Getting started with Orbit

Your first visit to Orbit, step by step. At the end you are signed in, you know where things are in the menu, and you know which guide to read next for your role.

Who this is for

Everyone who has just received an Orbit account: testers, QA leads, admins, stakeholders who read results, and people who write the tests.

Before you start

• An invitation email from Orbit, or an email address and a password that an administrator gave you in person.
• A current browser (Edge, Chrome or Firefox).
• System Admins only: an authenticator app on your phone, for example Microsoft Authenticator or 1Password.

What Orbit is made of

Orbit runs Playwright tests and keeps their results in one place. It has three parts:

Part	What it is	Who uses it
Console	The web site. It holds the projects, every run and result, quality figures, releases, reports and the settings.	Everyone
Station	A program on a Windows PC that runs the tests. You open it in your browser from the Orbit Station entry in the Start menu. It sends its results to the Console.	QA Engineers and above, who run tests
Workload repository	A Git repository with Playwright tests and a file named orbit.workload.yaml. Orbit calls one such repository a workload.	Workload authors, who write the tests

A few more words you will see everywhere:

• Project: one testing space, usually for one customer. Your role belongs to a project, so you can be a QA Lead on one project and a Viewer on another.
• Environment: one system under test, for example dev or qas.
• Run (also execution): one start of a set of tests on one environment.
• Role: what you may do on a project: Viewer, QA Engineer, QA Lead or Project Admin. A System Admin manages the whole installation. The full table is in People and roles.

Steps

1. Accept your invitation

If you got an invitation email:

1. Open the link in the email. The page Join Orbit opens.
2. Choose Accept the invite.
3. On Choose your password, type a New password of at least 12 characters, then the same in Repeat the password.
4. Choose Save and continue. You are signed in.

If an administrator set a password for you, skip this step. You can change that password on Profile, Security after your first sign-in.

2. Sign in to the Console

1. Open your Console address. The page Sign in to Orbit opens.
2. Enter your Email and Password, then choose Sign in.
3. If your account has an authenticator, the page Enter your authenticator code asks for the 6-digit code from your app. The code is sent as soon as the last digit is in.

There is no “forgot password” link. If you lost your password, ask a System Admin: they can set a new one for you.

3. System Admins: set up the authenticator

A System Admin must use an authenticator app while the organisation setting Authenticator code is on. It is on unless a System Admin turned it off in Admin, System, Security (see System Admin guide). While it is on:

1. After your first sign-in, the page Set up your authenticator shows a QR code.
2. Scan it with your app. If you cannot scan it, type the key shown under “Can’t scan it? Enter this key instead:”.
3. Enter the 6-digit code the app shows and choose Turn on.

Later, the banner “Admin actions need your authenticator code.” with Enter the code appears when your session needs the code again. More in People and roles. Other people can add an authenticator to their own account on Profile, Security.

4. Choose your project

The project switcher is at the top of every page, next to the Orbit logo (the Admin pages have none). Choose it, then pick a project, or type a few letters in Find a project. Every page shows the project you chose. If you see “You are not on a project yet.”, ask a Project Admin to add you.

5. Look at Home

Home is the first item in the menu and the page you land on. The top of the page shows the project at a glance (what is Running, what is Failing, what is Quarantined, and the current Cycle) and a Needs you list. “Nothing needs you right now.” means you are up to date.

Below that, cards appear one by one. Which cards you see depends on your role:

Card	What it shows	Who sees it
Quality pulse	The health of the last 7 days, as on the Quality page	Everyone on the project
Release countdown	The next release and how close it is to being ready	Everyone on the project
Failure radar	Open failure groups, marked Past SLA or No owner when they need someone	Everyone on the project
Orbit noticed	Something unusual Orbit found in the results, with a link to look closer	QA Engineers and above
Recent runs	The latest runs	Everyone on the project
Environments and Stations	Which environments are up and which Stations are online	Everyone on the project
Test debt	The test debt of the project (for example tests with no explicit owner) and how it changed this week	QA Leads and Project Admins
What changed	What is new since your last visit	Everyone on the project
Projects that need the basics	Projects whose setup is not finished	Project Admins and System Admins
Getting started	First steps for a new account	Everyone, while there is something left to do

The figures are explained in Quality figures explained.

