Vizzly CLI

Visual review platform for UI developers and designers

What is Vizzly?

Vizzly is a visual review platform designed for how modern teams work. Instead of recreating your components in a sandboxed environment, Vizzly captures screenshots directly from your functional tests. This means you test the real thing, not a snapshot.

It's fast because we don't render anything—we process the images you provide from any source. Bring screenshots from web apps, mobile apps, or even design mockups, and use our collaborative dashboard to streamline the review process between developers and designers.

Features

• 📸 Smart Screenshots - Automatic deduplication and intelligent diffing
• 🎨 Any Screenshot - Web, mobile, desktop, design mockups, or any visual content
• 🏃 TDD Mode - Local visual comparison for rapid development
• 📊 Beautiful Dashboard - Intuitive web interface for reviewing changes
• 👥 Team Collaboration - Built for UI developers and designers to work together
• 🔄 CI/CD Ready - GitHub, GitLab, CircleCI, and more

Quick Start

Requirements: Node.js 20 or newer.

# Install globally
npm install -g @vizzly-testing/cli

# Initialize your project
vizzly init

Set up your API token

For local development, create a .env file in your project root and add your token:

VIZZLY_TOKEN=your-api-token

Then add .env to your .gitignore file. For CI/CD, use your provider's secret management system.

Upload existing screenshots

vizzly upload ./screenshots --build-name "Release v1.2.3"

Integrate with your tests

# Run tests with Vizzly integration
vizzly run "npm test"

# Use TDD mode for local development
vizzly run "npm test" --tdd

In your test code

import { vizzlyScreenshot } from '@vizzly-testing/cli/client';

// Your test framework takes the screenshot
const screenshot = await page.screenshot();

// Send to Vizzly for review
await vizzlyScreenshot('homepage', screenshot, {
  browser: 'chrome',
  viewport: '1920x1080'
});

Multi-Language Support: Currently available as a JavaScript/Node.js SDK with Python, Ruby, and other language bindings coming soon. The client SDK is lightweight and simply POSTs screenshot data to the CLI for processing.

Commands

Upload Screenshots

vizzly upload <directory>           # Upload screenshots from directory
vizzly upload ./screenshots --wait  # Wait for processing

Run Tests with Integration

vizzly run "npm test"               # Run with Vizzly integration
vizzly run "npm test" --tdd         # Local TDD mode
vizzly run "pytest" --port 3002     # Custom port
vizzly run "npm test" --wait        # Wait for build completion
vizzly run "npm test" --eager       # Create build immediately
vizzly run "npm test" --allow-no-token  # Run without API token

Run Command Options

Server Configuration:

• --port <port> - Port for screenshot server (default: 47392)
• --timeout <ms> - Server timeout in milliseconds (default: 30000)

Build Configuration:

• -b, --build-name <name> - Custom build name
• --branch <branch> - Git branch override
• --commit <sha> - Git commit SHA override
• --message <msg> - Commit message
• --environment <env> - Environment name (default: test)

Processing Options:

• --wait - Wait for build completion and exit with appropriate code
• --eager - Create build immediately (default: lazy creation)
• --threshold <number> - Comparison threshold (0-1, default: 0.01)
• --batch-size <n> - Upload batch size used with --wait
• --upload-timeout <ms> - Upload wait timeout in ms

Development & Testing:

• --tdd - Enable TDD mode with local comparisons
• --allow-no-token - Allow running without API token (useful for local development)
• --token <token> - API token override

Baseline Configuration:

• --baseline-build <id> - Use specific build as baseline for comparisons
• --baseline-comparison <id> - Use specific comparison as baseline

Setup and Status Commands

vizzly init                         # Create vizzly.config.js with defaults
vizzly status <build-id>            # Check build progress and results
vizzly status <build-id> --verbose  # Detailed build information
vizzly status <build-id> --json     # Machine-readable output
vizzly doctor                       # Fast local preflight (no network)
vizzly doctor --api                 # Include API connectivity checks

Init Command

Creates a basic vizzly.config.js configuration file with sensible defaults. No interactive prompts - just generates a clean config you can customize.

vizzly init           # Create config file
vizzly init --force   # Overwrite existing config

Status Command

Check the progress and results of your builds. Shows comprehensive information including:

• Build status and progress
• Screenshot and comparison counts (new, changed, identical)
• Git branch and commit details
• Direct web dashboard link
• Timing and execution information

# Basic status check
vizzly status abc123-def456-build-id

# Detailed information for debugging
vizzly status abc123-def456-build-id --verbose

# JSON output for CI/CD integration
vizzly status abc123-def456-build-id --json

Doctor

• Purpose: Quickly validate your local setup without network calls by default.
• Checks: Node.js version (>= 20), apiUrl format, comparison threshold, effective port (default 47392).
• Optional: Add --api to verify connectivity using your VIZZLY_TOKEN.

