When a test can no longer find the right element.
Checkout works for users, but your test can no longer find the Continue button? Small UI changes often cause this. For suitable failures, TestZombie looks for the intended element instead of requiring an immediate manual locator edit.
Locator drift is maintenance, not a product failure
A new ID or layout can make a test fail even though users can still complete the journey. This is locator drift: a maintenance issue, not automatically a product defect.
Multiple signals
TestZombie considers text, element roles and a button’s surroundings, not just one identifier.
Confidence instead of guesswork
If several elements could match and none is reliable enough, the test should fail rather than check the wrong thing.
Permanent fix
See which locator was replaced and optionally write successful fixes back to test code.
How locator healing works
Original locator fails
For example, the test no longer finds the “Continue” button under its old ID.
Compare candidates
TestZombie compares available properties to find the element that best matches the expected target.
Use the strongest candidate
The most robust match can recover the run and is recorded in the healing log.
Locator healing FAQ
Which locator types can be affected?
Typical cases include IDs, CSS, XPath, roles, labels, text or mobile accessibility attributes.
Is every candidate automatically safe?
No. Healing should only be applied with sufficient confidence; otherwise the failure remains visible.
Can I review the healing later?
Yes. A central healing history keeps the cause, replacement and result traceable.
Keep your existing tests alive longer.
Keep your Selenium, Playwright or Appium tests and add self-healing, failure analysis and optional code maintenance.