How to Use Appium Inspector for Mobile App Testing Tutorial

Tired of wrangling with test scripts for your native and mobile apps? Consider a more straightforward approach. Enter Appium Inspector, a game-changing graphical interface tool. It's a magic wand for testers, developers, and quality assurance analysts. Imagine being able to explore your app's ins and outs – interacting with buttons, fields, and more – all while making testing a breeze. 

Whether you're a seasoned tester or just starting out, this Appium Inspector testing guide is for you. 

Appium Inspector is a Graphical User Interface (GUI) tool that allows you to automate the process of inspecting, testing, and debugging mobile apps with Appium. It is powered by the Appium server, which is a tool for automated mobile app testing. Appium Inspector is especially useful when finding GUI element locators for writing Appium test scripts. It is also a good tool for debugging Appium test scripts.

Appium Inspector works by connecting to an Appium server, acting as a visual interface to allow you – the tester – to interact with the app running on a real device or emulator through point-and-click actions. Using Appium Inspector, you can explore the app UI, find elements and their properties, and generate test scripts in your language of choice. The best part is that you don't need any programming knowledge to get started. You just point, click, and swipe.

In case you are wondering how this happens, here is how Appium Inspector works:

Appium Inspector is a free, open-source tool that allows you to inspect native and hybrid mobile apps. It gives you an easy way to explore and test your app without having to build automation scripts.

Some of the main features and benefits of Appium Inspector are:

Before starting to run tests on Appium Inspector, we first need to get familiar with its interface. As we have already established, Appium Inspector allows you to record, screenshot,  and playback tests without needing to write a single line of code – so the UI navigation comes in handy here.

The Appium Inspector interface is made up of a few main parts:

Before you dive into testing, ensure that you have the following:

 npm install -g appium

Since we already have our Appium Desktop Inspector open and launched, the next step requires us to connect it to our calculator application (which is open in our Visual Studio). 

We will then inspect and select the various elements we intend to test (in this case, that means addition, subtraction, and multiplication calculator operations). To achieve this, we have to examine and take note of the ID, name, and XPath of the buttons because these properties are crucial for the Appium Inspector to perform the testing. 

This should have our Appium Inspector interface looking like this:

After this, we are ready to record our first test by interacting with the calculator interface. We will be tapping the elements, entering texts, scrolling, etc.

Every action is recorded by the Appium Inspector desktop client. When launched, the Windows application driver looks like this:

Inside our Program.cs file, we will write a short piece of C# code to test the addition functionality such that when a user clicks 1 + 2, the result should be 3. 

This happens after initializing the Appium WebDriver, which Appium Inspector will use. The entire test script will look like this:

using System; using System.Collections.Generic; using System.Linq; using System.Threading.Tasks; using System.Windows.Forms; using OpenQA.Selenium.Appium; using OpenQA.Selenium.Appium.Windows; namespace Win_CalcUI {     static class Program     {         /// <summary>         /// The main entry point for the application.         /// </summary>         [STAThread]         static void Main()         {             Application.EnableVisualStyles();             Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);             Application.Run(new CalculatorUI());             // Define Appium Options             var appiumOptions = new AppiumOptions();             appiumOptions.AddAdditionalCapability("app","Microsoft.WindowsCalculator_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App");             appiumOptions.AddAdditionalCapability("platformName", "Windows");             // Create Appium Windows Driver             WindowsDriver<WindowsElement> driver = new WindowsDriver<WindowsElement>(new Uri("http://127.0.0.1:4723"), appiumOptions);                 // Find and Click Number Buttons                 WindowsElement btn1 = driver.FindElementByAccessibilityId("num1Button");                 WindowsElement btn2 = driver.FindElementByAccessibilityId("num2Button");                 WindowsElement btnPlus = driver.FindElementByAccessibilityId("plusButton");                 WindowsElement btnEquals = driver.FindElementByAccessibilityId("equalButton");                 btn1.Click();                 btnPlus.Click();                 btn2.Click();                 btnEquals.Click();             if (driver == null)             {                 Console.WriteLine("App not started.");                 return;             }             //Taking test screenshots             driver.Manage().Window.Maximize();             var screenShot = driver.GetScreenshot();             screenShot.SaveAsFile(             $".\\Screenshot{DateTime.Now.ToString("ddMMyyyyhhmmss")}.png",             OpenQA.Selenium.ScreenshotImageFormat.Png);             // Find and Verify Result             WindowsElement resultText = driver.FindElementByAccessibilityId("CalculatorResults");                 string actualResult = resultText.Text;                 string expectedResult = "Display is 3";                 if (actualResult == expectedResult)                 {                     Console.WriteLine("Test Passed!");                 }                 else                 {                     Console.WriteLine("Test Failed!");                 }                       driver.Quit();             }         } }

