feat:add start appium inspector from the cli by wswebcreation · Pull Request #14932 · webdriverio/webdriverio

wswebcreation · 2025-12-13T09:22:44Z

Proposed changes

This pull request introduces a new CLI tool to the wdio-appium-service package, making it easier to start the Appium server and open the Appium Inspector in a browser. The implementation includes robust process management, cross-platform support, and comprehensive tests for the new utilities. The documentation is also updated to guide users on using the new CLI.

The Appium inspector can be started with the new CLI command, start-appium-inspector. It will

start the Appium server
open the Appium Inspector in the default browser,

and has support for custom ports and all Appium server arguments.

This is how it looks like

npx start-appium-inspector --port=4723                                                                            ─╯
npm warn Unknown project config "shamefully-hoist". This will stop working in the next major version of npm.
⏳ Checking inspector plugin...
🚀 Starting Appium server...
📡 Command: /Users/wimselles/Git/wdio/appium-boilerplate/node_modules/.pnpm/appium@3.1.2/node_modules/appium/index.js server --port=4723 --port=4723 --log-timestamp --use-plugins=inspector --allow-cors
⏳ Waiting for Appium server to be ready...
ℹ️  Press Ctrl+C to stop Appium server and exit


2025-12-17 06:36:45:299 - [Appium] Attempting to load plugin inspector...
2025-12-17 06:36:45:300 - [Appium] Requiring plugin at /Users/wimselles/Git/wdio/appium-boilerplate/node_modules/appium-inspector-plugin/index.mjs
2025-12-17 06:36:45:304 - [Appium] AppiumInspectorPlugin has been successfully loaded in 0.004s
2025-12-17 06:36:45:322 - [Appium] Welcome to Appium v3.1.2 (REV ecee5de5c5981ef6cb68e6103457493e19ec187c)
2025-12-17 06:36:45:323 - [Appium] Non-default server args:
2025-12-17 06:36:45:323 - [Appium] { allowCors: true, logTimestamp: true, usePlugins: [ 'inspector' ] }
2025-12-17 06:36:45:324 - [Appium] The autodetected Appium home path: /Users/wimselles/Git/wdio/appium-boilerplate
2025-12-17 06:36:45:324 - [Appium] Attempting to load driver xcuitest...
2025-12-17 06:36:45:325 - [Appium] Attempting to load driver uiautomator2...
2025-12-17 06:36:45:325 - [Appium] Requiring driver at /Users/wimselles/Git/wdio/appium-boilerplate/node_modules/appium-xcuitest-driver/build/index.js
2025-12-17 06:36:45:463 - [Appium] XCUITestDriver has been successfully loaded in 0.138s
2025-12-17 06:36:45:463 - [Appium] Requiring driver at /Users/wimselles/Git/wdio/appium-boilerplate/node_modules/appium-uiautomator2-driver/build/index.js
2025-12-17 06:36:45:524 - [Appium] AndroidUiautomator2Driver has been successfully loaded in 0.200s
2025-12-17 06:36:45:534 - [Appium] You have enabled CORS requests from any host. Be careful not to visit sites which could maliciously try to start Appium sessions on your machine
2025-12-17 06:36:45:536 - [Appium] Appium REST http interface listener started on http://0.0.0.0:4723
🌐 Opening Appium Inspector in your default browser...
✅ Opened Appium Inspector in your default browser.
2025-12-17 06:36:45:536 - [Appium] You can provide the following URLs in your client code to connect to this server:
        http://127.0.0.1:4723/ (only accessible from the same host)
        http://192.168.1.135:4723/
2025-12-17 06:36:45:536 - [Appium] Available drivers:
2025-12-17 06:36:45:536 - [Appium]   - xcuitest@10.1.4 (automationName 'XCUITest')
2025-12-17 06:36:45:536 - [Appium]   - uiautomator2@5.0.7 (automationName 'UiAutomator2')
2025-12-17 06:36:45:537 - [Appium] Available plugins:
2025-12-17 06:36:45:537 - [Appium]   - inspector@2025.11.1 (ACTIVE)
2025-12-17 06:36:45:681 - [HTTP] --> GET /inspector 
2025-12-17 06:36:45:696 - [HTTP] <-- GET /inspector 304 14 ms - - 
2025-12-17 06:36:45:714 - [HTTP] --> GET /inspector/assets/index-Bt3qyDS5.js 
2025-12-17 06:36:45:728 - [HTTP] --> GET /inspector/assets/index-DgynOtCi.css 
2025-12-17 06:36:45:731 - [HTTP] <-- GET /inspector/assets/index-Bt3qyDS5.js 304 16 ms - - 
2025-12-17 06:36:45:733 - [HTTP] <-- GET /inspector/assets/index-DgynOtCi.css 304 4 ms - - 
2025-12-17 06:36:45:929 - [HTTP] --> GET /inspector/assets/atom-one-dark-DPnaj3qP.css 
2025-12-17 06:36:45:930 - [HTTP] <-- GET /inspector/assets/atom-one-dark-DPnaj3qP.css 304 1 ms - - 
^C
🛑 Stopping Appium server...
2025-12-17 06:36:51:413 - [Appium] Received SIGINT - shutting down
2025-12-17 06:36:51:413 - [AppiumDriver@0359] There are no active sessions for cleanup
2025-12-17 06:36:51:414 - [HTTP] Closing Appium HTTP server
2025-12-17 06:36:51:414 - [HTTP] Appium HTTP server has been successfully closed after 1ms
✅ Appium server stopped successfully

