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Repository Management

Your Load Tester work is stored in a repository: the .wpt project file that contains your test cases, datasets, load configurations, and load test results. Over time, as you record new test cases and run load tests, the repository grows. Left unchecked, a large repository consumes excessive memory and slows down the application.

This guide shows you how to use the Repository Cleanup Wizard to remove old data, archive results, and keep your repository from becoming the bottleneck.

What's Stored in a Repository

A .wpt file (repository) contains everything you've created in Load Tester:

Resource Type Description Impact on Size
Test Cases Recorded HTTP transactions, URLs, and captured content High - recorded content can be large
Datasets CSV data files for parameterization Medium - depends on row count
Load Configurations Load profiles, user ramps, duration settings Low - mostly metadata
Load Test Results Metrics, logs, response times from completed tests Very High - grows with every test
Replay Results Single-user replay validation results Medium - accumulates over time

Load test results are by far the biggest contributor to repository bloat. A single 1-hour load test can generate hundreds of megabytes of metric data.

When to Clean Up Your Repository

You should run the Repository Cleanup Wizard when:

  • Load Tester feels slow - Large repositories consume more memory
  • Disk space is limited - Old results can fill your drive
  • You're archiving a project - Remove unnecessary data before long-term storage
  • Before sharing - Clean up internal test data before sending .wpt to others

Best practice: Run cleanup after completing major test milestones or before archiving projects.

Repository Cleanup Wizard

The Repository Cleanup Wizard guides you through removing old data while backing up everything first (in case you accidentally delete something important).

Step 1: Launch the Wizard

  1. Right-click on your repository in the Navigator View (left panel)
  2. Select: Tools → Cleanup

The wizard opens and guides you through the cleanup process.

Repository Cleanup Wizard

Step 2: Choose Backup Location

First, the wizard backs up your existing repository. This is strongly recommended because it's easy to accidentally remove something you need later.

  1. Browse to select a backup location (external drive or network location recommended)
  2. Name your backup (e.g., MyProject-backup-2026-02-11.wpt)
  3. Click: Next

Backup Location

Tip: Use dated backup names so you know which version is which (ProjectName-2026-02-11.wpt).

Step 3: Select What to Remove

The wizard presents several cleanup options. Choose what to remove based on your needs:

Test Cases Not Configured in a Load Profile

What it removes: Test cases that aren't part of any load configuration (standalone replays, experimental recordings).

When to remove: - ✅ You recorded multiple versions of a test case and only kept the final one - ✅ You have exploratory recordings you no longer need

When to keep: - ❌ You're still iterating on test cases - ❌ Test cases are used for single-user replay validation (not load tests)

Replays

What it removes: Single-user replay validation results (not load test results; those are separate).

When to remove: - ✅ You've already validated test cases and don't need replay history - ✅ Replay results are from old iterations of test cases

When to keep: - ❌ You're debugging correlation issues and need to compare replays - ❌ Replays document test case evolution

Response Content

What it removes: The captured HTTP response bodies from recording (HTML, JSON, images, etc.).

When to remove: - ✅ Test cases are fully configured and you don't need to view responses anymore - ✅ You're archiving finalized test cases

When to keep: - ❌ You're still configuring ASM (need response content for correlation) - ❌ You use Content View to inspect responses - ❌ You need to create new extractors or validation rules

⚠️ Warning: Removing response content disables: - Content View (can't inspect response bodies) - ASM auto-correlation (can't detect dynamic values) - Extractor creation (can't define new extractors)

Only remove response content from test cases that are completely configured.

Unused Datasets

What it removes: CSV datasets that are no longer referenced by any remaining test cases.

When to remove: - ✅ Always safe to remove. If no test case uses it, you don't need it

Load Test Results

What it removes: Results from previous load tests (metrics, logs, response times, server monitoring data).

When to remove: - ✅ You've analyzed results and exported reports you need - ✅ Old test results are no longer relevant (outdated infrastructure, old application versions)

When to keep: - ❌ You need to compare performance across test runs - ❌ Results document baseline performance or historical trends

Tip: Before removing load test results, export key reports or screenshots for documentation.

Step 4: Confirm and Clean Up

  1. Review your selections - The wizard shows what will be removed
  2. Click: Finish
  3. Wait for cleanup - The wizard backs up first, then removes selected data
  4. Verify success - Check that your repository is smaller and still contains what you need

How Much Space Will I Save?

Typical cleanup results:

What You Remove Typical Space Savings
Load test results (10 tests) 1-5 GB
Response content (50 test cases) 100-500 MB
Replay results (100 replays) 50-200 MB
Unused datasets and test cases 10-50 MB

Load test results are almost always the biggest space saver.

Best Practices

1. Back Up Before Cleanup (Always)

The wizard's backup step exists for a reason. Always create a backup before removing data. It takes seconds. Recreating accidentally deleted load test results takes hours you'll never get back.

2. Clean Up Regularly

Don't wait until your repository is huge. Clean up after major milestones:

  • ✅ After completing a load test campaign
  • ✅ Before archiving a project
  • ✅ Monthly for active projects

3. Export Reports Before Removing Results

Load test results contain detailed metrics that cannot be recreated once deleted. Before removing them:

  1. Export key reports (HTML, PDF, CSV)
  2. Take screenshots of important charts
  3. Document findings in project documentation

Once results are removed, you can't regenerate reports.

4. Keep Response Content Until Test Cases Are Finalized

Response content is needed for: - ASM auto-correlation - Creating extractors - Validation rule configuration - Content View inspection

Only remove response content from test cases that are completely configured and won't need further editing.

5. Archive Old Projects to External Storage

For completed projects you might need later:

  1. Clean up the repository (remove temporary data)
  2. Back up to external storage (network drive, external disk, cloud storage)
  3. Remove from local disk if space is limited

This keeps local storage clean while preserving historical projects.

Troubleshooting

Cleanup Wizard Not Appearing

Symptom: Right-click on repository → Tools menu doesn't show "Cleanup" option.

Possible causes: 1. Repository not open - Only open repositories show cleanup option 2. Read-only repository - Cleanup requires write access to .wpt file

Solution: Ensure repository is open and the .wpt file is writable (not read-only).

Backup Fails During Cleanup

Symptom: Wizard shows error when creating backup.

Possible causes: 1. Insufficient disk space at backup location 2. Network drive disconnected (if backing up to network) 3. Permission issues on backup destination

Solution: Choose a different backup location with sufficient space and write permissions.

Repository Still Large After Cleanup

Symptom: Cleaned up load test results but .wpt file size didn't decrease much.

Likely cause: Response content is still present (it's often larger than load test results).

Solution: If test cases are finalized, run cleanup again and remove response content.

Can't View Test Case Content After Cleanup

Symptom: Content View shows "Content not available" after cleanup.

Cause: You removed response content.

Solution: - If you need content back: Restore from backup created during cleanup - If test cases are finalized: This is expected; response content was intentionally removed

Quick Reference

Launch Cleanup Wizard: 1. Right-click repository in Navigator View 2. Select Tools → Cleanup

Safe to Remove: - ✅ Load test results (after exporting reports) - ✅ Unused datasets - ✅ Old replay results - ✅ Test cases not in load profiles (if no longer needed)

Remove with Caution: - ⚠️ Response content (only if test cases are fully configured)

Always: - ✅ Create backup before cleanup - ✅ Export reports before removing load test results