# Launches Source: https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/runs/launches · Last updated: 2026-10-27 A launch is one Qualflare test run, manual or uploaded with the CLI. See launch and case run statuses, the pass rate, launch details, run history and shards. In Qualflare, a [launch](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/reference/glossary#launch) is one test run: the results of one `qf collect` upload, or one manual run in the Test Wizard, each numbered in the project and holding one case run per test case. | Fact | Detail | | --------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Where | **Launches** in the project sidebar | | View | (requires the Viewer role or higher in the project) | | Start a manual launch | (requires the Editor role or higher in the project). See [Run manual tests](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/runs/manual-testing) | | Delete | (requires the Owner role in the project) in the web app | | CLI | `qf launches list` and `qf launch get ` ([Launches commands](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/cli/read-commands#launches)) | | REST | `GET /launches`, `GET /launch/` and `GET /launch//ctrf` on `https://api.qualflare.com/api/v1`, with a project [access token](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/api/access-tokens) | | MCP | `list_launches` and `get_launch` ([MCP server reference](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/api/mcp-reference)) | ## How launches work A launch records one test run, results uploaded with the CLI or a manual run in the Test Wizard. It holds: * **Source**: manual execution or CI/CD automation * **Environment**: where tests ran, such as staging or production * **Time**: when the launch occurred * **Results summary**: case counts by status, duration and status * **Case runs**: one result for each test case executed Launches have no name. Qualflare numbers them and lists each one as `# Launch at `. ### How launches are created **Manual launches** are created by testers in the app, for ad-hoc, exploratory or on-demand testing. Click **Start Launch** on the **Launches** page, choose suites, then set the environment, language and platform. You then record a verdict for each case in the Test Wizard ([Run manual tests](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/runs/manual-testing)). To run a saved test plan, click **Create Run** on its row in **Test Plans**. **CLI launches** are created when test results are uploaded with the Qualflare CLI, the usual CI/CD pattern: ```bash qf myapp collect results.xml --environment staging ``` `myapp` is the local name (alias) you saved the project's access token under with `qf login`. It doesn't have to match the project's identifier in the app. On GitHub Actions, GitLab CI and Bitbucket Pipelines, the CLI reads the branch and commit automatically. Results from a Qualflare reporter also carry CI details, shown in the launch [header](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/runs/launches#header). An automated launch appears when `qf collect` finishes uploading, with all of its results. There is no live view of a run in progress. When AI analysis is on, it fills in shortly after the upload, without a reload. An upload that names an environment or a milestone the project doesn't have is rejected with HTTP 400, and Qualflare creates nothing: `environment "" does not exist in this project` or `milestone # does not exist in this project`. `qf` exits with code 1. See [Use environments from the CLI](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/runs/environments#use-environments-from-the-cli) and the [collect flags](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/cli/collect#flag-descriptions). ### What a launch holds Each launch contains: * **Metadata**: source (automated or manual), environment, branch, language, platform, milestone and timestamp * **Summary**: case counts by status, success rate, flaky tests and total retries * **Case runs**: individual results for each test case executed * **Attachments**: files uploaded with the results, such as screenshots * **Comments**: notes from your team The launch detail shows these on its **Overview**, **Test Cases**, **Shards**, **Attachments** and **Comments** tabs. For which files `qf` uploads, see [Artifacts](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/cli/artifacts); for how long they are kept, see [Data retention](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/administration/project-settings#data-retention). ### Trends across launches A launch doesn't compare itself with earlier launches. The project's [Overview dashboard](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/analytics) tracks pass rate, flaky tests and launch and case durations across launches, and [Failure Clusters](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/ai/failure-clusters) groups related failures across launches. ## Launch statuses The status icon next to each launch shows one of these: | Status | Meaning | | ------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Passed | The cases passed. Skipped cases don't change this. | | Failed | At least one case failed. | | Error | At least one case ended in an error. Error outranks Failed. | | Skipped | Every case was skipped. | | Pending | A manual launch that is still open in the Test Wizard (click it to continue the run), or an automated launch whose results include pending tests but no failed or errored ones, such as Cucumber scenarios with pending or undefined steps. | An automated launch is created in one step when its upload finishes, so it never shows as running. **Failed** means tests failed. It doesn't mean Qualflare had a problem. **Timeout** and **Aborted** are case run statuses. They appear in the **Status** bar, not as a launch status. ### Pass