Auto unmute tests

Automatically restore muted tests when they consistently pass and satisfy stability thresholds.

Auto unmute detects when previously muted tests demonstrate reliable behavior for a configured number of consecutive build runs and returns them to active status without manual intervention. This prevents you from permanently ignoring tests that have recovered.

Why auto unmute is necessary

Teams mute tests to keep CI signals clean while fixing flakiness or known failures. Without a recovery mechanism, muted tests may be forgotten, reducing true coverage and inflating pass rates. Auto unmute helps you in the following ways:

• Restores real coverage by reactivating healthy tests.
• Reduces manual overhead of auditing long lists of muted tests.
• Prevents metric distortion from indefinitely excluded scenarios.
• Encourages disciplined muting of tests (temporary rather than permanent).

How auto unmute works?

Auto unmute evaluates muted tests at the end of each build (or at a scheduled aggregation pass) and checks the following stability criteria:

1. Test is currently in muted state.
2. Test executed in a set number of most recent eligible build runs.
3. Test passed in all of those runs.
4. No new instability markers like build timeouts that exceed threshold.
5. Mute age is greater than or equal to the minimum observation window.

If all criteria are met, the system transitions the test from Muted to Active and logs the unmute event, making it visible in test history.

Stability signals considered

The following stability signals are considered:

• Consecutive pass count.
• Low variance in duration (large spikes may flag lingering instability).
• Environment consistency (runs performed across expected OS / browser / device matrix or designated subset).

Configuration steps

Configure auto unmute for muted tests with the following steps:

1. Open a build in your project.
2. Go to the test listing page.
3. Click Mute or Unmute next to the test you want to modify.
4. On the modal, there is a dropdown for Unmute Type. By default, Unmute Type is Manual. You can select any of the following values: After Selected Runs, After Selected Days, and After Status Change.
5. Select the appropriate values in the fields that show up to configure the conditions for auto unmute.
6. Optionally, you can switch on Notify on email when unmuted to get email notifications when the test is auto unmuted.
7. Click Confirm.

Result: The system begins evaluating the muted test against your configured thresholds from the next build run onward.

Review auto unmute events

You can audit recovered tests in the following way:

1. Open the Test listing view.
2. Inspect the stability panel to confirm pass streak data.
3. Re-mute if a regression appears (action remains available).

Best practices

The following best practices help ensure effective use of auto unmute:

• Keep the consecutive pass threshold low enough to allow timely recovery but high enough to prevent premature activation (3–5 is common).
• Periodically review excluded tests with long mute ages that still fail evaluation—these may need deeper refactoring.
• Pair auto unmute with alerts on excessive mute counts to enforce clean test health.

Limitations

The auto unmute feature has the following limitations:

• Auto unmute does not refactor or fix tests. It only monitors outcomes.
• Dynamic data dependencies (flaky external APIs) can allow false stability. Consider tagging such tests for manual review before enabling auto unmute.

Frequently asked questions

Will auto unmute change your historical metrics? No. Past builds retain their original aggregated numbers. Only future builds reflect the reactivated test.

Can you override an auto unmute decision? Yes. You can manually mute again.

What happens if a test fails immediately after auto unmute? It is treated like any active test failure. You can choose to re-mute or allow failure signals to propagate.

Is partial environment coverage enough? The pass streak requires runs in required environments defined by your governance policy.

Related resources

• Mute problematic tests
• Tests health
• Alerts and notifications