Start Recording a Mobile Test

Robonito lets you record test cases on native mobile applications using a live emulator or simulator mirror. During your recording session, the system automatically translates your manual touch inputs, gestures, variable extractions, and assertions into structured, repeatable test steps.

1. Preparing the Test Case

  1. Open your active workspace and navigate to your Mobile Suite.
  2. Select an existing mobile test case or click New Test Case.
  3. In the test case editor, click the Record button located in the top navigation toolbar.

2. Configure Launch Options

The Configure Launch Options dialog appears, allowing you to configure the virtual device environment:

Target Platform

Select Android or iOS.

Application Build File

Provide the compiled application file:

  • .apk for Android
  • .ipa for iOS (debug simulator build)

iOS Configuration (iOS only)

For iOS, provide your application's Bundle Identifier (e.g., com.mycompany.app) so the simulator can launch the target app binary directly.

3. Fast Emulator Launch & Warm Reuse

Click Start Recording. Robonito initializes the mobile workspace:

  • Warm Emulator Reuse: If a compatible Android emulator or iOS simulator is already running on your machine, Robonito automatically attaches to it within seconds rather than cold-booting a fresh virtual device.
  • Application Bootstrapping: The selected .apk or .ipa is installed and launched on the virtual device.
  • Interactive Mirror: The device screen appears directly in the Robonito recording interface, ready for interaction.

Windows Performance Tip:

On Windows machines, ensure you have enabled the Windows Defender exclusion during Mobile Setup. This significantly speeds up emulator disk I/O and snapshot loading.

4. Recording User Actions

Interact with the mirrored mobile screen exactly as an end-user would:

  • Tap: Click on native buttons, tab items, navigation icons, or cards.
  • Type Text: Click any mobile input field and enter text directly from your keyboard.
  • Swipe & Scroll: Click and drag vertically or horizontally to scroll through list views or carousels.
  • System Buttons: Use the recording toolbar to trigger hardware buttons such as Back, Home, or Enter.

As you interact, each action is converted into a readable test step in the recording sidebar.

5. Working with Dynamic Variables

Real-world mobile apps often require dynamic data—such as capturing an order ID from a confirmation screen and verifying it in a downstream profile view. Robonito provides full support for capturing and injecting variables during mobile recording:

Extracting a Local Variable

  1. In the mobile recording toolbar, click Record Variable.
  2. Tap on the target UI element on the mobile screen that displays the value you want to capture (e.g., an order reference code or username).
  3. The Record Mobile Variable modal appears:
    • Variable Name: Enter an identifier (e.g., order_id).
    • Extraction Target: Choose to capture the element's visible text or a specific accessibility attribute.
  4. Click Save Variable. Robonito inserts a mobile-local-variable step into your test sequence.

Injecting Variables into Mobile Inputs

To reuse a captured variable or an environment variable downstream:

  1. When typing into any mobile text input, click the Use Variable icon in the toolbar, or type {{variable_name}} directly into the input value field.
  2. Robonito dynamically resolves the variable value during test execution.

6. Simulating Geolocation

Testing location-dependent mobile features—such as store finders, delivery tracking, ride booking, or regional content restrictions—is easy with built-in GPS simulation:

  1. In the mobile recording toolbar, click the Geolocation icon (pin icon).
  2. The Mobile Geolocation Modal opens:
    • Latitude: e.g., 37.7749
    • Longitude: e.g., -122.4194
    • Altitude (optional): e.g., 10
  3. Click Set Geolocation.
  4. Robonito immediately broadcasts the coordinates to the device:
    • On Android: updates the GPS coordinates via ADB geo fix.
    • On iOS: simulates device location via Appium / CoreLocation.
  5. A mobile-geolocation step is recorded into your test sequence, ensuring future automated test runs simulate the exact same coordinates.

7. Adding Mobile Assertions

Validate on-screen states without writing code:

  1. Click Add Assertion in the recording toolbar.
  2. Tap the element you wish to validate on the device mirror.
  3. Choose the validation type:
    • Element Visible: Confirms the element appears on screen.
    • Element Text Equals: Validates exact text (supports {{variable}} comparisons).
    • Element Text Contains: Checks for substring matches.
    • Element Enabled: Verifies the control is interactive.
  4. Click Save Assertion.

8. Finalizing and Committing the Test

When you have completed your test flow:

  1. Click Save in the recording toolbar.
  2. Robonito finalizes and commits all recorded steps, variable extractions, geolocation updates, and assertions.
  3. Your mobile test is now ready to run locally, schedule across nightly runs, or execute in CI/CD pipelines.