rate calculation ```text Pass rate = Passed ÷ all case runs × 100, rounded to a whole number ``` Skipped, Error, Timeout and Aborted results all count in the denominator. A test that passed after a retry counts as Passed. **Example:** 45 passed, 5 failed and 10 skipped gives 75% (45 ÷ 60). The **Success Rate** card in the launch detail uses the same formula, but leaves out cases that are still Pending. ## Launch list view Click **Launches** in the project sidebar to see every launch in the project. ### Columns | Column | Description | | ---------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Name** | The launch number and creation time, shown as `# Launch at `. One icon shows the launch status, and a second shows whether the launch is **Automated** or **Manual**. Launches have no name of their own. | | **Branch** | The Git branch the results came from, if known | | **Milestone** | The milestone the launch is linked to, if any | | **Environment** | The environment the launch ran in | | **Language** | The language of the run | | **Platform** | The platform the tests ran on | | **Date Created** | When the launch was created | | **Status** | A bar of case results (Passed, Failed, Error, Skipped, Timeout, Aborted) and the pass rate | Click **Branch**, **Milestone**, **Environment**, **Language**, **Platform** or **Date Created** to sort. The list starts sorted by **Date Created**, newest first. *Figure: Filter launches by platform, automation, environment or language.* ### Filters Use the **Filter launches...** bar to filter by **Platform**, **Automation** (Automated or Manual), **Environment** or **Language**, or to search. The list has no status, branch, milestone or date filter. See [Search, filters and shortcuts](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/get-started/search-and-filters). ### Bulk actions Select launches with the checkboxes to act on several at once: * **Delete**: asks you to confirm, then permanently deletes the selected launches. See [Delete a launch](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/runs/launches#delete-a-launch) * **Change Status** and **Archive**: shown in the bar but not available yet. Clicking them only shows a "coming soon" message. ## Start a manual launch To start a manual launch, click **Start Launch** on the **Launches** page, choose up to 100 suites and set the launch's environment, language and platform. Qualflare creates a test plan with the selected cases, starts a **Pending** manual launch and opens the Test Wizard; see [Start a launch from suites](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/runs/manual-testing#starting-a-test-run). ## Launch detail view Click a launch in the list to open its detail panel. A **Pending** manual launch opens the Test Wizard instead. ### Header * The launch number and time (`# Launch at `) and an **Automated** or **Manual** icon * The launch status * Chips for the environment and branch (shown as "No branch" when there is none), plus, when the launch has them, the CLI name and version, CI provider, build number, pull request number and a **View CI Run** link, and how long ago the launch was created * **Language**, **Milestone**, **Flaky Tests** (tests that passed only after a retry) and **Total Retries** The CI provider, build number, pull request and **View CI Run** link come from results written by a Qualflare reporter, which detects them in CI. A JUnit XML or similar file uploaded with `qf collect` carries only the branch and commit. *Figure: Results from a Qualflare reporter add CI chips to the launch header.* ### Tabs | Tab | What it shows | | --------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Overview** | **Success Rate** with a breakdown by status, **Case Retries**, **Slowest Cases**, **AI Analysis**, **Failures** (failed cases with the first line of their error), and **Additional Properties** when the upload included any | | **Test Cases** | The suite runs as a tree. Expand a suite to see its case runs and their statuses, and click a case run to open it. | | **Shards** | The shard timeline. See [Shards](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/runs/launches#shards). | | **Attachments** | Files uploaded with the results | | **Comments** | Comments from your team | ### Actions The **⋯** menu in the launch header has one action: **Delete**. Launches have no retry, clone, PDF report, archive or share-link action. Open-source projects can share read-only launch history as a public report. See [Publish a public report](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/runs/share-results#publish-a-public-report). ### Delete a launch > **Caution:** Deleting a launch permanently removes it with all of its suite runs, case runs, attachments and comments, and removes its failures from Failure Clusters. There is no undo. **Delete** in a row's **⋯** menu on the Launches list deletes the launch at once, without asking you to confirm. You can delete a launch from: * **The launch detail**: click **⋯** > **Delete**, then click **Delete** in the **Delete Launch** dialog. * **The Launches list**: open the row's **⋯** menu and click **Delete**. * **Bulk actions**: select launches, click **Delete** and confirm. * **The Test Wizard**: click **⋯** > **Delete launch**, then confirm. In the Launches list and the launch detail, **Delete** is available only to project Owners. Three other deletes remove launch results: deleting a milestone deletes every launch linked to it ([Milestones](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/test-management/milestones#delete-a-milestone)), deleting a suite deletes its test cases and every result recorded for them ([Test suites](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/test-management/test-suites#delete-a-suite)), and deleting a test case deletes its case runs in every launch ([Test