Mobile aррs have beсome an integral рart of our daily lives. As рer reрorts, mobile aрр downloads have seen massive growth in reсent years, with 204 billion aррs downloaded in 2019 alone. This meteoriс rise has fueled innovation and сomрetition among aрр develoрers.
However, with сutthroat сomрetition, the need to frequently uрgrade aррs and ensure seamless рerformanсe aсross deviсes is also at an all-time high. This is where Aррium сomes into the рiсture. Aррium is an oрen-sourсe test automation framework for native, hybrid and mobile web aррs. It allows you to automate UI testing for iOS, Android and Windows aррs using the same API.
In this сomрrehensive Aррium Tutorial, we will walk you through the entire рroсess of setting uр mobile test automation from sсratсh.
Why Automate Mobile Testing?
Let’s first understand why automating mobile app testing is critical:
- With shorter release cycles, automation enables continuous testing without heavily relying on manual efforts. You can run automated UI tests overnight or in parallel, allowing faster feedback.
- Automating repetitive tasks like smoke tests, sanity checks and regression testing frees up QA resources who can instead focus on exploratory testing.
- Automation provides consistent and reliable test execution unaffected by human errors. Tests can be run unattended even when engineers are taking а break.
- With support for different languages and frameworks like Java, Python, C#, JavaScript, Ruby and more, Appium allows leveraging existing skill sets for test automation.
Understanding Key Components
As а beginner in Appium, understanding its architecture can help you effectively use its capabilities:
1. Appium Server: This server written in Node.js listens for automation requests from clients and forwards to appropriate frameworks based on OS – like UIAutomator2 for Android and XCUITest for iOS.
2. Test Runner: This refers to the test framework like TestNG, JUnit, Pytest etc. along with Appium libraries that execute tests by sending requests to server.
3. Appium Clients: These include inspector tools or test code in languages communicating desired capabilities and tests to Appium server via REST APIs.
4. Mobile Platforms: Appium supports automation for different mobile platforms like Android, iOS and works seamlessly with emulators, simulators and real devices connected to machines.
With these building blocks in place, testers can write automation code to interact with on-device apps similar to real user actions.
Steps to Set Up Appium
Let’s look at the step-by-step process to set up Appium.
Step 1: Install Appium Server
Appium server needs to be installed on the system which will execute the test automation scripts.
You can install Appium desktop application which bundles the server along with Inspector UI and deployment features. It is available for Windows, Mac and Linux from GitHub releases.
Simply download the latest Appium server appropriate for your OS, extract the .zip file and you are good to go. Appium server requires Node.js and native appium Drivers to be configured additionally based on mobile platform.
Step 2: Set up SDKs and Emulators
Appium relies on native automation frameworks like UIAutomator and XCUITest to drive on-device testing. So Android SDK and Xcode are prerequisites on Windows and Mac machines respectively.
You would also need emulators like Android Studio’s AVD Manager or Xcode Simulator configured to test apps if devices are unavailable.
Step 3: Import Appium Libraries
Appium client libraries should be imported into the test code based on selected language and test runner.
For example, “io.appium” packages need to be imported into Java along with TestNG/JUnit frameworks and “appium-python-client” Python package for Pytest.
Step 4: Configure Desired Capabilities
Desired capabilities provide key-value pairs for server to detect devices, differentiate platforms and know exact test configuration required.
These include device name, platform name, platform version, app location in system, automation framework etc. based on Android and iOS.
Step 5: Start Appium Server
Once the set up is complete, Appium server can be started to listen for new test execution requests coming from test runners.
You can configure it as а Windows service to keep running or use Appium Desktop to manually start/stop server when required.
Step 6: Run Automated UI Tests
Finally everything is in place to begin automating our mobile app testing. Tests can focus on critical user workflows spanning different functionality providing confidence for CI/CD deployments.
Some key things to track in mobile test automation are UI transitions, touch actions like taps, swipes, pinches and validations to ensure robust app behavior. Tests can also capture screenshots or videos for reporting defects early.
By following these steps, either developers or testers with some programming expertise can set up automation from the ground up for Android and iOS apps using Appium. Let’s look at how LambdaTest as а smart cloud based platform can further simplify mobile testing.
Achieving Cross Browser Test Coverage with LambdaTest
While Testing Mobile apps, Appium delivers exceptional test automation support across mobile OS platforms like Android and iOS. However, for web apps accessible across mobile and desktop browsers, Appium capabilities need to be combined with complementary frameworks.
This is where using LambdaTest’s online Selenium grid for cross-browser testing fills an important gap. LambdaTest offers access to а freshly updated grid of 3000+ browser and OS combos – spanning across Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari and more.
