> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.e2e.army/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Exploring without a test > Give the agent a goal instead of a test file. It plans its own steps, drives the app, and reports what it finds. `e2e explore` is a run with no test file. You give the agent a goal, it decides what to exercise one step at a time, and it reports every defect it has evidence of. The run ends with an assessment, a list of findings, and the same `.e2e/report.json` a test run writes. ```bash theme={"theme":"catppuccin-mocha"} npx --no-install e2e explore 'Explore the checkout flow like a first-time buyer and report anything off' ``` Use it before there are tests, to see what the agent can do with your app. Use it on a feature branch, to hunt for regressions a scripted suite would not know to look for. Use it to find out what is worth turning into a test. It runs the same agent `agent.act()` runs, with the same model, tools, and safety rules, so what it finds is what a test would find. ## What a run does 1. **Opens the app** on the target's URL, as `app.open()` does. A device target with no URL is already showing its app. 2. **Plans a step.** One model call reads the goal, the steps so far, the findings so far, and the current screen, and answers with the next charter: a title and one concrete instruction. It prefers breadth over depth and follows up on anything odd a previous step reported. 3. **Runs the step** as an ordinary `agent.act()` step. The agent has the whole action grammar, your project tools, and one more: `report_finding`. 4. **Records findings** the moment the agent calls the tool: title, kind, severity 1 to 5, what it expected, what it saw, and how to get there. The current path is included when the engine exposes one. A redacted screenshot is attached when pixels are allowed and the artifact can be saved. 5. **Repeats** until the planner decides the goal is covered or a budget ends the run, then asks the model for a closing assessment. A step that finishes its charter passes. A step the app would not let it complete fails, and the run keeps going. A step that runs out of its own budget mid-charter is a time box, not a failure. Three failed or blocked steps in a row that reported nothing end the run. ## Budgets | Budget | Default | Range | Flag | | -------------------------------- | ---------- | ----------------------------------------------- | ----------------- | | Exploration steps | 8 | 1 to 12 | `--max-steps ` | | Wall clock | 10 minutes | 3 to 15 minutes | `--timeout ` | | Actions and model calls per step | 40 each | from the agent's `maxSteps` and `maxModelCalls` | config | Exploration hits diminishing returns fast, which is why the ceilings are low. A first look at an app fits in four steps; a thorough pass over one flow fits in twelve. ## The verdict | Outcome | Run status | Exit code | | ------------------------------------------------ | ---------- | --------- | | Steps ran, no `issue` finding (warnings allowed) | passed | 0 | | At least one `issue` finding | failed | 1 | | No step ran and nothing was found | blocked | 1 | | Config, engine, or model provider error | error | 2 or 3 | An `issue` is a defect a user would hit. A `warning` is cosmetic and never fails the run. A run that explored nothing is blocked rather than passed, because a zero-coverage pass would say the app is fine when nothing was checked. ## What you get ```text theme={"theme":"catppuccin-mocha"} Explored 4 steps (3 passed, 1 failed); ended: the agent covered the goal Findings 2 issues, 1 warning S4 issue Checkout total shows $0.00 with two items in the cart (/cart) S3 issue Promo code field accepts any text and shows no error (/checkout) S2 warning Footer links wrap onto two lines at 1280px (/) Assessment Browsing and the cart work. Checkout computes the total wrong... ``` `.e2e/report.json` carries the exploration under `run.explore`: the goal, the budgets, why the run ended, the assessment, every step, and every finding. A finding with a saved screenshot includes its artifact id. After a secret fill, screenshot evidence is withheld for the rest of the attempt. `--reporter`, `--video`, `--ai-trace`, and `--debug` work as they do for `e2e run`. In both commands, `--video` requires a selected engine that records video; otherwise the run fails with `UNSUPPORTED_ARTIFACT`. ## Your config applies Explore reads `e2e.config.ts`. The target's engine, app command, allowed origins, and the agent's `context`, `vision`, and provider options all apply. `--agent ` explores as another configured agent, so a UX-review agent and a functional one can explore the same app in turn. An agent built with `createAgent({ tools, system })` lends its tools and guidance to the explorer; a hand-rolled executor has no vocabulary to reuse and is replaced by the built-in agent for the run, with a notice. Configured `credentials` reach the explorer as step secrets. The planner is told each account's name and username, never its password. The `type_secret` tool is offered when credentials are configured and the selected engine declares `perform`. Each fill still needs the runner's authorization and an engine that can handle a sensitive fill; unsupported fills can fail when called. There is no separate capability flag that hides the tool for those engines. Without configured credentials or `perform`, the tool is absent and the explorer is instructed to skip password sign-in. The password never enters a prompt, a transcript, or a finding. With several targets, pass `--target`; otherwise the first configured target is explored and the CLI says so. The trace cache is off and retries are zero for the run. ## Writing a good goal Name the area and the posture. "Explore the checkout flow like a first-time buyer and report anything off" beats "test checkout": it tells the planner where to start, how deep to go, and what counts. Say what not to touch when it matters ("do not place a real order"). The default goal, `Explore the app and find bugs`, is a fair first look at a small app. Every flag of `e2e explore`. The agents explore can run as.