November 12th, 2025 by Kendra Stansel
We are thrilled to share the key highlights from our recent webinar, where we showcased the powerful new features and enhancements in Rapise version 8.6. This release delivers major advancements designed to make automated testing more intelligent, organized, and efficient for all our users.
Continue reading to see the event takeaways and access the full webinar recording!
Full Recording
Key Takeaways
Seamless AI Integration with Inflectra.ai
The most significant update in Rapise 8.6 is the native and secure implementation of Inflectra.ai. We have built this to provide a world-class, context-aware generative AI experience that works right out of the box.
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Out-of-the-Box AI: Users gain immediate access to AI capabilities without the need for complex configuration, tokens, or external accounts. Inflectra.ai is securely configured via the Spira administration panel and is powered by Amazon Bedrock.
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Secure and Context-Aware: Our focus is on providing a secure, intelligent tool that understands the context of your testing framework.
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Flexible Deployment: For customers who prefer to utilize their own infrastructure, the Rapise AI dashboard allows seamless configuration to private instances, such as Azure OpenAI, or other providers like OpenAI and Amazon, ensuring the same powerful functionality.
Enhanced Test Framework Organization and Data Sharing
Rapise 8.6 introduces new structural improvements to help our users build more scalable, consistent, and maintainable test frameworks.
Global and Common Definitions
We introduced a central location for sharing assets across the entire testing framework via the common.rvl.xlsx file:
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Shared Variables & Maps: Define crucial configuration parameters (like a base URL) and reusable test data maps in one place. This eliminates hard-coding and duplication, saving considerable maintenance time.
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Shared Repositories: By moving an object repository into
common.rvl.xlsx, the repository and its objects become instantly available for reuse in any test case, ensuring consistent object identification throughout the framework.
Script-Specific Common Sheet
To balance global sharing with script-specific needs, using the hash sign (#) in a sheet name (e.g., #data) now designates a script-common sheet.
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Any asset defined here is shared across all other sheets within that single RVL script, but remains private and isolated from the rest of the testing framework. This keeps your shared global definitions clean while providing localized structure.
Developer Productivity and Coding Enhancements
Our focus on developer experience brings several key quality-of-life improvements to Rapise:
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AI-Powered Data Generation: Our AI feature can swiftly generate multiple rows of realistic test data or entire data tables for maps, including custom constraints (e.g., generating contacts with a first name starting with "C").
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Controlling AI with Directives: We've introduced powerful new directives (e.g.,
##AI:Module:) that can be added as simple comments. These allow you to precisely guide the AI, ensuring it uses specific Page Objects or ignores similar ones, resulting in more accurate and tailored code generation. -
Folders and Namespaces for Page Objects: You can now logically organize your Page Objects using dot notation (e.g.,
CRM.leads.edit). This feature is essential for large-scale applications, preventing naming collisions and creating a clear, hierarchical structure within the Modules section. -
In-Place Code Generation: For quick, custom logic, the AI can generate JavaScript code directly within a code block (e.g., a function to "harmonize phone numbers"). This capability allows our users to rapidly implement necessary utility functions and data manipulation logic.
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Action Signature Creation: Users can now specify action parameters (like
firstName, email, phone) directly when defining a new action for a Page Object, streamlining the setup process.
CI/CD and Headless Execution
We continue to enhance Rapise's role within modern DevOps environments:
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Rapise Launcher Updates: The latest version of the Rapise Launcher, available as an NPM package, now supports generating detailed execution reports in the standard JUnit XML format. This facilitates seamless integration with popular CI/CD tools.
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Rapise MCP Server (Preview): The new Rapise Multi-Modal Command Protocol (MCP) Server enables programmatic and conversational control of the Rapise application from external clients, such as VSCode or Copilot. This opens powerful new possibilities for managing your test assets (e.g., organizing tests by tag or running specific test groups) through a chat-like interface.
This release is a testament to our commitment to innovation and empowering our customers with the best tools for intelligent, low-code test automation.
Ready to Experience Rapise?
We invite you to try Rapise yourself with a 30-day, 100% unlocked, free trial. Discover how Rapise 8.6, with its cutting-edge AI and advanced features, can transform your test automation efforts today! If you have any questions, feel free to email us at rapise@inflectra.com.
