Get Started: Automating iOS Apps with Appium

Automating tests for iOS applications might seem daunting, but with Appium, it’s easier than you think! Appium is an open-source tool that allows you to write tests for iOS and Android mobile apps using web standards.

Initial Setup

Xcode Configuration

The first thing you need is to have Xcode installed on your machine. Xcode is the official development environment for iOS and comes with everything you need to develop and test iOS apps.

Appium Capabilities

Let’s configure the Appium capabilities to interact with your iOS application. Capabilities are like settings you tell Appium about your app and how you want it to be treated.

Here’s an example of the configuration in JavaScript using Appium:

const desiredCapabilities = {
  platformName: 'iOS',
  platformVersion: '14.0',
  deviceName: 'iPhone 11',
  app: 'path/to/your/app.app',
  automationName: 'XCUITest',
  // Optional: other configurations as needed
};

 

In this configuration:

• platformName indicates that we are targeting iOS.
• platformVersion is the iOS version you want to test.
• deviceName is the name of the device that Appium will simulate (in this case, iPhone 11).
• app is the path to your app in .app format.
• automationName is set to ‘XCUITest’ for iOS.

Simulator Setup

Before running your tests, you need to start an iOS simulator that matches the version you specified in platformVersion. You can do this through Xcode.

Writing the Tests

Now that you have the configuration ready, you can start writing your tests using a testing framework like Mocha or Jasmine. Here’s a simple example using Mocha and WebDriverIO:

const { remote } = require('webdriverio');

const config = {
  capabilities: desiredCapabilities,
  logLevel: 'error',
};

describe('My first automated test with Appium', () => {
  let client;

  before(async () => {
    client = await remote(config);
  });

  it('Should open the app and do something', async () => {
    // Open the app
    await client.init();

    // Here you can add your actions and assertions

    // Close the app
    await client.deleteSession();
  });
});

 

In this example, we’re opening the app, performing some action (which you should replace with your actual actions), and then closing it.

Conclusion

And that’s basically how you can set up and automate an iOS application using Appium! Remember to customize the capabilities and actions based on your app’s requirements.