Appium — Robot Framework Installation and Automation Testing Guide for IOS and Android App

3 min readFeb 13, 2025

Introduction

This guide will walk you through setting up Appium with the Robot Framework for automation testing on iOS and Android applications. It includes installation steps, configuration settings, and a sample test script to verify your setup.

Prerequisites

To use the Robot Framework with Appium, ensure you have the following installed:

Python (Required for Robot Framework)
Node.js and NPM (Required for Appium installation)
Java Development Kit (JDK) (For Android automation)
Android SDK (For Android testing)

1. Install Python and Robot Framework

The Robot Framework is an open-source test automation framework that requires Python.

brew install python
brew install pipx
pipx install robotframework 
pipx inject robotframework robotframework-appiumlibrary

pipx install robotframework - Installs the Robot Framework.
pipx inject robotframework robotframework-appiumlibrary - Injects the Appium library into Robot Framework.

2. Install Appium

Appium is a mobile automation framework that allows you to test applications on real devices and emulators.

Before installing Appium, set up the following environment variables:

ANDROID_HOME: Points to your Android SDK directory.
JAVA_HOME: Points to your Java installation.

Then, install Appium using:

npm install -g appium

3. Install Appium Drivers

Appium requires platform-specific drivers. For Android, install the uiautomator2 driver:

appium driver install uiautomator2
appium setup

To validate the installation, run:

appium driver doctor uiautomator2

This command checks if all necessary dependencies are correctly installed.

4. Install Appium Inspector

Download and install Appium Inspector to inspect UI elements of your application: Appium Inspector GitHub Releases

5. Run Appium Server

Start the Appium server with debugging enabled:

appium --log-level debug

This command launches the Appium server and logs detailed debug information for troubleshooting.

Writing a Test Script in Robot Framework

Create a test file named test_app.robot to verify if the application launches and contains a "Login" element.

Before running the script, ensure your test device is connected by running:

adb devices

If your device is detected, it will list the device ID, which should be assigned to ${DEVICE_NAME} in the script.

Sample Test Script (`test_app.robot`)

*** Settings ***
Library    AppiumLibrary*** Variables ***
${REMOTE_URL}       http://localhost:4723
${PLATFORM_NAME}    Android
${AUTOMATION_NAME}  UiAutomator2
${DEVICE_NAME}      29091JEGR05668
${APP_PACKAGE}      com.myapp.sample
${APP_ACTIVITY}     com.myapp.sample.MainActivity*** Test Cases ***
Open App and Verify
    Open Application    ${REMOTE_URL}
    ...    platformName=${PLATFORM_NAME}
    ...    automationName=${AUTOMATION_NAME}
    ...    deviceName=${DEVICE_NAME}
    ...    appPackage=${APP_PACKAGE}
    ...    appActivity=${APP_ACTIVITY}
    ...    noReset=${TRUE}
    ...    fullReset=${FALSE}
    Wait Until Page Contains    UpdateClose App
    Close Application

Run the test scrip using the below command

robot test_app.robot

Explanation of the Script

Open Application: Connects to Appium and launches the application.
Wait Until Page Contains “Login”: Verifies if the “Login” text is displayed on the screen.
Close Application: Closes the application after verification.

Setting Desired Capabilities in Appium Inspector

To inspect UI elements, configure Appium Inspector with the following settings:

Steps:

Open Appium Inspector

Download and launch Appium Inspector.

2. Set Connection Details

Remote Host: localhost
Remote Port: 4723
Path: / (For Appium 2.x)

3. Enter Desired Capabilities

Click on “JSON Representation” (bottom left).
Paste the following JSON:

{
  "platformName": "Android",
  "automationName": "UiAutomator2",
  "deviceName": "29091JEGR05668",
  "appPackage": "com.myapp.sample",
  "appActivity": "com.myapp.sample.MainActivity",
  "noReset": true,
  "fullReset": false
}

Once set up, you can inspect your application elements and automate testing efficiently using the Robot Framework with Appium.

Output Screens