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This guide walks through everything needed to go from a fresh sign-in to your first test run.
1

Sign in

Open your Watchtower workspace and sign in. If you don’t have an account yet, use the sign-up link on the same screen to create one.Watchtower keeps you signed in across visits, so you land straight on your Dashboard the next time you open it.
2

Connect your repository

On a brand-new workspace, the sidebar shows a Connect Codebase button instead of the usual sync button. Click it to open Configuration, then go to the CI / Repos tab.Click Connect GitHub and follow the prompts to install Watchtower’s GitHub App on your account or organization, then choose the repositories you want it to access.
If your repository can’t use the GitHub App (for example, a self-hosted GitLab setup), the CI / Repos tab also has manual setup instructions for GitHub Actions and GitLab CI. See Connecting a Repository.
3

Choose a test source

Right after connecting, Watchtower asks which repo should feed Test Center, the one whose Playwright or Cypress spec files it should track. Pick a repository, or choose None (Watchman analysis only) if you only want AI review of pull requests without a tracked test inventory.You can connect additional repositories later and switch the test source at any time from Configuration → CI / Repos.
4

Sync your codebase

Click Sync Codebase in the sidebar. Watchtower scans your test source for spec files and imports them into folders that mirror your repository’s structure. Re-run sync any time; it also runs automatically whenever you load the app or reconnect a repository.
5

Set up your environments

If your team tests against more than one environment (staging, production, etc.), add them under Configuration → Codebase → Environments. Environments show up as filters throughout Watchtower and as a picker when you run Patrol.
6

Run your first Patrol

Open Test Center → Patrol, choose a test suite (or leave it on All Tests), and click Run Patrol. Results stream into the console live, and pass/fail counts land on your Dashboard as soon as the run finishes.

What’s next

Navigating Watchtower

Get familiar with the sidebar, top bar, and main views.

Test Center

Learn how tests are organized, prioritized, and triaged.