure your application looks and performs perfectly everywhere.

In this Getting Started Guide, you’ll learn how to set up your account, navigate the dashboard, run your first manual and automated tests, and take your first steps toward a more efficient and reliable testing workflow.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you meet a few basic requirements to follow this guide smoothly. These will help you understand each step and execute your first test without issues.

You’ll need:

Node.js (v16+) and npm installed on your system
Basic JavaScript knowledge: comfortable with functions and syntax
Command line basics: you’ll be running npm commands and navigating folders
A modern browser: Chrome, Firefox, or Edge for accessing the LambdaTest dashboard
A stable internet connection: required for all cloud based testing

Optional but helpful:

Familiarity with manual or automated testing concepts
Experience using any testing framework like Selenium or Cypress

If you’re missing any of these, take a moment to set them up first, so that we can flow together seamlessly. Once these prerequisites are in place, you’re ready to create your LambdaTest account and start your first testing session.

Create a LambdaTest Account

Now that you’ve set up all the prerequisites, it’s time to step into the LambdaTest ecosystem by creating your personal account.

Before you can start testing, you’ll need to set up your LambdaTest account which is your entry point to the cloud testing ecosystem.

Steps to Get Started:

Visit LambdaTest.com
Click Sign Up for Free.
Create an account using your email, Google, or GitHub credentials.
Verify your email and log in to access your LambdaTest Dashboard.

LambdaTest’s free plan includes limited testing minutes and parallel sessions, enough to explore its key features before deciding to upgrade.

Once you’ve created your LambdaTest account, you’ll gain access to your personal dashboard, the command center where all your testing activities begin.

Next, you’ll learn how to explore and navigate the dashboard to understand where key tools and settings are located.

Explore the Dashboard

Once logged in, the Dashboard serves as your central hub for all testing activities. It provides easy access to real time tests, automation suites, visual regression tools, and detailed analytics, all from a single, user friendly interface.

From the Dashboard, You Can:

Launch Real Time Tests on live browsers
Run Automated Tests using your favorite framework
Access Visual Regression Testing tools to track UI changes
Review Test Logs & Analytics for detailed insights
Integrate tools like GitHub, Jenkins, Jira, and Slack
Use the left hand navigation panel to switch between features and manage your projects efficiently.

This is what the dashboard looks like

Run Your First Manual Test

Now that you’re familiar with the dashboard layout and its core features, you’re ready to take action.

In this step, you’ll learn how to run your first manual test, helping you see exactly how your website behaves across different browsers and operating systems in real time.

Manual testing on LambdaTest allows you to visually verify your website’s appearance and performance across multiple browsers, operating systems, and screen resolutions, without local setups.

Steps to Run a Manual Test:
From the Dashboard, navigate to Real Time > Browser Testing.

Enter your website’s URL (e.g., https://example.com) in the URL input space provided.

Select:

Operating System: Windows, macOS, or Linux
Browser & Version: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, etc.
Screen Resolution

Click Start to launch a live browser session.

Within seconds, LambdaTest opens your website in the selected environment. You can interact, inspect, and debug in real time, just like you would locally.

Use the built in developer tools, capture screenshots, and record sessions to streamline debugging. The developer tools are shown in the image bellow

The next image shows how you can screenshot and record sessions.

After successfully performing your first manual test, you’ll understand how LambdaTest helps you verify the visual and functional consistency of your site.

Next, you’ll take things a step further by learning how to automate your tests, saving time and improving efficiency across multiple test scenarios.

Run Your First Automated Test (Selenium Example)

Having experienced manual testing, it’s time to take things to the next level with automation.

Automated testing saves time and ensures reliability, especially for larger projects. LambdaTest supports major automation frameworks like Selenium, Cypress, Playwright, and Appium through its secure cloud grid.

In this section, you’ll learn how to set up and run your first automated Selenium test on LambdaTest using Node.js.

