Manta handbook · 10 of 10
How to Fit Manta Into Your Release Process
Where autonomous runs belong in a real workflow — what to run on a merge, what to run before a release, and how to pace runs so effort and cost match value.
The other pages in this handbook cover individual tasks. This one ties them into a workflow: when to run Manta, at what depth, and how it slots in next to your existing tests. Runs are triggered manually today — scheduled and CI-triggered runs are on the roadmap — so "when to run" is a habit you build, not a pipeline you configure.
The short version
- On a merge to main — a moderate diff run against staging, plus your critical-journey plain-English checks.
- Before a release — a deeper full run against the release candidate; review every finding.
- Every week or so — a full run against staging, to catch anything that drifted.
- After a hotfix — a targeted run over the area you changed.
Step 1 — Wire the critical journeys as must-pass checks
Turn your handful of can't-break flows — sign-up, login, checkout, the core loop — into plain-English suites. These run alongside every autonomous run and give you an explicit pass/fail, not just "exploration found nothing obvious."
Step 2 — Match depth to the moment
- Merge: a moderate diff run. Fast, cheap feedback that catches the obvious breakage in what changed.
- Release candidate: a deep full run. This is the one that matters; spend the credits.
- Between releases: a periodic full run so the picture stays current.
- Hotfix: shallow and targeted to the changed area.
This keeps credit usage proportional to how much the run's result matters.
Step 3 — Make the review a habit
A run only helps if someone looks at it. Assign triage ownership per project (team setup), turn on issue notifications, and treat "review the pre-release run" as a checklist item, not an optional extra. A finding in the area a release changed is almost always a regression from that release.
Where it sits next to your other tests
Unit and integration tests run in CI on every commit. A small scripted end-to-end set runs on merge for exact assertions. Manta covers the broad end-to-end layer — you trigger it on merge, before a release, and periodically in between. Where autonomous testing fits has the full picture, and continuous testing covers the strategy.
The takeaway
Must-pass checks for the critical journeys, run depth matched to the moment, and a standing habit of reviewing the pre-release run. That's the whole workflow.
Start a free run and put it into practice.
Try it on your own app
Point Manta at a URL and see what it finds — no scripts, no setup. Free, no credit card.