Teams can leverage LambdaTest’s Selenium integration to ensure web apps deliver seamless experiences across this vast browser territory – beyond the limitations of Chrome and Firefox. From identifying rendering inconsistencies to catching browser-specific bugs, LambdaTest complements Appium test automation helping achieve true cross-browser coverage.
Exploring LambdaTest Capabilities
While open source Appium offers unmatched flexibility, setting it up on-premises can be complex for teams starting out. Configuring simulators/emulators, devices connectivity, test execution reporting – all add to effort and time before you can begin meaningful test automation.
This is where LambdaTest comes into the picture with its next-gen smart Test Automation platform, tightly integrated with Appium to offer the best cloud experience.
Let’ Machine Learning Do The Heavy Lifting
LambdaTest Auto-assist feature leverages advanced ML to analyze your Appium test scripts on upload and automatically configure optimal smart sessions based on capability requirements. This takes away typical desired capability tuning effort for testers.
Further, Kane AI assists you in planning, expanding and maintaining test automation coverage providing actionable recommendations on missing user journeys, repetitive test flows etc.
LambdaTest cloud enables parallel test execution maximizing velocity of test cycles unmatched by on-prem setups. Appium tests are run on 3000+ real mobile devices and browsers available on-demand boosting release confidence.
Developer Friendly Integrations
LambdaTest offers seamless CI/CD integrations with Github, GitLab, BitBucket etc allowing developers to trigger automated mobile tests pre and post app deployments. Intuitive reports and debugging tools help resolve issues faster.
Real Time Collaboration
With LambdaTest, teams can raise defects or requirements on the fly backed by image, text, video proof to collaborate effectively. Share test status, track progress and stay aligned on business goals.
Offering the most intuitive cloud experience combined with smarter test intelligence capabilities, LambdaTest aims to streamline test automation helping developers build robust and cutting edge mobile apps. Over 500,000+ users globally now perform faster test orchestration achieving up to 70% quicker time to market.
LambdaTest provides built-in integration with Appium for mobile app test automation. To get started:
- Sign up for а LambdaTest account at www.lambdatest.com. Choose the App Automation plan.
1.1. Go to the LambdaTest website and click on the “Start Free Testing” button. This will take you to the signup page.
1.2. Provide your name, email address, password and complete the captcha to create your account.
1.3. After signup, choose the App Automation plan which allows running Appium automation scripts. They offer various plans for mobile app testing to choose from as per your needs.
- Download and setup Appium on your local machine. LambdaTest is compatible with Appium versions 1.6.0 and above.
2.1. Go to the Appium downloads page and download the latest Appium desktop app for your operating system. As of writing, the latest version is v1.22.3.
2.2. Install Appium on your machine by running the downloaded installer. It will set up the Appium server and Appium Inspector apps.
2.3. Optionally, you can also install Appium via NPM for coding in NodeJS. Run `npm install -g appium@latest` to get the latest version.
2.4. LambdaTest supports connecting to Appium v1.6.0 and newer versions for cloud testing. So confirm your Appium meets this requirement.
- Configure the test capabilities in the Appium script based on your app and platforms to test.
3.1. Set desired capabilities like platformName (iOS/Android), platformVersion, deviceName, app, appPackage etc. as per the app under test.
3.2. Specify your LambdaTest username, access key and server URL to point the tests to LambdaTest cloud −
# LambdaTest Credentials
username = “YOUR_USERNAME”
access_key = “YOUR ACCESS KEY”
# Appium Server Url
server_url = “https://” + username + “:” + access_key + “@hub.lambdatest.com/wd/hub”
3.3. For sample code, refer to the sample github repos and documentation on the LambdaTest website for your language.
4. Trigger the Appium script to run the tests on the LambdaTest cloud.
4.1. Once the capabilities are set, initialize the Appium driver using the LambdaTest server URL configured earlier.
4.2. In your test script, add the test cases or scenarios you want to automate on real devices.
4.3. Execute the test script. It will now run the automated UI test flows on real devices hosted on LambdaTest.
4.4. View detailed test reports, screenshots and debugging information on the LambdaTest platform to analyze the test execution.
Summing Up
This comprehensive guide to “Appium Tutorial for Beginners” should provide а clear overview of the mobile test automation landscape and how to leverage capabilities of open source frameworks like Appium combined with cloud platforms like LambdaTest for scale, speed and productivity.
So whether you are just getting started or looking to strengthen existing skills, this Appium beginners tutorial covering key concepts across the test automation journey will help you hit the ground running!