Examples:

# Local-only checks
vizzly doctor

# Include API connectivity
VIZZLY_TOKEN=your-token vizzly doctor --api

# JSON output for tooling
vizzly doctor --json

TDD Mode

TDD mode enables fast local development by comparing screenshots locally without uploading to Vizzly:

# First run - creates local baselines (no token needed)
npx vizzly tdd "npm test"

# Make changes and test - fails if visual differences detected
npx vizzly tdd "npm test"

# Accept changes as new baseline
npx vizzly tdd "npm test" --set-baseline

• 🐻 Auto-baseline creation: Creates baselines locally when none exist
• 🐻 No token required: Works entirely offline for local development
• 🐻 Tests fail on differences: Immediate feedback when visuals change
• 🐻 Accept changes: Use --set-baseline to update baselines

Configuration

Create a vizzly.config.js file with vizzly init or manually:

export default {
  // API configuration
  // Set VIZZLY_TOKEN environment variable or uncomment and set here:
  // apiToken: 'your-token-here',
  
  // Screenshot configuration
  screenshots: {
    directory: './screenshots',
    formats: ['png']
  },
  
  // Server configuration
  server: {
    port: 47392,
    screenshotPath: '/screenshot'
  },
  
  // Comparison configuration
  comparison: {
    threshold: 0.1,
    ignoreAntialiasing: true
  },
  
  // Upload configuration
  upload: {
    concurrency: 5,
    timeout: 30000
  }
};

Run vizzly init to generate this file automatically with sensible defaults.

Config Reference

For the full configuration schema and CLI options, see docs/api-reference.md.

Framework Examples

Playwright

import { vizzlyScreenshot } from '@vizzly-testing/cli/client';

test('homepage test', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('/');
  const screenshot = await page.screenshot();
  await vizzlyScreenshot('homepage', screenshot, {
    browser: 'chrome',
    viewport: '1920x1080'
  });
});

Cypress

// cypress/support/commands.js
Cypress.Commands.add('vizzlyScreenshot', (name, properties = {}) => {
  cy.screenshot(name, { capture: 'viewport' });
  cy.readFile(`cypress/screenshots/${name}.png`, 'base64').then((imageBase64) => {
    const imageBuffer = Buffer.from(imageBase64, 'base64');
    return vizzlyScreenshot(name, imageBuffer, {
      browser: Cypress.browser.name,
      ...properties
    });
  });
});

CI/CD Integration

For CI/CD pipelines, use the --wait flag to wait for visual comparison results and get appropriate exit codes:

GitHub Actions

- name: Visual Tests
  run: npx vizzly run "npm test" --wait
  env:
    VIZZLY_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.VIZZLY_TOKEN }}

GitLab CI

visual-tests:
  stage: test
  image: node:20
  script:
    - npm ci
    - npx vizzly run "npm test" --wait
  variables:
    VIZZLY_TOKEN: $VIZZLY_TOKEN

The --wait flag ensures the process:

• Waits for all screenshots to be processed
• Exits with code 1 if visual differences are detected
• Exits with code 0 if all comparisons pass
• Allows your CI to fail appropriately when visual regressions occur

API Reference

vizzlyScreenshot(name, imageBuffer, properties)

Send a screenshot to Vizzly.

• name (string): Screenshot identifier
• imageBuffer (Buffer): Image data
• properties (object): Metadata for organization

isVizzlyEnabled()

Check if Vizzly is enabled in the current environment.

Documentation

• Getting Started
• Upload Command Guide
• Test Integration Guide
• TDD Mode Guide
• API Reference
• Doctor Command

Environment Variables

• VIZZLY_TOKEN: API authentication token. Example: export VIZZLY_TOKEN=your-token.
• VIZZLY_API_URL: Override API base URL. Default: https://vizzly.dev.
• VIZZLY_LOG_LEVEL: Logger level. One of debug, info, warn, error. Example: export VIZZLY_LOG_LEVEL=debug.

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Whether you're fixing bugs, adding features, or improving documentation, your help makes Vizzly better for everyone.

Getting Started

1. Fork the repository on GitHub
2. Clone your fork locally: git clone https://github.com/your-username/cli.git
3. Install dependencies: npm install
4. Run tests to ensure everything works: npm test

Development Workflow

1. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name
2. Make your changes and add tests for any new functionality
3. Run the linter: npm run lint
4. Run tests: npm test
5. Commit your changes using gitmoji format: git commit -m '✨ Add your feature'
6. Push to your fork: git push origin feature/your-feature-name
7. Open a Pull Request

Reporting Issues

Found a bug or have a feature request? Please open an issue with:

• A clear description of the problem or request
• Steps to reproduce (for bugs)
• Your environment details (OS, Node.js version, etc.)

Development Setup

The CLI is built with modern JavaScript and requires Node.js 20+ (LTS). See the development scripts in package.json for available commands.

License

MIT © Stubborn Mule Software