Onboarding

Get started with Tusk in a few clicks

Before you begin, make sure that you have these permissions:

GitHub

GitHub user permissions to manage external apps in your GitHub organization

GitLab

Maintainer or Owner role in your GitLab group while on the GitLab Premium or Ultimate plan (plans not required for GitLab Self-Managed)

Creating an account

Sign up to Tusk with Google, GitHub, GitLab or with email/password. If you create an account with your company’s Google workspace, a Tusk organization for your company will be created.

Note: Any team member who signs up via Google with your company’s email domain, or with GitHub/GitLab and who are in your GitHub/GitLab organization will automatically be added to the Tusk company organization.

Connect version control platform

Connect GitHub

1. Navigate to Integrations

   After clicking out of the onboarding modal, you should be in the Integrations page. Click Connect to authorize GitHub.

   
2. Select organization

   Click on your GitHub organization.

   
3. Configure repository access

   Choose whether to authorize all repositories or only select repositories in your organization. Click Install.

   

Connect GitLab

Setting up GitLab for Tusk takes a few minutes of manual work due to limitations with the GitLab API. Please reach out to Support if you have any questions.

1. Go to Settings > Integrations

   You should see the GitLab integration in the list of code hosting platforms supported. Click Connect.

   
2. Navigate to GitLab Group

   You will see a page with instructions on how to connect your GitLab group or project to Tusk.

   

   If you have a self-hosted GitLab instance, fill in the GitLab host URL as per the instructions. Otherwise, you can leave this field blank.

   
3. Create Access Token

   Go to GitLab. In the left sidebar of your group or project, select Settings > Access tokens. Click Add new token.

   

   Create a Group Access Token or Project Access Token with the details below.

   

   • Name: Tusk
   • Expiry date: Set as far in the future as possible (max 1 year)
   • Role: Developer
   • Scopes: api, read_repository, write_repository
4. Add access token to Tusk

   After creating the access token, copy the access token immediately.

   

   Go back into the Tusk web app and paste the access token into the Access Token field.

   
5. Create a webhook

   Return to the GitLab group or project and go to Settings > Webhooks in the left sidebar. Click Add new webhook.

   

   Create a webhook in GitLab with the details below.

   

   • URL: https://use-tusk.uc.r.appspot.com/api/webhook/gitlab
   • Secret token: Copy the auto-generated secret token from Tusk’s GitLab flow and paste it in this field
   • Trigger: Push events (all branches), Comments, Issues events, Merge request events, Emoji events
6. Confirm webhook creation in Tusk

   Return to the Tusk web app and check the checkbox that says “I have created a webhook with the above configuration”.

   

   Click Connect GitLab after to complete the integration.

Set up a test execution environment

If you’re only using Tusk for API drift detection or have a white-glove onboarding, please skip this step.

Upon successful authorization, navigate to the Unit Tests page and click Set up on the repo you want to configure.

1. Analyze your repository

   Click Analyze Repository to start. Tusk examines your codebase to identify directories containing unit tests, testing frameworks, CI/CD configuration, and potential environment variables needed.

   This typically takes 2-4 minutes.

2. Review detected test environments

   After analysis, you’ll see a list of potential test environments. For each one, Tusk shows:

   • Directory path (for monorepos with multiple services)
   • Test framework detected
   • CI status - whether tests currently run in CI
   • Coverage support - whether Tusk can collect coverage data

   Click Set up on any environment you want to configure.

3. Provide environment variables (if detected)

   If Tusk detects that environment variables may be required (like NPM tokens for private packages), you’ll be prompted before setup begins.

   You can:

   • Provide values now to ensure setup succeeds on the first try
   • Skip for now - Tusk will attempt setup without them and ask again if needed
4. Wait for configuration

   Tusk creates your test execution environment by:

   1. Creating a Dockerfile (or Docker Compose for projects needing databases/services)
   2. Writing setup scripts to install dependencies
   3. Writing test scripts configured for your framework
   4. Verifying everything works by running your tests
   5. Iterating if any issues are found

   This typically takes 6-10 minutes. You can leave the page and return later - setup continues in the background.

5. Answer questions (if needed)

   During setup, Tusk may ask clarifying questions about your configuration:

   • Which test command to use if multiple are available
   • How to handle specific dependencies
   • Confirmation of environment variable requirements

   If you see a “Needs Input” status, click on the environment to answer the question.

6. Configuration complete

   Once verified, your test execution environment is ready. Tusk will automatically run tests on new PRs and maintain the environment as your project evolves.

Need to make changes? You can update any test execution environment at any time. Just describe what you’d like to change and Tusk will modify and re-verify the configuration.

