Browser Synthetic Monitoring allows you to write Python scripts using the Selenium WebDriver library to create scheduled tests that can mimic end-user actions in remote browsers in supported locations. For supported Python versions and libraries, see Synthetic Jobs. 

You can use synthetic scripts to test performance, features, end-user flows, and the end-user experience.

For example, your synthetic script might do the following:

  1. Visit your website.
  2. Search for products.
  3. Add items to a shopping cart.
  4. Check out the shopping cart and assert that the total price of the cart is correct.
  5. Enter payment details.
  6. Complete the purchase.

Benefits of Using Synthetic Scripts

Using synthetic scripts, you can:

  • find broken user flows
  • improve the performance of your site by finding where response times in your web applications are slow
  • test new features

How Scripts Are Run

The entire process can be simplified into the following steps:

  1. You add your script to a synthetic job in the Controller UI.

  2. The synthetic job is transmitted to the Synthetic servers, where it is scheduled to be run.

  3. When it's time for your job to run, a container is created just for your script.

  4. Your script runs in the container, controlling a web browser using Remote WebDriver.

  5. After the script finishes running, the agent collects browser metrics and sends them to the Controller UI.

The Controller UI receives and displays the metrics from your synthetic job.

Get Help

In the Knowledge Base forum, read our Synthetic Scripts FAQ. If you can't find the answer to your question, submit your questions to the community.