What AB Tasty traffic looks like
AB Tasty runs as one generic tag that fetches campaign config, buckets the visitor, applies DOM modifications, and reports back over collection endpoints.
- Endpoint pattern
- Tag from
try.abtasty.com/<hash>.js, withtag.abtasty.comserving tag infrastructure; collection calls go to endpoints onabtasty.comsubdomains - Transport
- Script load for the tag (implementations place it high in
<head>: slower placements widen the flicker window where original content is briefly visible), then JSON POSTs for collection - Key parameters
- Hit type distinguishing page views, campaign-assignment hits, and custom events · client/account ID · visitor ID · campaign ID + variation ID on assignment hits (the exposure event): no assignment hit, no traffic in the campaign report
- Cookies
ABTasty: stores the visitor's unique ID and a compact history of campaign/variation assignments
Debugging AB Tasty with Event Watcher
- Detects AB Tasty from its request URLs. Every tag load and collection call appears in the live stream with the platform's name and A/B testing category badge.
- No dedicated AB Tasty parser: requests show parsed query and body parameters rather than decoded sections, and campaign and variation IDs stay readable in the JSON body view.
- The per-event cookies section surfaces the
ABTastycookie. - Every collection call gets the consent verdict.
AB Tasty and consent
Functional consentThe extension checks AB Tasty against functional consent. The tag is frequently configured consent-aware (bucketing happens but hits queue until the CMP grants), so verify not "did the script load" but "when did the first collection call fire."
A hit carrying the visitor ID before the CMP decision shows as pre-consent and increments the violations counter; if the CMP releases AB Tasty entirely, the stream should show zero AB Tasty traffic until the grant.
Common debugging scenarios
- Campaign reports no traffic. Filter to AB Tasty and look for the assignment hit with the expected campaign ID. If only page-view hits appear, targeting conditions or traffic allocation are excluding the visitor.
- Visitor stuck in one variation. Read the
ABTastycookie in the cookies section; the stored assignment history explains why a returning visitor never re-buckets. - Flicker complaints. The Script Tree view confirms whether the tag is loaded from the page's own HTML or injected via a tag manager. Late injection widens the window where original content is visible.
- Custom event goals not counting. Confirm the event hit actually fires on the interaction and carries the expected event name in the body.
- Consent-mode verification. Walk the page with the CMP undecided, then accept, and compare pre/post AB Tasty traffic via the consent pivot in Grouped view. A second tool like VWO can be compared the same way.