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The Scout CLI brings vibe testing directly to your terminal. Vibe testing is a new approach to QA where you describe what to test in natural language, and AI handles the rest - no test scripts required.
What is Vibe Testing? Vibe testing lets you test web applications by simply describing what you want tested. Instead of writing brittle test scripts, you tell Scout “test the login flow” or “check accessibility” and AI explores your app like a human tester would.

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Installation

npm install -g @scoutqa/cli

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Authentication

The CLI supports multiple authentication methods (in priority order): 
export SCOUT_API_KEY=sk-scout-xxx
export SCOUT_SERVER_URL=https://scoutqa.ai  # optional, this is the default

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2. OAuth Login (for local development)

scoutqa auth login
Opens your browser for authentication. Stores access and refresh tokens locally.

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3. API Key

Set an API key manually: 
scoutqa auth set-api-key <your-api-key>
Or create a new API key: 
scoutqa auth create-api-key --name "My CLI Key" --expires-in 90d
Check your authentication status: 
scoutqa auth status

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Unauthenticated Access

New in v0.10.1: The create-execution and send-message commands now support unauthenticated access for quick testing. This is ideal for trying Scout without signing up or for simple CI/CD pipelines.
# Run a test without authentication
scoutqa --url https://your-app.com --prompt "Test the homepage"
Unauthenticated executions have some limitations:
  • Results are publicly accessible
  • No project organization
  • Limited execution history
For production use, we recommend authenticating to access full features.

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Commands

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Create a Test Execution

# Test a specific URL with a prompt
scoutqa --url https://your-app.com --prompt "Test the login flow"

# Run accessibility audit
scoutqa --url https://your-app.com --prompt "Check accessibility compliance"

# Exploratory testing
scoutqa --url https://staging.your-app.com --prompt "Find usability issues in checkout"
create-execution is the default command and can be omitted.

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List Executions

scoutqa list-executions

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Continue an Execution

Send follow-up messages to an ongoing execution: 
scoutqa send-message --execution-id exec_123 --prompt "Now test the logout button"

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Authentication Commands

CommandDescription
scoutqa auth statusShow authentication status
scoutqa auth loginLogin via browser (OAuth)
scoutqa auth set-api-key <key>Set API key manually
scoutqa auth create-api-keyCreate a new API key
scoutqa auth logoutClear stored credentials

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CI/CD Integration

Add Scout to your GitHub Actions workflow: 
name: Scout QA
on: [push]

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: '20'
      - run: npm install -g @scoutqa/cli
      - run: scoutqa --url ${{ env.STAGING_URL }} --prompt "Smoke test critical flows"
        env:
          SCOUT_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.SCOUT_API_KEY }}

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Troubleshooting

IssueSolution
Authentication failedRun scoutqa auth logout then scoutqa auth login
Command not foundEnsure npm global bin is in your PATH
Tests timing outCheck network connectivity to target URL
Check your auth status with scoutqa auth status.

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Use Cases for Vibe Testing

  • Smoke Testing - Quick validation before deployments
  • Regression Testing - Verify existing features still work after changes
  • Accessibility Testing - WCAG compliance audits
  • Exploratory Testing - Discover edge cases and unexpected behaviors
  • User Flow Validation - Ensure critical paths like checkout and signup work

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Frequently Asked Questions

Vibe testing is AI-powered exploratory testing where you describe tests in natural language instead of writing code. Scout’s AI agent navigates your application, identifies issues, and reports findings - similar to how a human QA tester would explore your app.
Traditional automated testing requires writing and maintaining test scripts. Vibe testing uses AI to understand your intent from natural language and autonomously explores your application. This means faster test creation, less maintenance, and better coverage of edge cases.
Yes! Scout CLI integrates with GitHub Actions, CircleCI, Jenkins, and any CI/CD system. Use it to gate deployments with quality checks.
Scout CLI works with any web application accessible via a publicly accessible URL - SPAs, server-rendered apps, staging environments, and production sites. For localhost testing, you’ll need to use a tunneling service like ngrok to expose your local server.

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What’s Next

Questions? Reach out at [email protected].
Scout requires a publicly accessible URL to run tests. Deployed environments like staging and production work immediately.For localhost testing, use a tunneling service like ngrok:
# Start your app
npm run dev

# In another terminal, create a tunnel
ngrok http 3000

# Use the tunnel URL with Scout
scoutqa --url https://abc123.ngrok.io --prompt "Test the login flow"
*Third-party tunneling services are not affiliated with Scout. Use at your own risk.