# Screenshot Tests Are Manual Tests

DevFeed: [Screenshot Tests Are Manual Tests](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/screenshot-tests-are-manual-tests-30605.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://ryanharter.com/blog/2023/10/screenshot-tests-are-manual-tests/>)

Published: 2023-10-17T16:00:00Z

Content type: opinion

Language: en

Sources: [Blogs on Ryan Harter](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/blogs-on-ryan-harter.md>)

Topics: [screenshot-testing](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/screenshot-testing.md>), [Testing](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/testing.md>), [ui-testing](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/ui-testing.md>), [test-coverage](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/test-coverage.md>)

Tags: [code-coverage](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/code-coverage.md>), [screenshot-testing](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/screenshot-testing.md>), [testing](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/testing.md>), [ui-testing](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ui-testing.md>)

## AI overview

The article explains that screenshot tests validate UI appearance and can reveal visual changes, but they do not validate application behavior. It argues that screenshot-based coverage can increase coverage numbers while still requiring manual review and complementary UI testing.

## Source excerpt

When I joined Dropbox almost 2 years ago, I was asked to help improve the screenshot testing experience, resulting in Dropshots. While I'd played around with early versions of Paparazzi by that point, many of our tests were too heavily reliant on full Activities and Fragments to make use of host side JUnit tests. The more I've worked with screenshot tests, the more I've come to understand their promises and limitations. What screenshot tests offer Screenshot testing can be really helpful to validate that elements on the screen are rendered as you expect. They can help you detect visual changes that might have otherwise gone unnoticed.