The results of a successful test look like this (since the calculator button digit for three has been pressed for addition):

As you can see, this passes (because we keyed in buttons 1 + 2 to get a result of 3).

If we click other buttons, the test will fail. The Appium tests did not pass because the calculator buttons were not clicked correctly. The output window will show the message "Test Failed" to indicate this.

Failed script? Don't fret – if your test script encounters issues, Appium Inspector comes to the rescue with debugging.

While it’s quite useful for automation testing, Appium Inspector does have some limitations (like any other technology tool).

Appium Inspector is limited to inspecting mobile apps that are compatible with Appium. This means that it cannot be used to inspect apps that are not written in native code or that do not use the WebDriver protocol. Remember, if Appium doesn't give its nod to a device, app, or emulator, Inspector won't cooperate either. For broader app coverage, turn to Xcode, Android Studio, or Sauce Labs Inspector.

Appium Inspector currently only works for mobile web and native apps. It doesn’t support other types of apps like hybrid, Ionic, or React Native apps. So, if you need to test those types of apps, Inspector won’t work – and you’ll need a different solution.

Appium Inspector requires manual installation on each tester's local machine – unlike other tools like Sauce Lab’s Inspector, which leverages cloud-based testing without any local setup. This local setup can slow down the entire testing process and create silos within the testing teams. 

Given that Appium Inspector only allows you to interact with one app at a time, it limits workflow automation that involves switching between multiple apps. In contrast, tools like Perfecto and TestComplete excel in seamless testing across multiple apps, enabling the validation of interconnected workflows (such as fund transfers between different apps).

When using Appium Inspector, follow these best practices to get the most out of this useful tool:

Before diving into the Inspector, have a solid test plan in place that outlines your testing scope and objectives. Know what features and functionality you want to test on the app. This will make your inspection more focused and efficient.

Appium Inspector allows you to take screenshots during test recording and playback. You can also record locator values, attributes, observations, or anything else that would be useful when writing tests. Take advantage of this to visually verify the state of your app during testing. Your inspection documentation and screenshots also come in handy when debugging failed tests and building automation test coverage.

When creating locators to find elements, use the attributes that are least likely to change, like accessibility ID, XPath, or class name. Avoid using attributes like text content, index, or CSS selectors, which can easily change and break your tests.

For larger test suites, it's best to organize your tests using the Page Object Model. This keeps your tests DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) by storing locators and methods for pages in your app in page object classes. Your tests then interact with these page objects.

Interact with as many elements as possible. Tap buttons, enter text, swipe, and scroll. This helps ensure you have the right locators and also gives context about how elements function and relate to each other.

This guide examined the core of mobile app testing using Appium Inspector. We set it up on Windows, explored recording features, and delved into inspecting app elements.

But hold on, we're just scratching the surface! There's a whole world of testing tools waiting. Get started with Appium on Sauce Labs or dive in and find what suits your team. And here's the kicker – Sauce Labs has your back. From Appium Inspector to a range of mobile testing tools, we've got you covered. With cross-platform and cross-browser testing, your app's performance is in safe hands.