cases](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/test-management/test-cases#delete-a-case)). ## Case runs A [case run](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/reference/glossary#case-run) is one test case's result inside a launch: each case a launch runs produces one case run, with its status, duration and failure details. * **Launch**: contains multiple case runs, one per test case executed * **Test case**: the test definition that was executed * **Defects**: for a failed case run, create a defect and name the launch and case in its description. You can't link a case run to a defect. See [Create, triage and close defects](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/defects/manage-defects) ### Case run statuses | Status | Meaning | | ------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Passed | The test ran and met its expected result | | Failed | The test ran and did not meet its expected result | | Error | The test hit an unexpected error, such as a crash or a failed setup | | Skipped | The test did not run | | Timeout | The test ran longer than its time limit | | Aborted | The run stopped before the test finished. In the Test Wizard, the **Blocked** verdict is saved as Aborted. | | Pending | No result yet: a case not yet run in the Test Wizard, or a test your framework reported as pending, such as a Cucumber step that is pending or undefined | A case run that passed only after one or more retries also shows a flaky badge. Qualflare doesn't re-run tests. If your framework retried a test, the case run shows how many retries it took, and a test that passed after a retry is marked as [flaky](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/reference/glossary#flaky-test). To run a test again, re-run it in your CI and upload the new results. ### Case run detail Click a case run on the **Test Cases** tab to open it: * **Header**: the case run number and the case name, status, duration, **Automated** or **Manual**, environment and branch. The **⋯** menu has **View Case Definition**, which opens the test case. * **Language**, **Platform**, **Priority** and **Team** * **Milestone**, **Retries** (with a flaky badge when the test passed after retrying) and **Tags** * The test's steps and attachments, when the results include them * **Failure Details**: the failure **Message** and **Stack trace** *Figure: A failed case run shows its message, stack trace and earlier results in Run History.* ### Run History The **Run History** section lists the same case's results in earlier launches, with the launch, branch, duration and date. When there are more than fit on one page, click **View all history** for the full list. ## Shards For launches collected with parallel test execution, the **Shards** tab next to **Test Cases** shows how the work was split. * **Timeline view**: A Gantt-style chart with one horizontal lane per shard (parallel worker). Each case run appears as a segment on its shard's lane, positioned and sized by its execution time. * **Status coloring**: Segments are colored by case run status, matching the colors used elsewhere in the launch. * **Gridlines and tooltips**: Vertical gridlines mark elapsed time; hovering a segment shows the test case name, status, and duration. * **Shard count**: Once the tab loads, its label shows how many shards appear in the timeline. If the launch has more shard data than the timeline can show, a note above it says "Showing the first N cases — this launch has more shard data than can be displayed." * **Empty state**: If a launch wasn't collected with shard data (no `--shard` flag and no auto-detected shard property), the Shards tab shows **No shard data** instead of a timeline. This is expected for non-parallel launches. *Figure: The Shards tab shows how a sharded run split its work, one lane per worker.* ### How shard data is collected Tests often run across multiple parallel workers to finish faster: a **shard** is one of those workers within a single launch. When a launch is collected with shard information, each result is tagged with the shard (worker) that ran it. Shard data comes from either: * The CLI's `--shard` flag, which numbers each uploaded file as a shard by argument position. * Auto-detection: the CLI reads Playwright's `workerIndex` and a CTRF report's `shardId` automatically. For JUnit XML and pytest reports, add a `` element to each test case. For upload details, see [Sharding parallel test runs](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/cli/sharding). ## Limits * Only uploads count toward the workspace's monthly Launches limit; launches you start in the app don't. See [Limits](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/administration/plans#limits). * **Start Launch** takes up to 100 suites. * **Branch** and **Name** take up to 128 characters. ## Related * **Guides:** [Run manual tests](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/runs/manual-testing) · [Analyze launch results](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/runs/analyze-results) · [Share and export results](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/runs/share-results) · [AI Launch Analysis](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/ai/launch-analysis) * **Reference:** [Environments](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/runs/environments) · [Test plans](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/test-management/test-plans) · [Test suites](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/test-management/test-suites) * **CLI and API:** [Launches commands](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/cli/read-commands#launches) · [qf collect](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/cli/collect) · [MCP server reference](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/api/mcp-reference)