# Shared Steps Source: https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/test-management/shared-steps · Last updated: 2026-10-27 Shared steps in Qualflare are reusable step sequences, such as a login, that you insert into many test cases. Editing one changes every case that uses it. In Qualflare, **shared steps** are a named sequence of test steps, such as logging in, that you insert into many test cases, and editing one changes every case that uses it; a Core workspace can have up to 50 of them. | | | | ----------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Where | **Shared Steps** under **Planning** in the project sidebar. Insert one from a case's **Steps** tab | | Who | Create, edit and insert: (requires the Editor role or higher in the project); delete, or remove from a case, in the app: (requires the Owner role in the project) | | Plans | (available on Core, Scale, Enterprise, Open Source). On Starter, the page shows an upgrade prompt | | Parameters | None: the text is the same in every case | | CLI and MCP | None for the shared-step library. `qf case steps ` and MCP `list_case_steps` show a case's inserted shared steps and their steps | ## How shared steps work [Shared steps](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/reference/glossary#shared-steps) are defined once and inserted into manual test cases, each as one **Shared** row that expands to its steps. A case stores a reference, not a copy, so an edit to the shared step shows up in every case that uses it. ### Example: a login shared step A shared step named "Log in as the QA user" has four steps: | Type | Step Instructions | | ------------ | -------------------------------------------------------- | | Navigation | Open `/login` | | Data Input | Enter the email and password of the qa-user test account | | Action | Click Log in | | Verification | The dashboard opens | * "Edit profile" starts with the login shared step, then adds its own steps * "Create a project" starts with the same shared step * A case that tests a wrong password writes its own login steps, because a shared step's text is the same in every case *Figure: In a case, a shared step appears as one Shared row that you can expand.* ## No parameters Shared steps have no parameters or placeholders. Their text is the same in every case that uses them. When cases need different data, such as an admin user and a regular user, create one shared step for each, or write the data in each case's own steps. ## Create a shared step Requires the Editor role or higher in the project. Available on: Core, Scale, Enterprise, Open Source. 1. Click **Shared Steps** in the project sidebar, under **Planning** 2. Click **Create Shared Step**, enter a **Name** and a **Description** (both are required), and click **Create** 3. Click the shared step's name to open it 4. Click **Add Step**, enter the **Step Instructions**, pick a **Type** and click **Create**. Repeat for each step The **Name** holds up to 255 characters, the **Description** up to 1,000, and each step's **Step Instructions** up to 500. To change a shared step later, open it and choose **Edit** in its **⋯** menu for the name and description, or use a step's menu for the steps. To use it in a test case, see [Insert a shared step](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/test-management/create-test-cases#insert-a-shared-step). *Figure: Shared Steps lists the reusable step sequences of a project.* *Figure: Each step of a shared step has a Type and Step Instructions.* ## Insert a shared step into a case On a manual case's **Steps** tab, once the case has a step of its own, click the arrow next to **Create Step** and pick the shared step under **Insert Shared Step**; Qualflare adds it at the end as one **Shared** row, which **Move Up**, **Move Down** and **Remove** (this case only, (requires the Owner role in the project)) act on. The list shows only the project's first 10 shared steps by number, so a newer shared step may be missing from it; for the full steps, see [Insert a shared step](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/test-management/create-test-cases#insert-a-shared-step). ## When to use shared steps Use shared steps for sequences that many cases repeat: * **Login/Logout**: Standard authentication sequences * **Setup/Teardown**: Creating test data before testing, cleaning up after * **Navigation**: Common page navigation patterns * **Data Creation**: Standard entity creation (users, products, orders) ## Delete a shared step > **Caution:** Deleting a shared step permanently removes it and its steps. You can't undo it. You can't delete a shared step while any test case uses it: Qualflare answers `cannot delete shared step while it is used by step(s)`. First remove it from those cases: on the case's **Steps** tab, open the shared row's **⋯** menu and choose **Remove**. Removing and deleting both need the Owner role. Creating, editing and deleting shared steps is recorded in the [audit log](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/administration/audit-logs) (available on Scale, Enterprise, Open Source). ## Availability and limits Each plan caps how many shared steps a workspace can have: | Limit | Unit | Starter | Core | Scale | Enterprise | Open Source | | ------------ | ------------ | ------------ | ---- | ----- | ---------- | ----------- | | Shared steps | shared steps | Not included | 50 | 200 | 20,000 | 20,000 | For prices, see [qualflare.com/pricing](https://qualflare.com/pricing/). On a plan without shared steps, the **Shared Steps** page shows an upgrade prompt. *Figure: On Starter, the Shared Steps page shows an upgrade prompt.* ## Related * **Guides:** [Insert a shared step into a test case](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/test-management/create-test-cases#insert-a-shared-step) * **Reference:** [Test cases](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/test-management/test-cases) · [Plans and limits](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/administration/plans) · [Roles and permissions](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/administration/roles-permissions) · [Glossary: Shared Steps](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/reference/glossary#shared-steps) * **CLI/API:** [Cases commands](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/cli/read-commands#cases) · [MCP server reference](https://docs.qualflare.com/docs/api/mcp-reference)