Appium with Device Farm and UiAutomator

This project sets up an Appium server with the Device Farm plugin and UiAutomator2 driver installed. It provides an easy way to run automated mobile tests using Appium with Android devices.

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Table of Contents

1. Build Instructions
   • Building without Arguments
   • Building with Specific Arguments
2. Running Appium Server
   • Running on Default Configuration
   • Running with Custom Variables

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Build Instructions

Build without Arguments

To build the Docker image without any passing arguments, simply use:

docker build -t appium-device-farm .

This will use the default values for Node.js, npm, Appium, UiAutomator, and Device Farm versions, which are preconfigured in the Dockerfile.

Build with Specific Arguments

To build with specific versions of Node.js, npm, Appium, UiAutomator, or Device Farm, you can pass arguments during the build process. For example:

docker build --build-arg NODE_VERSION="16" \
             --build-arg NPM_VERSION="9" \
             --build-arg APPIUM_VERSION="2.12.1" \
             --build-arg UIAUTOMATOR_VERSION="3.8.0" \
             --build-arg DEVICE_FARM_VERSION="9.2.3" \
             -t appium-device-farm .

Replace the values in quotes with the versions you want to use.

Running Appium Server

Running on Default

To run the Appium server using the default settings (Appium on port 4723 with a keep-alive time of 600 ms), use:

docker run -d -p 4723:4723 appium-device-farm

This will start the Appium server with the default configuration, including the Device Farm plugin and UiAutomator driver.

Running with Custom Variables

If you want to run the Appium server with custom values for port or keep-alive time, you can pass environment variables when starting the container. For example:

docker run -d -p 4724:4724 -e APPIUM_PORT="4724" -e KEEP_ALIVE="60000" appium-device-farm

Variables Used in Build

Variable Name	Description	Default Value	Example Usage
BUILD_TOOLS_VERSION	The version of Android Build Tools to use for the build.	35.0.0	--build-arg BUILD_TOOLS_VERSION="35.0.0"
NODE_VERSION	The version of Node.js to install.	16	--build-arg NODE_VERSION="18"
NPM_VERSION	The version of npm to install.	10.9.0	--build-arg NPM_VERSION="9"
APPIUM_VERSION	The version of Appium to install.	2.12.1	--build-arg APPIUM_VERSION="2.13.0"
UIAUTOMATOR_VERSION	The version of the UiAutomator2 driver to install.	3.8.0	--build-arg UIAUTOMATOR_VERSION="3.9.0"
DEVICE_FARM_VERSION	The version of the Device Farm plugin to install in Appium.	9.2.3	--build-arg DEVICE_FARM_VERSION="9.3.0"

This will run the Appium server in the background and map the container's port 4723 to the host.

Variables Used in Run

Variable Name	Description	Default Value	Example Usage
APPIUM_PORT	The port on which the Appium server will run.	4723	-e APPIUM_PORT="4724"
KEEP_ALIVE	The keep-alive time for the Appium server in milliseconds.	600	-e KEEP_ALIVE="60000"

KEEP_ALIVE Variable

The KEEP_ALIVE variable sets the time (in milliseconds) that the Appium server will stay active without any incoming requests. This is also known as the keep-alive time. The keep-alive time ensures that the server does not shut down prematurely when there are no active test sessions.

• Default Value: 600 milliseconds.
• Custom Value: You can specify a custom time in milliseconds, depending on your use case. For example, if you want the server to stay active for only 60 seconds (60000 milliseconds) without any requests, you would set the value to 60000.

Conclusion

This project makes it easy to set up an Appium server with the Device Farm plugin and UiAutomator driver. You can build and run the server with default settings or customize the environment using arguments or environment variables.

For more advanced configurations or troubleshooting, feel free to modify the Dockerfile or scripts according to your needs.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.s