Managing Appium

---
name: managing-appium
description: |
  Use when working with Appium — appium mobile testing management and server
  monitoring. Covers Appium server health, session management, desired
  capabilities review, device farm integration, test result analysis, and driver
  configuration. Use when managing mobile test automation, investigating Appium
  server issues, or reviewing mobile testing configurations.
connection_type: appium
preload: false
---

# Appium Mobile Testing Management Skill

Manage Appium server infrastructure and analyze mobile test automation.

## Core Helper Functions

```bash
#!/bin/bash

# Appium server API helper
appium_api() {
    local method="${1:-GET}"
    local endpoint="$2"
    local data="${3:-}"

    if [ -n "$data" ]; then
        curl -s -X "$method" \
            -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
            "${APPIUM_URL:-http://localhost:4723}/${endpoint}" \
            -d "$data"
    else
        curl -s -X "$method" \
            "${APPIUM_URL:-http://localhost:4723}/${endpoint}"
    fi
}
```

## MANDATORY: Discovery-First Pattern

**Always discover server status and available devices before querying specifics.**

### Phase 1: Discovery

```bash
#!/bin/bash

echo "=== Appium Server Status ==="
appium_api GET "status" | jq '{ready: .value.ready, build: .value.build}'

echo ""
echo "=== Active Sessions ==="
appium_api GET "sessions" | jq -r '
    .value[] | "\(.id)\t\(.capabilities.platformName)\t\(.capabilities.deviceName // "unknown")\t\(.capabilities.browserName // .capabilities.app // "native")"
' | column -t

echo ""
echo "=== Connected Devices (Android) ==="
adb devices -l 2>/dev/null | tail -n +2 | head -10

echo ""
echo "=== Connected Devices (iOS) ==="
xcrun xctrace list devices 2>/dev/null | head -10

echo ""
echo "=== Appium Drivers ==="
appium driver list --installed 2>/dev/null | head -10
```

### Phase 2: Analysis

```bash
#!/bin/bash

echo "=== Appium Configuration ==="
if [ -f "appium.conf.json" ]; then
    cat appium.conf.json | jq '.' | head -20
fi

echo ""
echo "=== Desired Capabilities in Tests ==="
grep -rn "desiredCapabilities\|capabilities" --include="*.js" --include="*.ts" --include="*.py" --include="*.java" 2>/dev/null | grep -v node_modules | head -15

echo ""
echo "=== Test Results ==="
REPORT_DIR="${APPIUM_REPORT_DIR:-test-results}"
if [ -d "$REPORT_DIR" ]; then
    find "$REPORT_DIR" -name "*.xml" | while read f; do
        grep -c 'testcase' "$f" | xargs echo "$f: tests="
    done | head -10
    echo ""
    echo "=== Failures ==="
    grep -rn '<failure' "$REPORT_DIR" --include="*.xml" | head -10
fi
```

## Output Rules
- **TOKEN EFFICIENCY**: Target 50 lines per output
- Summarize capabilities and session info, not full payloads
- Never dump full device logs — extract relevant error sections

## Anti-Hallucination Rules
- NEVER guess device names or UDIDs — always discover via adb/xcrun
- NEVER fabricate session IDs — query active sessions from server
- NEVER assume driver availability — check installed drivers first

## Safety Rules
- NEVER terminate sessions without explicit user confirmation
- NEVER install or uninstall apps on devices without user approval
- NEVER modify server configuration without user consent

## Output Format

Present results as a structured report:
```
Managing Appium Report
══════════════════════
Resources discovered: [count]

Resource       Status    Key Metric    Issues
──────────────────────────────────────────────
[name]         [ok/warn] [value]       [findings]

Summary: [total] resources | [ok] healthy | [warn] warnings | [crit] critical
Action Items: [list of prioritized findings]
```

Target ≤50 lines of output. Use tables for multi-resource comparisons.

## Counter-Rationalizations

| Shortcut | Counter | Why |
|----------|---------|-----|
| "I'll skip discovery and check known resources" | Always run Phase 1 discovery first | Resource names change, new resources appear — assumed names cause errors |
| "The user only asked for a quick check" | Follow the full discovery → analysis flow | Quick checks miss critical issues; structured analysis catches silent failures |
| "Default configuration is probably fine" | Audit configuration explicitly | Defaults often leave logging, security, and optimization features disabled |
| "Metrics aren't needed for this" | Always check relevant metrics when available | API/CLI responses show current state; metrics reveal trends and intermittent issues |
| "I don't have access to that" | Try the command and report the actual error | Assumed permission failures prevent useful investigation; actual errors are informative |