Appium MCP - AI-Driven Mobile Test Automation

Professional mobile test automation framework with AI-powered test generation, Page Object Model support, and AWS Bedrock integration.

Supported Platforms: iOS | Android Python Version: 3.8+ License: MIT

✨ Features

• Interactive Chatbot: Walk through your app testing in natural language
• AI-Generated Tests: Automatically generate test code from your interactions
• Page Object Model: Auto-generate clean, reusable page objects
• YAML Workflows: Define test flows in simple YAML, AI handles execution
• Multi-Platform: iOS and Android support
• Element Discovery: Automatic element locator generation
• Screenshot Capture: Automatic screenshots at each step
• AWS Integration: Use Claude AI via Bedrock for test generation

� Prerequisites

Before you start, ensure you have:

1. Python 3.8 or higher

   python --version

1. Node.js 14+ and npm (for Appium)

   node --version
   npm --version

📦 Installation

📖 Detailed Setup Guide: For complete step-by-step instructions including: - System requirements verification - Virtual environment setup - Appium server configuration - AWS Bedrock integration (AI-powered tests) - Device configuration (iOS/Android) - Troubleshooting guide

>

→ See [SETUP.md](https://github.com/youcanautomate-yca/ai-driven-mobile-automation/blob/main/SETUP.md) (Recommended for first-time users)

From PyPI (Recommended)

# Create virtual environment
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate

# Install appium-mcp
pip install appium-mcp

📖 Detailed PyPI Installation Guide: See PYPI_INSTALL.md for complete step-by-step instructions

From Source (Development)

git clone https://github.com/youcanautomate-yca/ai-driven-mobile-automation.git
cd ai-driven-mobile-automation
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -e .

🔧 Setup Appium Server

For complete Appium setup guide including prerequisites → See [INSTALLATION.md](https://github.com/youcanautomate-yca/ai-driven-mobile-automation/blob/main/INSTALLATION.md)

Appium server must be running for appium-mcp to work.

Installation

# Install globally (one-time)
npm install -g appium

# Install drivers
appium driver install xcuitest   # iOS
appium driver install uiautomator2  # Android

Start Server

# Terminal 1: Start Appium (runs on port 4723)
appium

# You should see:
# [Appium] Welcome to Appium v2.x.x
# ...
# [Appium] Server listening on http://127.0.0.1:4723

🎯 CLI Commands

Once installed, you have access to these commands:

Interactive Chatbot (Easy!)

appium-mcp-chatbot

Perfect for beginners - guides you through test generation step-by-step.

Run YAML Workflows

appium-mcp-run-yaml my_workflow.yaml

Execute predefined test workflows from YAML files.

Generate Tests

appium-mcp-generate-tests workflow.json

Auto-generate test scripts from recorded interactions.

Start MCP Server

appium-mcp-server

Start the Model Context Protocol server for integration.

📝 YAML Workflow Examples

Example 1: Simple Login Test

Create a file login_test.yaml:

version: "1.0"
description: "Login test"
platform: "ios"
device_name: "iPhone 14"
bundle_id: "com.example.app"
app_path: "/path/to/app.app"

workflow:
  LoginScreen:
    - "Take a screenshot to see the app"
    - "Tap on the email field"
    - "Type [email protected]"
    - "Tap on the password field"
    - "Type MyPassword123"
    - "Tap the Sign In button"
    - "Wait 2 seconds for login to complete"
    
  HomeScreen:
    - "Take a screenshot to verify login success"
    - "Verify that Welcome message is visible"

Run it:

appium-mcp-run-yaml login_test.yaml

Example 2: E-Commerce Purchase Flow

Create purchase_flow.yaml:

version: "1.0"
description: "Complete purchase flow"
platform: "android"
device_name: "emulator"
app_package: "com.myapp"
app_activity: ".MainActivity"

workflow:
  HomePage:
    - "Take screenshot"
    - "Scroll down to see products"
    - "Tap on first product"
    
  ProductPage:
    - "Take screenshot"
    - "Tap on size selector"
    - "Choose size M"
    - "Tap Add to Cart button"
    - "Verify item added message"
    
  CartPage:
    - "Tap on shopping cart icon"
    - "Take screenshot"
    - "Tap Checkout button"
    
  CheckoutPage:
    - "Enter shipping address"
    - "Enter payment details"
    - "Tap Place Order"
    - "Verify order confirmation"

Run it:

appium-mcp-run-yaml purchase_flow.yaml

YAML File Structure

version: "1.0"                    # YAML version (required)
description: "Test description"   # What this test does
platform: "ios" or "android"     # Target platform (required)
device_name: "iPhone 14"         # Device name/simulator
bundle_id: "com.example.app"     # iOS bundle ID
app_package: "com.example.app"   # Android package (Android only)
app_activity: ".MainActivity"    # Android activity (Android only)
app_path: "/path/to/app.app"     # Path to app binary

workflow:                         # Test steps
  ScreenName:                     # Group steps by screen
    - "Natural language prompt"   # AI executes this
    - "Another step"
    - "..."
  
