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Tester

Try every path in the phone preview, fix what Check flow finds, and test on a real phone before launch.

La documentation est rédigée en anglais. Les pages traduites arrivent.

The phone preview

The fastest way to test is the phone preview inside the builder. It costs nothing and needs no shortcode.

Open your app in the builder
From Apps, click the app.
Press Test
The ▷ button in the top bar. A phone opens on the left showing your first screen.
Reply like a caller
Type in the Reply box and press Send (or Enter). Cancel ends the session.
Start again
Press Dial again at the top of the preview to restart from the first screen.

With the preview closed, clicking any screen on the canvas shows how that screen will look on a phone, without running the whole flow.

What the preview checks

The preview runs your app in your browser and applies the same rules as the live service:

It checks	Example
Menu choices	Replying 7 to a 3-option menu shows "Invalid option selected."
Answer types	A Numeric question refuses `abc` with "Please enter a valid number."
Length, minimum and maximum	A 1–10 question refuses `25` with "Enter 10 or less."
Patterns	An answer that doesn't match Answer must match shows "That answer isn't in the expected format."
Going back	Replying `0` returns to the previous screen, unless the question turns Pressing 0 goes back off.
Saved answers	Text like `{{cups}}` is filled in with the caller's answer.

Send Data steps and menus filled from your API make real web requests from your browser during the preview, so your API must allow requests from the dashboard (CORS). On a real phone the request comes from Asterisks' servers instead, so this only affects the preview.

Check flow

Press Check flow (the tick icon) before deploying. It finds screens that aren't connected and branches that never reach an end, and names the screen so you can fix it. Deploy runs the same check.

Message	What to do
Node "…" has no outgoing connections	Drag from that screen’s dot to the screen that should come next, or make it an End Session.
Flow branch ending at "…" must be terminated with an END node	That path stops without ending the session. Add an End Session screen at the end of it.
Router branch … has an empty condition	Open the Smart Router and fill in the condition, or delete that branch.

Before-launch checklist

Every menu option opens a screen.
Every path ends on an End Session, Flash Alert or Collect Payment screen.
No screen is over 182 characters (the counter under What the phone shows reads, for example, 55 / 182).
Questions use the right Answer type, with a minimum and maximum where it matters.
You tried wrong answers in the preview, not just the happy path.
Your wallet has credit. Sessions stop with "Insufficient credits" at zero.

Testing on real phones

Once the preview looks right, test with a real phone before telling customers.

Deploy the app
Follow step 5 of the Quickstart.
Point your aggregator at Asterisks
Paste the callback address into your aggregator's settings (see its guide under Connect an aggregator).
Dial from your phone
Dial the shortcode and go through every path on a real handset, ideally on more than one network.

Sandboxes

Africa's Talking has a free sandbox with an online phone simulator, so you can test against Asterisks without a live shortcode. See the Africa's Talking guide.

Watching live sessions

The Live sessions page in the dashboard lists sessions as they happen. Keep it open while you test on a real phone to see your test calls arrive.