---
title: "Test Preview"
slug: "test-preview"
description: "Explore the Test Preview page in Kentik to check protocols and configurations without using credits, ensuring instant results and easy adjustments."
updated: 2026-07-02T04:01:37Z
published: 2026-07-02T04:01:37Z
canonical: "kb.kentik.com/test-preview"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://kb.kentik.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Test Preview

This article covers the **Test Preview** page, which is part of Kentik’s [**Tests**](/v1/docs/tests-page) page.

![A Test Preview with results showing various agents and their performance metrics.](https://cdn.us.document360.io/082e25b5-afce-42d4-8f47-70bd3f1d02b7/Images/Documentation/SYN-test-preview.png)

*The Test Preview page approximates the results of a test of same type.*

The **Test Preview** page, visible only to Admin users while adding or editing a test, allows you to check various protocols and configurations before saving a new test.

> [!WARNING]
> **Important**: Once a new test has been saved, many settings are locked and can't be modified.

To open a Test Preview, click the **Preview** button at the top of an [**Add/Edit Test Settings**](/v1/docs/test-settings-reference) page. The preview opens in a new browser tab, allowing you to tweak settings in the original tab and generate new previews as needed.

## **Key Differences from Standard Tests**

While the Test Preview page shares the same core UI as a standard Test Details page, it behaves differently in several key ways:

- **No Credit Usage:** Running a Test Preview does not consume any of your monthly test credits.
- **Instant Results:** While a newly saved test takes a few minutes to start returning data, a Test Preview returns results almost immediately.
- **Point-in-Time Snapshot:** A preview only records data for the exact moment it was created. Results that depend on sustained testing over time (such as rolling averages) are not included.
- **No Alerts:** Previews do not trigger notifications or impact the **Incident List** on the [**Synthetics Dashboard**](/v1/docs/synthetics-dashboard).

> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** Test Previews are not available for Autonomous tests. For BGP Monitor tests, clicking **Preview** opens the BGP Route Viewer instead.

## **Test Preview UI**

Because previews do not track historical data, the **Time Range** selector and **Alert Timeline** found on standard test pages are **excluded**. Instead, the top of the page features preview-specific controls:

- ![Buttons for running preview and saving test with credit usage information displayed.](https://cdn.us.document360.io/082e25b5-afce-42d4-8f47-70bd3f1d02b7/Images/Documentation/SYN-test-preview-save-rerun.png)**Run Preview Again:** Executes the test preview again within the same browser tab to fetch a fresh snapshot.
- **Save Test:** Saves the configuration and officially starts the test.
- **Credit Usage Estimate:** Located just below the **Save** button, this indicates exactly how many monthly credits the test will consume if saved with its current settings.

### **Data Section**

The core results of the preview are presented in a unified **Data** section. Depending on the test type, you can toggle between inline views such as:

- **Mesh:** A matrix displaying instantaneous latency, jitter, and packet loss across agent combinations.
- **Agents:** A detailed table listing the performance metrics of the agents for this specific snapshot.
- **Traceroute:** A graphical representation of the hop-by-hop path taken from source to destination during the preview.
- **Map:** A geographic visualization of the agents and targets involved.
- **Test Timestamp:** An indicator directly above the Data section displaying the exact UTC time the preview was executed.

### **Test Config Summary**

Located below the Data section, the **Test Config** panel provides a quick-reference summary of the proposed test's settings, including Test Type, Status, Frequency, IP Family, and Alert/Health configurations.