Add sampler is missing in jmeter UI

I am a jmeter rookie. All the tutorials I am seeing about jmeter talk about adding sampler to the jmx script. However, I don't see Add -> Sampler option in the jmeter UI. I have tried jmeter 5.6.2, jmeter 3.3 and jmeter 2.13.

I am running jmeter on mac os ventura (Apple M2 processor). Using openjdk 17.

First you need to add Thread Group of your choice under Test Plan(By choosing Add->Threads(Users)), then you can add Samplers to Thread Group.

You need to add a Thread Group first, then the option for adding a sampler will be available via context menu:

Also be aware that you can just record your test scenario using HTTP(S) Test Script Recorder or JMeter Chrome Extension.

Samplers cannot be added to the root test plan element. They must be added to a thread group container. First, add a thread group to your test plan:

Then, you can add samplers as desired. These will be contained within the thread group as child elements:

JMeter offers many types of thread groups. Depending on what your intentions are for your load test, you may use any of the following thread groups to contain your samplers:

• Thread Group (default)
• Stepping Thread Group
• Ultimate Thread Group
• Concurrency Thread Group
• Arrivals Thread Group
• Free-Form Arrivals Thread Group
• Open Model Thread Group

For your specific use case, you will need to select the best thread group that matches your testing goals. For simple proof-of-concept tests, the default thread group will usually suffice. If you need to scale your test, or need to probe more complex scenarios, your test might benefit from an advanced thread group.