Types of changes

Polish (an improvement for an existing feature)
Bugfix (non-breaking change which fixes an issue)
New feature (non-breaking change which adds functionality)
Breaking change (fix or feature that would cause existing functionality to not work as expected)
Documentation update (improvements to the project's docs)
Specification changes (updates to WebDriver command specifications)
Internal updates (everything related to internal scripts, governance documentation and CI files)

Checklist

I have read the CONTRIBUTING doc
I have added tests that prove my fix is effective or that my feature works
I have added the necessary documentation (if appropriate)
I have added proper type definitions for new commands (if appropriate)

Backport Request

//: # (The current main branch is the development branch for WebdriverIO v9. If your change should be released to the current major version of WebdriverIO (v8), please raise another PR with the same changes against the v8 branch.)

This change is solely for v9 and doesn't need to be back-ported
Back-ported PR at #XXXXX

Further comments

Reviewers: @webdriverio/project-committers

pkg-pr-new · 2025-12-13T09:24:58Z

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create-wdio

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eslint-plugin-wdio

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@wdio/jasmine-framework

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@wdio/json-reporter

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@wdio/lighthouse-service

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commit: b2fb082

Copilot

Pull request overview

This pull request introduces a new CLI tool start-appium-inspector to the wdio-appium-service package, enabling users to quickly start an Appium server and open the Appium Inspector in their browser. The implementation includes comprehensive utility functions for cross-platform process management, extensive test coverage, and clear documentation.

Key Changes

Added CLI command start-appium-inspector with support for custom ports and Appium server arguments
Implemented robust process lifecycle management with proper cleanup on exit signals (SIGINT/SIGTERM)
Provided cross-platform browser opening support (macOS, Windows, Linux)

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 6 out of 7 changed files in this pull request and generated 9 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
`package.json`	Added bin entry for the CLI command and exports configuration for the new CLI module
`bin/start-appium-inspector.js`	Entry point script that invokes the CLI with error handling
`src/cli.ts`	Main CLI logic handling argument parsing, Appium startup, browser opening, and cleanup
`src/cli-utils.ts`	Utility functions for port extraction, Appium resolution, process spawning, and browser opening
`tests/cli.test.ts`	Comprehensive test suite for CLI functionality including signal handling and error scenarios
`tests/cli-utils.test.ts`	Extensive tests for utility functions covering edge cases and platform-specific behavior
`README.md`	Documentation for the new CLI command with usage examples and prerequisites

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packages/wdio-appium-service/src/cli-utils.ts

packages/wdio-appium-service/tests/cli-utils.test.ts

packages/wdio-appium-service/src/cli.ts

packages/wdio-appium-service/tests/cli.test.ts

packages/wdio-appium-service/src/cli.ts

packages/wdio-appium-service/src/cli-utils.ts

packages/wdio-appium-service/package.json

packages/wdio-appium-service/src/cli.ts

Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

eglitise · 2025-12-16T12:27:37Z

Nice idea 👍

I would just like to add that the https://inspector.appiumpro.com/ site is hosted by HeadSpin, and maintenance of this site is done by the Appium team members who work there. However, as of right now, nobody from the Appium team works at HeadSpin anymore, which is why the hosted Inspector version is out-of-date, and is unlikely to be updated.
We are exploring the solution of hosting the Inspector under appium.io, but no specific plans yet.