  NextScreen:
    - "Step 1"
    - "Step 2"

How YAML Workflows Work

1. Write prompts in natural language - No tool names needed
2. AI inspects the current screen - Analyzes app UI
3. AI finds the right elements - Uses element locators
4. AI performs the action - Click, type, scroll, etc.
5. Auto-generates page objects - Reusable code
6. Auto-generates test code - Ready-to-run tests

Example: Write one line:

"Tap on the email field and type [email protected]"

A generates Python code:

class LoginPage:
    def enter_email(self, email):
        self.find_element("email_field").send_keys(email)

💻 Full Example: Running a Test

Step 1: Create YAML file

Save as test_app.yaml:

version: "1.0"
description: "Simple app test"
platform: "ios"
device_name: "iPhone 14"
bundle_id: "com.testapp"
app_path: "./app/TestApp.app"

workflow:
  Start:
    - "Take a screenshot"
    - "Tap the start button"
    - "Wait 1 second"
    - "Take final screenshot"

Step 2: Start Appium (Terminal 1)

appium

Step 3: Run the test (Terminal 2)

cd my_project
source venv/bin/activate
appium-mcp-run-yaml test_app.yaml

Step 4: View results

• Generated test: generated_tests/test_app.py
• Page objects: page_objects/StartPage.py
• Screenshots: screenshots/

🤖 Python API Usage

Use appium-mcp as a Python library:

from appium_mcp import MobileAutomationFramework
from appium.options.ios import XCUITestOptions

# Initialize framework
framework = MobileAutomationFramework()

# Create options
options = XCUITestOptions()
options.device_name = "iPhone 14"
options.bundle_id = "com.example.app"

# Create session
driver = framework.create_session(options)

# Use driver like standard Appium
driver.find_element("xpath", "//XCUIElementTypeButton[@name='Login']").click()

# Generate test code from session
test_code = framework.generate_test("my_test")
print(test_code)

# Cleanup
driver.quit()

📚 Comprehensive Guides

• [Complete Setup Guide](https://github.com/youcanautomate-yca/ai-driven-mobile-automation/blob/main/SETUP.md) ⭐ START HERE - Step-by-step installation, system requirements, Appium setup, AWS Bedrock configuration, device setup, and troubleshooting for PyPI users
• [Installation Guide](https://github.com/youcanautomate-yca/ai-driven-mobile-automation/blob/main/INSTALLATION.md) - AWS Bedrock integration details, model comparison, cost estimation, and advanced setup
• [YAML Workflow Guide](https://github.com/youcanautomate-yca/ai-driven-mobile-automation/blob/main/YAML_GUIDE.md) - Complete YAML workflow reference and examples
• [YAML Quick Start](https://github.com/youcanautomate-yca/ai-driven-mobile-automation/blob/main/YAML_QUICK_START.md) - 5-minute quick start for YAML workflows
• [Chatbot Guide](https://github.com/youcanautomate-yca/ai-driven-mobile-automation/blob/main/CHATBOT_GUIDE.md) - Interactive chatbot step-by-step guide
• [Development Guide](https://github.com/youcanautomate-yca/ai-driven-mobile-automation/blob/main/DEVELOPMENT.md) - Contributing, testing, and building from source

🆘 Troubleshooting

"Appium server not responding"

# Make sure Appium is running
appium

# Check if running on correct port
curl http://localhost:4723/status

"Connection refused"

# Restart Appium
appium --port 4723

# Verify config
appium-mcp-run-yaml --help

"Element not found"

• Take a screenshot first: "Take a screenshot"
• Check the actual element name in the app
• Use more specific natural language: "Tap on the blue Login button"

Import errors after installation

# Reinstall in clean environment
python -m venv fresh_env
source fresh_env/bin/activate
pip install appium-mcp

🔗 Resources

• PyPI Package: https://pypi.org/project/appium-mcp/
• GitHub Repository: https://github.com/youcanautomate-yca/ai-driven-mobile-automation
• Appium Documentation: https://appium.io/docs/en/2.0/
• Report Issues: https://github.com/youcanautomate-yca/ai-driven-mobile-automation/issues

📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

👥 Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Submit a pull request

📞 Support

• GitHub Issues: https://github.com/youcanautomate-yca/ai-driven-mobile-automation/issues
• Email: [email protected]
• Documentation: https://github.com/youcanautomate-yca/ai-driven-mobile-automation/wiki

Architecture

The server is organized into modular components:

ai-driven-mobile-automation/
├── server.py              # Main MCP server and tool registration
├── session_store.py       # Global driver and session management
├── command.py             # Core Appium command execution
├── logger.py              # Logging utilities
├── tools_session.py       # Session management tools
├── tools_interactions.py  # Element interaction tools
├── tools_navigations.py   # Navigation tools
├── tools_app_management.py # App management tools
├── tools_context.py       # Context switching tools
├── tools_ios.py           # iOS-specific tools
├── tools_test_generation.py # Test generation tools
├── tools_documentation.py  # Documentation/help tools
├── requirements.txt       # Python dependencies
└── README.md             # This file

