# Incremental Reporting

Incremental reporting ensures that each run of `npm run report` only sends test executions that have not already been reported, preventing duplicate submissions to SeaLights.

## How It Works

Each test stage has its own **last-reported timestamp** tracked in the tool's local state. When a report runs:

1. For each test stage, the tool reads the last-reported timestamp
2. It fetches only test executions from qTest that occurred **after** that timestamp
3. After a successful report, the timestamp is updated to the current time

On the first run for a new test stage (no timestamp yet), the tool falls back to the `--days` window as the starting point.

```
First run (stage "Regression"):
  No timestamp → use --days fallback (default: 7 days)
  Report executions from: [now - 7 days] to [now]
  Save timestamp: [now]

Second run (next day):
  Timestamp: [yesterday at time X]
  Report executions from: [yesterday at time X] to [now]
  Save timestamp: [now]
```

## The --days Flag

The `--days` flag controls two different things depending on whether incremental or full mode is active:

| Mode                      | `--days` behavior                                                      |
| ------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Incremental** (default) | Sets the fallback window for test stages that have never been reported |
| **Full** (`--full`)       | Sets the date range for all stages, ignoring saved timestamps          |

```bash
# Incremental: new stages fall back to 14-day window
npm run report -- --days 14

# Full: report all stages for the last 30 days
npm run report -- --full --days 30
```

## When to Use Full Mode

Use `--full` in these situations:

* **Re-reporting**: A previous report failed or was incomplete and you need to re-send data
* **Configuration change**: You changed test stage names or mapping and want to re-report with the new structure
* **Data correction**: SeaLights data for a period needs to be refreshed

```bash
npm run report -- --full --days 30
```

{% hint style="warning" %}
Full mode re-sends all test executions in the date range, which may result in duplicate data in SeaLights if the same executions have already been processed. Use it intentionally, not as a routine option.
{% endhint %}

## Why This Matters for Test Optimization

The SeaLights Test Optimization model improves over time as more test execution data is reported. Incremental reporting ensures:

* **Consistent daily feedback loop** — SeaLights receives fresh execution data regularly, allowing the model to refine its recommendations based on recent testing activity
* **No noise from duplicates** — Duplicate test submissions would distort the coverage data that drives Test Optimization decisions
* **Correct "last reported" state** — The recommendations wizard uses the last-reported timestamp to validate that the model has recent enough data before applying recommendations

For best results, schedule `npm run report` to run at least daily. See [CI/CD Integration](https://docs.sealights.io/knowledgebase/setup-and-configuration/integrations/qtest-integration/ci-cd-integration).