Happy path
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What is Happy path?
The happy path is the ideal route through a feature, where every input is valid and every step succeeds. It is the first thing to build and the last thing to rely on.
The best-case user journey where everything works as intended, with no errors, delays, or unusual edge cases.
The happy path is the straightforward version of a process: the user enters the expected data, the system behaves correctly, and the result is successful. It is useful for design and demos, but it is not the whole story.
How it relates to Orbit
Orbit checks more than the happy path: the validation pass flags a run that claims success without a real change. See Ghost Ships & Validation for details.
When you would use it
You use happy path when you want to describe the normal success route before considering failures and exceptions.
Common operations
- Designing a first-pass flow
- Demonstrating a feature quickly
- Writing a basic test case
Frequently asked questions
What is the opposite of the happy path?
The sad path, or unhappy path: everything that happens when a step fails.
Why is testing only the happy path risky?
Because users hit errors, slow networks and bad input every day, and the sad path is where most bugs live.
Related terms
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Where this is taught
No learning path uses this term yet. Browse the Learning Atlas for guided sequences through related ideas.