Repro steps
Also called: Reproduction steps, Steps to reproduce, STR
Repro steps are the numbered actions that make a bug happen again on demand, written so a developer can trigger it without asking the tester anything.
Repro steps are the core of a bug report. They list, in order, what a tester did from a known starting point until the bug appeared, plus what was expected and what happened instead. A developer who can reproduce a bug can usually fix it. A developer who cannot will often close it as "cannot reproduce".
On a Steam game, a good set of repro steps starts with the build ID or branch name, the hardware and OS, and the save file or level. Then come short actions such as "Load save 3, walk to the north gate, open the inventory during the cutscene." A video clip and the reproduction rate (for example 3 out of 5 tries) save a round of questions.
QA checks repro steps by handing them to a second tester who did not find the bug. If that person hits the bug by following the list, the report is ready for the tracker. If not, the steps are missing a condition such as a specific setting, a controller instead of a keyboard, or a save made before a patch.
Updated · Written by JJ, founder of Jumbo Jelly.
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Related terms
- Build ID
A Steam build ID is the global number Steam assigns to each uploaded build of a game, used to tell builds apart and to set one live on a branch.
- Regression pass
A regression pass retests features that already worked after a code change, to catch bugs the new patch broke in old parts of the game.
- Softlock
A softlock is a bug where the game keeps running but the player can no longer progress, for example stuck in a room with no way out.
- Bug severity
Bug severity rates how badly a bug hurts the game, from a crash or lost save down to a cosmetic glitch, separately from how soon it gets fixed.