Set Up Your Environment

First, make sure Node.js (v16 or later) and npm are installed on your system.
If you have not installed Node.js then follow these steps to install it.

For Windows users
Open PowerShell or Command Prompt and run the following command:

winget install OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS

This installs the latest Long Term Support (LTS) version of Node.js using the Windows Package Manager.

For macOS Users
If you already have Homebrew installed, run the following command:

brew install node

If you don’t have Homebrew yet, install it first by running this command in your terminal:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Once Homebrew finishes installing, use it to install Node.js by running this command:

brew install node

For Both Windows and MacOS users
After installation we need to be sure that it was succefull. To verify that the installation was successful, open your terminal or command prompt and run the following commands:

node -v
npm -v

If both commands return version numbers, you’re ready to proceed.
If not, download and installNode.js from nodejs.org

Create a Project Folder
After verifying that the Node.js installation was successful you can now create a project folder. You’ll need a folder to keep all your test files organized.

In your terminal, run the following commands to creat a new folder called lambdatest-automation :

mkdir lambdatest-automation

Now, use the following command to navigate into the new folder we have called lambdatest-automation:

cd lambdatest-automation

With the above command we are now inside the new folder we created.

Initialize a Node.js Project

Now, initialize your project with npm (Node Package Manager).
This creates a package.json file that tracks your project dependencies.
To achieve that run the following command inside the project folder:

npm init -y

The -y flag automatically accepts all default options.

Install Selenium WebDriver
Next, install the Selenium library for JavaScript. To achieve that run the following command inside the project folder:

npm install selenium-webdriver

This command downloads and installs Selenium into your project folder, allowing you to write and execute browser automation scripts.

Add Your LambdaTest Credentials

Before running tests, you need to provide your LambdaTest Username and Access Key.
You can find them in your LambdaTest Dashboard under Profile → Account Settings → Access Key.

The image below shows where to locate your credentials:

Once you have them, add them as environment variables in your terminal.

For Windows (PowerShell)run the following command in your project folder:

setx LT_USERNAME "your_username"
setx LT_ACCESS_KEY "your_access_key"

For macOS/Linux run the following command in your project folder:

export LT_USERNAME="your_username"
export LT_ACCESS_KEY="your_access_key"

This securely stores your credentials on your system so your test script can access them.

Create the Test File

Now, create a new file named lambdatest.jsinside your project folder.

If you’re using the terminal, run the following command:

touch lambdatest.js

You can now navigate into the test file using the following command:

cd lambdatest.js

(If you’re on Windows and touch doesn’t work, you can manually create the file in your folder using File Explorer.)

Then, open the file in your preferred code editor (e.g., VS Code).

Write Your Selenium Test Code

Copy and paste the following code into lambdatest.js:

const { Builder } = require('selenium-webdriver');

(async function runTest() {
  const capabilities = {
    browserName: "Chrome",
    browserVersion: "latest",
    "LT:Options": {
      platformName: "Windows 10",
      build: "Getting Started Sample Build",
      name: "My First LambdaTest",
      user: process.env.LT_USERNAME,
      accessKey: process.env.LT_ACCESS_KEY,
    },
  };

  const driver = await new Builder()
    .usingServer("https://hub.lambdatest.com/wd/hub")
    .withCapabilities(capabilities)
    .build();

  await driver.get("https://www.lambdatest.com");
  console.log(await driver.getTitle());
  await driver.quit();
})();

This simple script launches Chrome on Windows 10 in the LambdaTest cloud, opens the LambdaTest homepage, prints its title, and closes the session.

Run the Test
You’re now ready to execute your first automated test!
From your project folder, run the following command:

node lambdatest.js

This command tells Node.js to execute your Selenium script.

Once the test starts, LambdaTest will automatically open a cloud browser session and run your test.

View Your Test Session
After running the test, go to your LambdaTest Dashboard → Automation → Test Logs.
You’ll see your session appear under “Recent Tests.”

