How to install apps in Real Devices using Custom App ID on LambdaTest using Appium & NodeJS Language

While performing app automation testing with Appium on LambdaTest Grid, you might face a scenario where the APP ID generated by you is lost/confusing since it looks something like this - lt://APP123456789123456789. You can easily change this to something readable like this - Proverbial Android v1.56. Let's quickly learn how to achieve this.

Setting Up Your Authentication

Make sure you have your LambdaTest credentials with you to run test automation scripts on LambdaTest. To obtain your access credentials, purchase a plan or access the Automation Dashboard.

Set LambdaTest Username and Access Key in environment variables.

For Linux/macOS:

export LT_USERNAME="YOUR_LAMBDATEST_USERNAME" \
export LT_ACCESS_KEY="YOUR_LAMBDATEST_ACCESS_KEY"

For Windows:

set LT_USERNAME="YOUR_LAMBDATEST_USERNAME" `
set LT_ACCESS_KEY="YOUR_LAMBDATEST_ACCESS_KEY"

Upload Your Application

Upload your iOS application (.ipa file) or android application (.apk file) to the LambdaTest servers using our REST API. You need to provide your Username and AccessKey in the format Username:AccessKey in the cURL command for authentication. Make sure to add the path of the appFile in the cURL request. Here is an example cURL request to upload your app using our REST API: Using App File: Linux/macOS:

curl -u "YOUR_LAMBDATEST_USERNAME:YOUR_LAMBDATEST_ACCESS_KEY" \
--location --request POST 'https://manual-api.lambdatest.com/app/upload/realDevice' \
--form 'name="Android_App"' \
--form 'appFile=@"/Users/macuser/Downloads/proverbial_android.apk"' \
--form 'custom_id="ENTER_CUSTOM_ID_HERE"'

Windows:

curl -u "YOUR_LAMBDATEST_USERNAME:YOUR_LAMBDATEST_ACCESS_KEY" -X POST "https://manual-api.lambdatest.com/app/upload/realDevice" -F "appFile=@"C:\Users\varunkumarb\Downloads\proverbial_android.apk"" -F "custom_id=ENTER_CUSTOM_ID_HERE"

Using App URL: Linux/macOS:

curl -u "YOUR_LAMBDATEST_USERNAME:YOUR_LAMBDATEST_ACCESS_KEY" \
--location --request POST 'https://manual-api.lambdatest.com/app/upload/realDevice' \
--form 'name="Android_App"' \
--form 'url="https://prod-mobile-artefacts.lambdatest.com/assets/docs/proverbial_android.apk"' \
--form 'custom_id="ENTER_CUSTOM_ID_HERE"'

For Windows:

curl --location --request POST "https://manual-api.lambdatest.com/app/upload/realDevice" -u "YOUR_LAMBDATEST_USERNAME:YOUR_LAMBDATEST_ACCESS_KEY" --header "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" --data-urlencode "url=https://prod-mobile-artefacts.lambdatest.com/assets/docs/proverbial_android.apk" --data-urlencode "name=teest" --data-urlencode "custom_id=ENTER_CUSTOM_ID_HERE"

Example using a Custom App ID

curl -u "YOUR_LAMBDATEST_USERNAME:YOUR_LAMBDATEST_ACCESS_KEY" \
--location --request POST 'https://manual-api.lambdatest.com/app/upload/realDevice' \
--form 'name="Android_App"' \
--form 'url="https://prod-mobile-artefacts.lambdatest.com/assets/docs/proverbial_android.apk"' \
--form 'custom_id="Proverbial Android v1.56"'

Tip:

• If you do not have any .apk or .ipa file, you can run your sample tests on LambdaTest by using our sample 🔗 Android app or sample 🔗 iOS app.
• Response of above cURL will be a JSON object containing the App URL of the format - lt://APP123456789123456789 and will be used in the next step.
• Alternatively you can also use the Custom ID that you defined in your own words.

Run Your First Test

Once you are done with the above-mentioned steps, you can initiate your first NodeJS test on LambdaTest.

Configuring Your Test Capabilities

You can update your custom capabilities in test scripts. In this sample project, we are passing platform name, platform version, device name and app url (generated earlier) along with other capabilities like build name and test name via capabilities object. The capabilities object in the sample code are defined as:

var wd = require("wd")
var assert  = require("assert");
var asserter = wd.asserters;
username = (process.env.LT_USERNAME == undefined) ? "username" //Enter the username here
        : process.env.LT_USERNAME
accesskey = (process.env.LT_ACCESS_KEY == undefined) ? "access_key" //Enter the access_key here
        : process.env.LT_ACCESS_KEY
desired_capabilities = {
    'deviceName':'Galaxy S20',
    'platformVersion':'11',
    'platformName':'android',
    'isRealMobile':true,
    //Enter the Custom_ID here that was used to upload your application
    'app':'ENTER_CUSTOM_ID_HERE', //Enter the app_url here
    'visual':true,
    'video': true,
}
driver = wd.promiseRemote(`https://${username}:${accesskey}@mobile-hub.lambdatest.com/wd/hub`)
async function Androidtest(){
try {
driver.init(desired_capabilities)
.then(function(){
    return driver.waitForElementById('color',10000)
})
.then(function(colorButton){
    return colorButton.click();
})
.then(function(){
    return driver.waitForElementById('Text',10000)
})
.then(function(text){
    text.click()
    return driver.waitForElementById('toast',10000)
})
.then(function(toast){
    toast.click()
    return driver.waitForElementById('notification',10000)
})
.then(function(find){
    find.click()
    driver.quit()
})
}
catch (e) {
    driver.quit()
}
}
Androidtest(); 

Executing The Tests

If you are using an iOS app, the cURL command will generate an app URL for the corresponding iOS app and install the same for running the tests. You can either use our sample 🔗 Android app or upload your own app as discussed earlier. Execute the following command to run your test on LambdaTest platform:

node android.js

Info: Your test results would be displayed on the test console (or command-line interface if you are using terminal/cmd) and on the 🔗 LambdaTest App Automation Dashboard.

Additional Links

• Advanced Configuration for Capabilities
• How to test locally hosted apps
• How to integrate LambdaTest with CI/CD

Documentation & Resources 📚

Visit the following links to learn more about LambdaTest's features, setup and tutorials around test automation, mobile app testing, responsive testing, and manual testing.

• LambdaTest Documentation
• LambdaTest Blog
• LambdaTest Learning Hub
• LambdaTest Community

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