2026/08/11 - Upload a file that an earlier test downloaded

When we added the ability to upload a file your test downloaded earlier, the download and the upload had to live in the same test. Now the file can cross a test boundary: one test downloads it, and another test in the same plan uploads it.

With this update, you can set up a round-trip journey for an artifact your application generated while keeping tests short and focused. For example, a test that exports a report can hand the real downloaded file to the test that re-imports it.

Try it out

On the latest version of the mabl Desktop App:

1. Name the download. In the test that downloads the file, open the download step and fill in Save as file variable. For example: exportedReport.
2. Share that test's variables. Open the test's settings and turn on Share variables. The file variable travels to the other tests in the plan along with the test's other variables.
3. Upload a placeholder file in the test that uploads the file. Create a file variable: {x} > Manage variables > Data-driven variables. Give the variable the exact same name as the file variable from the test that downloads the file (e.g. exportedReport).
4. Select the placeholder file for your upload step. When you record a file upload step, select "File variable" as the File source and then select the uploaded file variable.
5. Organize your plan. The downloading test has to run before the uploading test. Use sequential execution or plan stages to control the order of execution.

At runtime, mabl fetches the file from the downloading test and uploads it. If no file variable by that name reaches the test, the step fails with "file upload reference was not found. The file may not have been downloaded or produced yet."

Learn more

• Create file variables to reuse a file across upload steps
• Sharing variables between tests
• Uploading files to your web app
• Download assertions