In the meantime I could suggest the option of integrating the Inspector's Appium plugin version. You can check the documentation here: https://appium.github.io/appium-inspector/latest/quickstart/installation/#appium-plugin

wswebcreation · 2025-12-16T12:55:20Z

Hi @eglitise

Thanks, I'll do that and will move the PR to in draft. Thanks. I missed that memo 😅

- add ut's - optimize code

wswebcreation · 2025-12-17T06:39:15Z

@eglitise

I've changed it, WDYT now?

packages/wdio-appium-service/src/cli-utils.ts

packages/wdio-appium-service/README.md

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 6 out of 7 changed files in this pull request and generated 4 comments.

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packages/wdio-appium-service/src/cli-utils.ts

packages/wdio-appium-service/tests/cli.test.ts

packages/wdio-appium-service/README.md

erwinheitzman

I didn't go through everything yet but have left some feedback @wswebcreation 🙂

packages/wdio-appium-service/src/cli-utils.ts

wswebcreation · 2025-12-23T05:46:55Z

I didn't go through everything yet but have left some feedback @wswebcreation 🙂

Np @erwinheitzman , already appreciate that you took the time. I've fixed the last things, maybe we can merge it now and release it

christian-bromann

LGTM 👍

feat: initial setup of starting appium inspector from the cli

85b43e9

wswebcreation changed the title ~~feat: initial setup of starting appium inspector from the cli~~ feat:add start appium inspector from the clit Dec 13, 2025

wswebcreation changed the title ~~feat:add start appium inspector from the clit~~ feat:add start appium inspector from the cli Dec 13, 2025

wswebcreation added 5 commits December 14, 2025 06:56

feat: add opening the default browser

3fdfaa2

test: add cli-tests

bc0be76

test: add tests for the cli

f3377f0

feat: rename cli command

4276799

chore: update docs

1605892

wswebcreation marked this pull request as ready for review December 14, 2025 07:24

wswebcreation requested review from christian-bromann and Copilot December 14, 2025 07:24

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of wswebcreation December 14, 2025 07:25 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Dec 14, 2025

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Update packages/wdio-appium-service/src/cli-utils.ts

51ea2fa

Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

wswebcreation marked this pull request as draft December 16, 2025 12:55

feat: use the plugin instead of appiumpro url

366521b

- add ut's - optimize code

wswebcreation marked this pull request as ready for review December 17, 2025 06:30

chore: update docs

11c9c80

eglitise reviewed Dec 17, 2025

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eglitise reviewed Dec 17, 2025

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chore: fixes based on feedback

5072812

wswebcreation requested review from Copilot and eglitise December 18, 2025 05:52

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of wswebcreation December 18, 2025 05:53 View session

wswebcreation added PR: New Feature 🚀 PRs that contain new features PR: Polish 💅 PRs that contain improvements on existing features labels Dec 18, 2025

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erwinheitzman reviewed Dec 22, 2025

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chore: fixed some stuff after feedback

b995d7a

Merge branch 'main' into ws/add-appium-service-global

b2fb082

christian-bromann approved these changes Dec 23, 2025

View reviewed changes

wswebcreation merged commit a3069d5 into main Dec 23, 2025
33 of 36 checks passed

wswebcreation deleted the ws/add-appium-service-global branch December 23, 2025 07:06

mccmrunal added a commit to mccmrunal/webdriverio that referenced this pull request Dec 23, 2025

fixed test cases for PR webdriverio#14932

da7763a

mccmrunal mentioned this pull request Dec 23, 2025

fixed test cases for PR #14932 #14952

Merged

13 tasks

christian-bromann pushed a commit that referenced this pull request Dec 23, 2025

fixed test cases for PR #14932 (#14952)

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Proposed changes

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Reviewers: @webdriverio/project-committers

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eglitise commented Dec 16, 2025

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wswebcreation commented Dec 13, 2025 •

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