Can you explain what is meant by a flaky test and what are its main characteristics?

A flaky test is a test that sometimes passes and sometimes fails without any changes in the code or test environment. Its instability makes diagnosing real issues difficult.

Main features of flaky tests:

• Unpredictable results (intermittent failures).
• Often related to synchronization issues, timing, dependencies on external services or environment.
• Can mask real bugs or cause false positives.

Example: a test that checks page loading but sometimes fails due to network delays or asynchronous operations.

To combat flaky tests, the following are used:

• Improving the stability of the test environment.
• Using waits and timeouts.
• Isolating tests from external dependencies.