Mirrored Tools from TypeScript Implementation

Session Management

• select_platform - Select iOS or Android platform
• select_device - Select target device
• create_session - Create new Appium session
• delete_session - Delete active session
• open_notifications - Open notifications panel

Element Interactions

• appium_click - Click on element
• appium_find_element - Find element by strategy/selector
• appium_double_tap - Double tap element
• appium_long_press - Long press element
• appium_drag_and_drop - Drag element to target
• appium_press_key - Press key
• appium_set_value - Set text value
• appium_get_text - Get element text
• appium_get_active_element - Get focused element
• appium_screenshot - Take screenshot
• appium_element_screenshot - Screenshot of element
• appium_get_orientation - Get device orientation
• appium_set_orientation - Set device orientation
• appium_handle_alert - Handle alert dialogs

Navigation

• appium_scroll - Scroll up/down/left/right
• appium_scroll_to_element - Scroll until element visible
• appium_swipe - Perform swipe gesture

App Management

• appium_activate_app - Activate installed app
• appium_install_app - Install app
• appium_uninstall_app - Uninstall app
• appium_terminate_app - Terminate running app
• appium_list_apps - List installed apps
• appium_is_app_installed - Check if app installed
• appium_deep_link - Open deep link

Context Management

• appium_get_contexts - Get available contexts
• appium_switch_context - Switch between contexts

iOS Tools

• appium_boot_simulator - Boot iOS simulator
• appium_setup_wda - Setup WebDriverAgent
• appium_install_wda - Install WebDriverAgent

Test Generation

• appium_generate_locators - Generate element locators
• appium_generate_tests - Generate test scripts

Documentation

• appium_answer_appium - Answer Appium questions

YAML Workflow Automation

Simple, clean YAML workflows. Define screen names, write prompts, let AI handle everything else!

Quick Example

Create workflow.yml:

version: "1.0"
description: "Login and purchase"
platform: "ios"
device_name: "iPhone 16"
bundle_id: "com.example.ecommerce"

# Screen-based workflow - group prompts by screen
workflow:
  LoginScreen:
    - "Enter email [email protected]"
    - "Enter password mypassword"
    - "Click login button"
  
  HomeScreen:
    - "Click first product"
    - "View product details"
  
  CartScreen:
    - "Add item to cart"
    - "Click checkout"
  
  CheckoutScreen:
    - "Enter shipping address"
    - "Enter payment details"
    - "Complete purchase"
  
  OrderConfirmationScreen:
    - "Take screenshot"

Run Workflow

appium-mcp-run-yaml workflow.yml

What Happens Automatically

For each prompt:

1. ✅ AI inspects the current screen
2. ✅ Analyzes page source to find elements
3. ✅ Determines the right element to interact with
4. ✅ Performs the action (click, type, scroll, etc.)
5. ✅ Creates page object with discovered elements
6. ✅ Generates test code with reusable methods

Auto-Generated Page Objects

From this YAML:

LoginScreen:
  - "Enter email [email protected]"

AI generates:

class LoginScreen:
    def login(self, email, password):
        self.email_field.send_keys(email)
        self.password_field.send_keys(password)
        self.login_button.click()

Why This Approach?

• No Tool Names - Just write natural language
• No Element Selectors - AI finds them automatically
• No Manual Page Objects - Generated automatically
• No ID/Xpath Maintenance - AI updates as UI changes
• Clean & Readable - Anyone can write the YAML

Advanced Features

• Error Recovery - AI retries with different approaches
• Screenshots - Automatic at each step
• Element Waiting - AI waits for elements to appear
• Scroll Handling - AI scrolls to find elements
• Multi-Platform - iOS and Android

YAML Guides

• YAML Quick Start - 5-minute guide
• YAML Comprehensive Guide - Full reference
• Example Workflows - Ready-to-use examples

Usage Example

import asyncio
from mcp.client import StdioClient

async def main():
    # Create client
    client = StdioClient("python", ["server.py"])
    
    # Call a tool
    result = await client.call_tool(
        "select_platform",
        {"platform": "ios"}
    )
    print(result)

asyncio.run(main())

Tool Schemas

Each tool includes:

• name: Unique tool identifier
• description: Human-readable description
• inputSchema: JSON schema for parameters
• execute: Async function that implements the tool

Error Handling

All tools return a status JSON response:

{
    "status": "success|error|warning",
    "message": "Human-readable message",
    ...tool-specific fields
}

Logging

Logs are written to stderr with format:

[TOOL START] tool_name: arguments
[TOOL END] tool_name
[TOOL ERROR] tool_name: error message

Differences from TypeScript Implementation

1. Async/Await: Python version uses async/await instead of Promise-based TypeScript
2. Module Organization: Simplified into single Python files instead of separate TypeScript modules
3. Error Handling: Try-catch blocks instead of TypeScript error handling
4. Type System: Uses type hints instead of TypeScript types

Contributing

To add new tools:

1. Create a function in the appropriate tools_*.py file
2. Register it in server.py in the register_tools() function
3. Document the tool parameters and return values

License

Same as parent appium-mcp project.

Related

• TypeScript Implementation
• Appium Documentation
• MCP Specification