Now imagine doing that kind of testing manually every time you make a change. It’s tedious, slow, and not scalable. That’s why teams rely on automated regression testing—a smarter, faster way to make sure old features still work after new updates.
In this blog, we’ll dive into what automated regression testing is, why it matters, how it works, and best practices to make the most of it.
What is Regression Testing?
Regression testing is the process of retesting existing functionality to ensure that new code changes haven’t broken anything. It’s all about making sure that your app still behaves the way it’s supposed to after updates.
Common examples of what regression testing catches:
- A new signup feature breaks login.
- A backend change affects payment processing.
- A UI tweak messes up mobile responsiveness.
It’s like doing a quick health check on your app before letting users interact with it.
Why Automate It?
Manual regression testing can be okay when your app is small. But once you have dozens (or hundreds) of features and multiple deployments a week, it becomes impossible to keep up manually.
Here’s why automation is a game-changer for regression testing:
- ✅ Speed: Automated tests run much faster than humans.
- ???? Consistency: They don’t get tired or make mistakes.
- ???? Scalability: Easily test dozens of features across browsers, platforms, and devices.
- ???? Early Detection: Bugs are caught before they reach production.
- ???? Cost-Effective: Saves time, effort, and money in the long run.
How Automated Regression Testing Works
The idea is simple: once a new feature or bug fix is implemented, your automated test suite is triggered to check that previously working functionality is still working as expected.
Basic Workflow:
- Write Tests: Create automated tests that simulate user flows (e.g., login, checkout, search).
- Set Triggers: Run these tests every time there’s a code change (via CI/CD).
- Get Feedback: If a test fails, it’s a signal something’s broken.
- Fix & Repeat: Debug the issue, fix the code, and re-run the tests.
Tools for Automated Regression Testing
There are plenty of tools available, depending on what kind of application you’re testing:
Frontend/UI Testing:
- Cypress
- Playwright
- Selenium
Backend/API Testing:
- Postman + Newman
- Keploy (captures real traffic and auto-generates tests)
Unit Testing:
- JUnit / TestNG (Java)
- Jest (JavaScript)
- PyTest (Python)
CI/CD Integrations:
- GitHub Actions
- GitLab CI
- Jenkins
- CircleCI
These tools help you plug automated testing into your existing development workflow.
Real Example: Automating a Search Feature Regression Test
Imagine your app has a search bar. After adding a new filter feature, you want to ensure the basic search still works.
With Cypress, you could automate that like this:
describe('Search Functionality', () => {
it('returns results for a keyword', () => {
cy.visit('/search');
cy.get('input[name="query"]').type('coffee mug');
cy.get('button[type="submit"]').click();
cy.contains('Results for "coffee mug"').should('exist');
});
});
This test can be run every time you make a code change—without manual effort.
When Should You Run Automated Regression Tests?
You don’t need to run your full test suite 10 times a day. But you should set up your regression tests to run:
- ✅ After every major code commit
- ✅ Before merging a pull request
- ✅ As part of nightly test suites
- ✅ Before every release
The goal is to catch issues early without slowing down your developers.
Best Practices for Automated Regression Testing
To get the most out of regression testing, keep these tips in mind:
- Cover Critical Paths: Focus on flows users rely on most—login, checkout, payments.
- Keep Tests Maintainable: If your tests break every time the UI changes, they’re more pain than help.
- Use Mocks Where Needed: Don’t rely on external APIs. Use tools like Keploy to mock responses from real data.
- Tag and Organize Tests: Group tests by features or risk level. That way, you can run only the high-priority ones before a quick release.
- Measure ROI: Track how many bugs are caught pre-release. This helps justify the effort.
Final Thoughts
Automated regression testing isn’t just for big tech companies—it’s essential for any team that wants to ship fast without breaking things. It brings peace of mind, better code quality, and happier users.
By integrating regression tests into your CI/CD pipeline and using the right tools, you can catch bugs before they become costly problems.
So the next time you ship that shiny new feature, you won’t have to worry about breaking your app. Your tests have your back.
Read more on- https://keploy.io/regression-testing