See Test Execution Environments for more details on what’s configured and how it works.

Connect project management platform (optional)

Tusk can use information and business logic from tickets linked to your pull requests to generate more relevant unit tests and classify API deviations more accurately.

Connect Linear

1. Connect Linear

   Under the Integrations tab, find the Linear integration card under “Project management platform.” Click Connect.

2. Grant access

   You’ll be redirected to the Linear app to grant Tusk access to your Linear workspace. Make sure to choose the correct workspace on the top left corner.

   
3. Authorize Tusk

   Click Authorize Tusk once you have confirmed that you’re in the correct workspace.

4. Confirm connection

   You’ll then be redirected back to the Tusk app, where you should now see a status badge displaying “Connected” on the Linear integration card.

Connect Jira

1. Connect Jira

   Under the Integrations tab, find the Jira integration card under “Project management platform.” Click Connect.

2. Grant access

   You’ll be redirected to the Atlassian platform to grant Tusk access to your Jira site.

   
3. Choose site and authorize

   Choose the correct Jira site under “Authorize for site” and click Accept.

   
4. Confirm connection

   You’ll then be redirected back to the Tusk app, where you should now see a status badge displaying “Connected” on the Jira integration card.

Next Steps

• API Drift Detection: follow this guide to install the Tusk Drift SDK and start recording and replaying your first test.

• Unit Test Generation: follow this guide to raise an example PR and watch Tusk generate unit tests to cover your changes.

FAQs

What happens if test environment setup fails?

If setup encounters an issue it can’t resolve automatically, you’ll see a “Failed” status with details about what went wrong. You can:

1. Review the error - Click into the environment to see the specific failure
2. Provide missing information - Often failures are due to missing environment variables or unclear configuration
3. Retry setup - After addressing the issue, click Retry to start again
4. Contact support - For complex issues, reach out to [e-mail]

How do I update an existing test environment configuration?

You can update any test execution environment at any time:

1. Go to the Unit Tests page and click on your repository
2. Select the Test Execution Environments tab
3. Click on the environment you want to modify
4. Click Update and describe what you’d like to change

Tusk will update the configuration and re-verify that tests still pass.

Can I have multiple test environments for a monorepo?

Yes! During repository analysis, Tusk identifies each directory that contains tests. You can set up separate test execution environments for each service or package in your monorepo.

Each environment has its own Dockerfile, scripts, and configuration - they run independently when Tusk generates tests for changes in that directory.

How do I connect additional repos to Tusk?

Make sure the additional repo(s) are in the same GitHub organization. If not, see the frequently asked question below this one. If you’ve already given Tusk access to the repo in GitHub, follow these steps:

1. Go to Connected Repos in the Tusk web app

2. Click Sync connected repos

If also enabling unit test generation on the new repo(s):

3. Go to the Unit Tests page

4. Click Enable to sync the additional repo(s)

I still don't see my other repos in the same organization. What's happening?

You most likely gave Tusk access to “Only select repositories” on initial GitHub connection.

1. In GitHub itself, go to Settings > GitHub Apps for the current organization (github.com/organizations/your-org-name/settings/installations)

2. Click Configure for “Use Tusk”

3. Under Repository access, click Select repositories

4. Select the additional repo(s) from the dropdown menu

5. Click Save

6. In Tusk, go to Connected Repos and click Sync connected repos

If also enabling unit test generation on the new repo(s):

7. Go to the Unit Tests page

8. Click Enable to sync the additional repo(s)

How do I connect another GitHub organization to Tusk?

1. In GitHub itself, go to Settings > GitHub Apps for the current organization (github.com/organizations/your-org-name/settings/installations)

2. Click Configure for “Use Tusk”

3. Click Uninstall in the “Danger zone”

4. Return to the Tusk web app’s settings

5. Click Connect on the GitHub integration

6. Select the new GitHub organization to authorize Tusk on

How do I disconnect my GitHub organization from Tusk?

1. In GitHub itself, go to Settings > GitHub Apps for the current organization (github.com/organizations/your-org-name/settings/installations)

2. Click Configure for “Use Tusk”

3. Click Uninstall in the “Danger zone”

How does Tusk run the tests it generates?

Tusk runs generated tests in isolated, ephemeral sandboxes using your test execution environment configuration. When you set up a test environment, Tusk creates a Docker-based sandbox specifically configured for your project’s dependencies and testing framework.

This allows Tusk to:

• Verify that generated tests actually pass
• Auto-iterate on test cases if errors are encountered
• Show you test results before you incorporate them into your codebase

See Test Execution Environments for more details on how this works.