INSIDE visitor CLI

What it is

The INSIDE visitor CLI lets you create a test visitor without opening a browser. You can record page views, exchange test chat messages and inspect received events. A saved profile also lets you continue the visitor identity in a browser.

Who uses it and why

Developers use it to repeat visitor integration tests and inspect the resulting live events. Separate named profiles let you keep test identities apart.

Where to find it

This is a command-line tool with no INSIDE Settings entry. Ask Powerfront for the tool and the connection details appropriate to your test environment. Use inside-visitor help to view its commands.

How it works

1. Use session start with a profile name, test service address and account. A new profile needs an account.
2. Use view with the profile and an absolute page address. Recording a view establishes tracking context and opens the live visitor connection.
3. Use events poll to retrieve captured events, or events wait to wait for a matching event. An event cursor lets you request events after a previous result.
4. Use chat start, chat send and chat stop to exercise a test conversation once the live connection is ready.
5. Use session stop to disconnect while keeping the profile, or session delete to remove its local saved state.

To continue in a browser, use browser restore or its alias browser handoff. Supply a suitable same-origin test page through --path. Open the returned bootstrap link first, then the returned browser page, and complete that page's cookie consent flow. Creating the handoff disconnects the command-line visitor.

Configure it

Use --profile to select a named visitor, --base-url for the test service address and --account for the account. The default profile name is default. Set an explicit service address for your environment.

Page views can include a type, name, category, product details, referrer, tags, custom data, subsite and language. --json requests structured output for automation. --new discards the selected profile's existing local state before starting it again.

The local background service starts automatically for commands other than daemon status. Use daemon stop to stop it. Profiles normally use local application storage; INSIDE_VISITOR_HOME selects another storage location.

Limits and good to know

• Profile names accept 1 to 80 letters, digits, full stops, underscores or hyphens.
• Each profile retains at most 2,000 captured events. Polling returns between 1 and 1,000 events; waits accept 1 to 300 seconds.
• HTTP requests and the initial live connection wait have 30-second timeouts.
• Stopping a session keeps its saved identity. Deleting a profile removes local state, not server-side visitor history.
• events clear clears the local capture, not server-side activity.
• Browser restore needs a previously recorded view. Its bootstrap link contains visitor identity and must be kept private.
• --insecure accepts invalid certificates and is saved with the profile. Use it only for an appropriate test environment.

Depends on and works with

FAQ and troubleshooting

Why does session start not put a visitor on the floor?

Session start configures the profile. Record a page view to establish tracking and the live connection.

Why can I not send a chat message?

Record a page view and establish the live connection first, then start a chat before sending further messages.

Why can I not create a browser handoff?

The profile must have a visitor identity from a recorded page view. Choose a browser destination on the same origin as the configured test service.

Does deleting the profile delete the customer's information in INSIDE?

No. It deletes the local test profile. Server-side deletion is a separate operation.