6. Learn the menu

The menu is on the left (on a phone, open it with the menu button). It has these groups:

Group	Pages	What you do there
	Home	Your start page
Run	Executions, Tests	Every run, and every test with its history
Quality	Quality, Failures, Flaky	Health, coverage, performance and debt; failure triage; flaky tests and quarantine
Release	Releases, Requirements, Risks and gate	Releases and their readiness; requirements and their tests; risks and the quality gate
Insights	Reports, Customers	Reports to read, export, save and share; activity per customer
	Project settings	The setup of the project. Each section says who may open it.
Admin	People and access, Projects and customers, Stations, System	System Admins only

At the top right you find:

• Search (or Ctrl+K): find pages, records and commands, and switch project.
• Assistant: ask questions about the page you are on.
• The bell: your notifications and the Notices of the installation. All notifications and settings opens the full list.
• Your avatar: Profile, Appearance (theme and density), What’s new, Shortcuts, About Orbit, Terms of use, Status and Sign out.

7. Fill in your Profile

Open your avatar, then Profile. On Info, add your picture, Display name, Time zone and the other details, then choose Save details. Dates in Orbit use your time zone. On Preferences choose your appearance and which notifications you get. Details: People and roles.

8. Learn the keyboard shortcuts

Press ? on any page (outside a text field) to open Keyboard shortcuts. The sheet lists the shortcuts of the page you are on, by group. You can also open it from your avatar, Shortcuts. Shortcuts do nothing while you type in a field.

On Windows “Ctrl” is the Ctrl key; on a Mac it is ⌘.

In the Console and on the Station

Keys	What it does
?	Show keyboard shortcuts
Ctrl+K	Search pages, records and commands
Ctrl+B	Collapse or expand the sidebar (not on a phone)

In the Console, Failures, Triage board

Keys	What it does
J / K	Next test / Previous test
Shift+J / Shift+K	Next group / Previous group
B	Mark as Bug
E	Mark as Environment issue
F	Mark as Known flaky
Q	Quarantine the test
O	Take ownership of the group
R	Resolve the group
I	Investigate
X	Select the test
Enter	Open the group detail

On Project settings, Test accounts, N adds a test account (Project Admins).

On the Station

Where	Keys	What it does
Everywhere	N	Start a run
Everywhere	Ctrl+/	Open or close Ask Orbit
Pages with a refresh time (Today, Activity, Coverage, Failures, Insights, Release, Reports, History)	R	Refresh this page
Today	J / K, Enter	Next / previous item in Needs your attention; open or close the selected item
Explorer	/	Search tests
Explorer	A	Select or clear all shown tests
Explorer	Esc	Clear the selection
Explorer	Shift+→ / Shift+←	Open / close a group and everything inside it
History	J / K	Next run / Previous run
History	Enter / Shift+Enter	Preview the run / Open the run page
Failures	/	Search
Failures	J / K, Enter	Next / previous in the list; open the selected row
Failures	O	Claim or release the group
Failures	B / E / F	Label the test Bug / Environment issue / Flaky-ignore
Coverage, Release	/	Search tests
Reports	/	Search saved reports

In the Explorer’s test tree, the arrow keys move, → and ← open and close a group, and Space ticks a test.

What you have now

You are signed in, you know your project and your Home page, and you can find any page from the menu or with Ctrl+K.

Where to go next

Your role	Read next
Viewer, stakeholder, or someone who received a share link	Viewer guide
QA Engineer (tester)	Install the Orbit Station, then the Tester guide
QA Lead	QA lead guide
Project Admin	Project admin guide
System Admin	System admin guide
Workload author (you write the Playwright tests)	Workload author guide
Anyone with a question	FAQ

If something goes wrong

You see	What to do
“Your email is not confirmed yet. Ask an administrator.”	You have not accepted the invitation yet. Open the invitation email, or ask a System Admin to confirm your address.
The invitation link does not work	Ask a System Admin to use Resend invite.
“Your account has expired”	Your access ended on its expiry date. Ask a Project Admin on your team, or a System Admin, to extend it.
“Your account is deactivated”	An admin turned your account off. Ask a System Admin.
You lost your authenticator	Ask a System Admin to reset it. See People account recovery.
“You are not on a project yet.”	Ask a Project Admin of the project to add you.
A page or a button is missing	Your role does not allow it. See People and roles.