Mobile testing on a remote device

Learn how to perform mobile testing on a remote device.

Remote devices allow testers to run their mobile applications on a wide range of real devices, emulators, and simulators without physically owning or connecting to each device. Remote devices for mobile testing are useful for cross-platform compatibility.

In Katalon Studio, you can configure and use remote devices for mobile app testing by setting up the desired capabilities for the remote device, such as the device type, platform version, and other specific configurations. This allows you to test your mobile applications on a variety of devices without the need to have them physically available.

To begin, you need to create a new test project. Afterwards, you need to set up your mobile testing environment for remote devices. See: Set up your mobile testing environment.

Set up your mobile testing environment

Creating a conducive testing environment is essential for conducting thorough and accurate mobile testing.

Setting up your mobile testing environment is the second step of the mobile testing workflow process.

Refer to the following links below to setting up your testing environment:

• Install the Appium server on your remote machine.

• Set up your webdrivers and dependencies:

  • For Android: Install and set up the UIAutomator2 webdriver.

  • For iOS: Install and set up the XCUITest Driver and dependencies.

Set up your remote device

Learn how to set up your remote device.

Setting up your remote device can be done via Project Settings. Here's how:

1. Go to Spy Mobile or Record Mobile > Remote Devices and click Edit.

   A Project Settings dialog appears.

   You can also go to Project > Settings > Desired Capabilities > Remote.

2. Enter the Remote server URL in the input field and select the Remote server type.

3. In Appium driver, select Android Driver for Android devices; or iOS Driver for iOS devices.

4. Click Add to input the desired capabilities for your remote device.

   1. For Android: Provide the platformName, platformVersion and deviceName capabilities as shown in the example below:

      Note:

      In a remote machine, type adb devices in Command Prompt to retrieve deviceName (Id of an Android device/simulator).

   2. For iOS: Provide the platformName, platformVersion, deviceName, and udid capabilities.

      Note:

      In a remote machine, type idevice_id -l in Terminal to retrieve udid (id of an iOS device/simulator).

5. Click Apply and Close.

You can now start recording a mobile test case. See: Record a mobile test case.

Record a mobile test case

This is a basic tutorial on how to begin mobile testing with Katalon Studio with completely new users in mind. Here you will learn how to create and execute your first test case.

Before you proceed with this step, ensure you have set up the

1. On the main toolbar, click Record Mobile and then select Remote Devices.
   
2. In the Configurations section in the Mobile Recorder dialog, click Edit to configure a remote device. See Set up your remote device.
3. Enter Application Path/ID.
   Application Path/ID is the path to the downloadable link of the app or the ID of the application file (.apk; .ipa) after being uploaded to the cloud.

   If the Application Path/ID is not specified, Katalon Studio will start the application on the device defined in the Desired Capabilities settings.

4. Click Start to begin recording your test case. Two things will happen:
   1. You AUT is launched.
   2. The Device View and All Objects of the Mobile Recorder window are now ready for you to interact with the application.
5. Use any of the supported actions under the Available Actions to simulate an action, or perform the action in Device View.
   Some of the supported actions in the Available Actions section may be grayed out according to your AUT.
6. When selecting a specific object in the Device View section, Katalon Studio also selects the corresponding object in the All Objects section.
7. You may check the Recorded Actions tab under the Configurations section to view the recorded actions.
8. You may check the Captured Objects tab under the Configurations section to view all test objects captured and their properties.
   
9. When you are done recording your mobile test case, click the Stop icon above the Configurations section to close the application and finish recording.
   1. Click Save Script to to save the captured objects.
   2. In the displayed Folder Browser window, create a new folder or select an existing folder in Object Repository and click OK.
10. Add the recorded test steps to a new test case, append to or overwrite an existing one.
    

You have created and executed your mobile test case on a remote device. To edit your mobile test case, see: Edit mobile test case.

Edit mobile test case

Editing a mobile test case can be done using a manual editor or via script view, and utilizing supported keywords.

Editing test cases in Katalon Studio can be done via manual view or script view as we have demonstrated previously. Simply access the Test Case Editor and follow the steps:

1. In the Manual tab, use the menu items or edit inline to add or edit your keywords.

2. In the Script tab, you can use the Content Assist function to edit the test case, of which has been converted into Groovy script. For mobile tests, we have mobile built-in keywords that you can access by typing the group keyword first (Mobile.).

Execute and debug mobile test case

Learn how to execute and debug your newly recorded mobile test case.

See the following links on how to execute and debug your mobile test case:

1. Execute and debug mobile test case

   1. Make sure that you have configured your preferred execution settings. See: Configure execution settings.

2. Debug a test case in Katalon Studio - There are at least four solutions how:

   1. Run from here

   2. Enable or Disable Steps

   3. Debug mode

   4. Run from here