Click the session to view:

Logs: Console and network logs
Screenshots & Video Recordings: To review test execution
Session Details: Browser, OS, build name, and duration

Use Smart UI for Visual Testing

LambdaTest’s Smart UI feature helps detect pixel level visual differences between builds.
You can enable it from the Automation Dashboard to ensure your design remains consistent across updates.

By reviewing your test data, you’ll learn how to identify bugs, confirm design accuracy, and maintain UI consistency across multiple browsers.

Use the Smart UI feature to perform visual regression testing, detecting pixel level UI discrepancies between builds for consistent design validation.

After reviewing your results, you’ll know how to analyze test data, identify issues, and confirm visual accuracy using Smart UI.

Next, you’ll learn how to troubleshoot common issues, ensuring that any challenges you encounter can be quickly resolved.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

When using LambdaTest, you might occasionally run into problems while running your tests. Here’s a breakdown of some common issues, their likely causes, and how you can fix them effectively.

1. Session Not Starting
If your test session fails to start, the most common reason is invalid credentials. LambdaTest requires your correct username and access key to authenticate with its servers. Double check these details under Profile → Account Settings on your dashboard, and ensure that your environment variables (LT_USERNAME and LT_ACCESS_KEY) are properly set in your system before running any test.

2. Browser Not Launching
Sometimes, the browser you select may not open during testing. This often happens when you’ve chosen an unsupported browser version. To resolve this, verify that the browser and version combination you’re using is supported by LambdaTest. You can find a complete list of supported browsers and OS combinations on their platform documentation or within the test configuration panel.

3. Test Timeout
If your tests are failing due to timeouts, it’s likely a result of network latency or slow website responses. To fix this, consider increasing the timeout duration in your test script. You can adjust Selenium’s implicit or explicit wait times to give your pages more time to load. It’s also worth ensuring your internet connection is stable before initiating long test runs.

4. Localhost Not Loading
When testing locally hosted websites or staging environments, you might encounter problems accessing your localhost URL. This usually means the LambdaTest Tunnel isn’t configured correctly. The tunnel acts as a secure bridge between your local system and LambdaTest’s cloud grid. To solve this, install and run the LambdaTest Tunnel binary, then verify that it’s connected successfully before starting your tests.

If you continue to experience issues after trying these fixes, visit the LambdaTest Support Center
for detailed documentation, community discussions, and real-time help from their support team.

By learning to troubleshoot common testing challenges, you’ll become more confident in managing and optimizing your testing sessions.

Next, you’ll explore advanced LambdaTest features and integrations, empowering you to streamline testing workflows and enhance team collaboration.

Next Steps

Congratulations, you’ve run your first manual and automated tests! To take your skills further, explore these advanced capabilities:

Parallel Testing: Execute multiple tests simultaneously to speed up your testing cycle.
CI/CD Integrations: Connect LambdaTest with Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or Azure DevOps.
Visual Regression Testing: Automatically detect UI inconsistencies between builds.
Local App Testing: Use LambdaTest Tunnel to test staging or internal environments securely.

With a solid foundation in manual and automated testing, you’re ready to expand your testing strategy.

Conclusion

By following this guide, you’ve learned how to create and set up your LambdaTest account. You now know how to configure your workspace and testing environment. This ensures a smooth start as you begin running tests across browsers and devices.

You’ve also explored how to navigate the LambdaTest dashboard efficiently. Its clean layout makes it easy to access real-time tests, automation tools, and analytics. With this, managing sessions and reviewing results becomes quick and intuitive.

Lastly, you’ve mastered running both manual and automated tests while learning to analyze logs and troubleshoot issues. These skills prepare you to integrate LambdaTest into your CI/CD workflow. Now you can deliver faster, more reliable, and consistent digital experiences.

For more detailed information and advanced configurations, you can visit the official LambdaTest Documentation page to explore further.