Link Cycles & Test Cases

Link test cycles to your test plan and manage the test cases they contain for comprehensive coverage tracking.

Link Test Cycles

The primary way to populate a test plan is by linking existing test cycles. Linking a cycle does not copy or move it — it creates a reference so the plan can display the cycle's execution data alongside other linked items. The cycle itself remains fully independent and accessible from the Test Cycles tab as usual.

How to Link Cycles

Open the test plan by clicking its name in the plan list.
Click the Link Test Cycles button in the plan toolbar. A dialog opens showing all available test cycles in the project.
Browse or search the cycle list. You can filter by name to quickly find the cycles you need. Cycles that are already linked to this plan are visually indicated so you can avoid duplicates.
Select one or more cycles by checking the checkbox next to each. You can select multiple cycles in a single operation for efficient bulk linking.
Click Link to add the selected cycles to the plan. The cycles appear immediately in the plan's linked-cycles section with their current execution progress.

What Linking Means

Reference, not copy: Linking creates a reference to the cycle. The cycle's test cases, assignments, and statuses are not duplicated. The plan reads the cycle's live data.
Bi-directional sync: Any execution updates made within the cycle (from the Test Cycles tab) are automatically reflected in the plan's aggregated progress, and vice versa.
Multi-plan membership: A cycle can be linked to multiple plans simultaneously. For example, a "Core Regression" cycle might be linked to both the "v3.0 Release Plan" and the "Sprint 14 Plan".

Unlinking Cycles

To remove a cycle from the plan, click the Unlink button on the cycle's row within the plan. Unlinking removes the reference only — the cycle itself, its test cases, execution statuses, and history are completely unaffected. You can re-link the same cycle later if needed.

Unlinking a cycle removes its execution data from the plan's aggregated progress metrics. If the plan is being used for release-readiness decisions, ensure you intend to exclude that cycle's results before unlinking.

Bulk linking workflow: If you are setting up a release plan with many cycles, use the search filter to find cycles by naming convention (e.g., search for "v3.0" to find all cycles named with that version prefix), then select all matching cycles at once.

Manage Test Cases Across Cycles

Test cases enter a plan only through its linked cycles — the hierarchy is strictly Plan → Cycle → Case. There is no way to attach a standalone test case directly to a plan. When you link a cycle, every test case in that cycle automatically becomes part of the plan's aggregated view.

Working with the plan's test cases

A plan has four tabs — Test Cycles, Execute, Details and History. There is no consolidated Test Cases tab on a plan, so a plan's test cases are worked with inside their cycles:

To see them — open the plan's Test Cycles tab, which lists each linked cycle with its own progress, then open a cycle to see its test cases.
To assign testers — open the cycle's Test Cases tab, tick the cases and click Assignees. The assignment applies to that case in that cycle and shows up in every plan that links the cycle.
To execute — use the plan's Execute tab and choose the cycle you want to run. It opens the same execution interface as the cycle's own Execute tab.
To remove a case — unlink it from its cycle, on the cycle's Test Cases tab. The test case itself remains in your library.

For structured, repeatable test runs, organize your test cases into cycles and link those cycles to the plan. All case-level tracking, assignment, and progress then rolls up into the plan automatically.