Robot Framework AppiumLibrary for Windows

This library extends the standard AppiumLibrary to support Windows Desktop Automation using the Appium NovaWindows2 Driver. It bridges the gap between Robot Framework and the modern Windows automation ecosystem, providing robust tools for interacting with Windows applications via PowerShell integration and native Windows APIs.

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🚀 Key Features

• Native Windows Interaction: Seamless simulation of mouse events including Right Click, Double Click, Hover, and Drag & Drop.
• PowerShell Integration: distinct capability to execute PowerShell commands and scripts directly on the target machine, allowing for advanced system manipulation and state checking.
• Resilient Automation: Includes fallback mechanisms for clicking and typing when standard driver commands are intercepted or fail.
• Advanced File Transfer: Bypass standard Appium limitations with specialized keywords to push/pull files and folders, including handling large files via chunked transfer.
• Remote Desktop Ready: Optimized for running in headless or remote desktop environments where standard interaction methods might struggle.

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🔧 Underlying Driver

This library is a Robot Framework wrapper specifically validated for the Appium NovaWindows2 Driver.

• Repository: nguyenvanhuy0612/appium-novawindows2-driver
• Purpose: Replaces the legacy WinAppDriver with a modern, PowerShell-backed engine.
• Mechanism: Translates Appium commands into optimized PowerShell scripts, executing them directly on the Windows target. This approach allows for:
  • Bypassing UI Automation limitations.
  • Direct system control (registry, processes, files).
  • Zero-dependency setup on the target (no "Developer Mode" required).

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🏗️ Architecture

+------------------------------+             +----------------------------------+
|    Test Runner (Local PC)    |             |    Target Machine (Windows)      |
|------------------------------|             |----------------------------------|
|                              |             |                                  |
|  [ Robot Framework ]         |             |  [ Appium Server 3.x+ ]          |
|          |                   |   HTTP      |           ^                      |
|  [ AppiumLibrary ]           |   JSON      |           |                      |
|          |                   |   Wire      |  [ Appium NovaWindows2 Driver ]  |
|  [ robotframework-           | ----------> |           |                      |
|    appiumwindows ]           |             |  [ PowerShell Session ]          |
|                              |             |           |                      |
|                              |             |      [ Application ]             |
|                              |             |                                  |
+------------------------------+             +----------------------------------+

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📋 Prerequisites

1. On Test Runner (Local Machine)

• Python: 3.10 or higher
• Robot Framework: Installed via pip

2. On Target Machine (Remote Windows PC)

• Node.js: Download
• Appium Server: Global installation (npm install -g appium)
• NovaWindows2 Driver: appium driver install --source=npm appium-novawindows2-driver
• PowerShell: Accessible and allowed by the Appium server context.

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📦 Installation

To install the library on your test runner:

pip install robotframework-appiumwindows

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⚙️ Configuration & Startup

On the Target Machine, start the Appium server with relaxed security to enable PowerShell execution:

appium --relaxed-security

Note: --relaxed-security is required for the library to execute PowerShell commands, which powers many of the advanced features.

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💻 Example Test

Here is a comprehensive example demonstrating connection, application launching, efficient file transfer, and advanced user interactions.

*** Settings ***
Library    AppiumLibrary

Test Setup       Open Windows App
Test Teardown    Appium Close All Applications

*** Variables ***
${REMOTE_URL}    http://192.168.1.10:4723
${APP_PATH}      C:\\Windows\\System32\\notepad.exe

*** Test Cases ***
Automate Notepad
    [Documentation]    Demonstrates launching an app, typing, using right-click context menu

    # 1. Launch Notepad via PowerShell
    Appium Execute Powershell Command    Start-Process ${APP_PATH}

    # 2. Wait for Notepad window
    Wait Until Page Contains Element    name=Untitled - Notepad

    # 3. Input Text (Standard)
    Appium Input    name=Text Editor    Hello from Robot Framework!

    # 4. Advanced Interaction: Right Click to open context menu
    Appium Right Click    name\=Text Editor

    # 5. Select "Select All" from context menu
    Appium Click    name\=Select All

    # 6. Use PowerShell to verify the process is running
    ${process}    Appium Execute Powershell Command    Get-Process notepad | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Id
    Log    Notepad Process ID: ${process}

    # 7. Close Notepad
    Appium Execute Powershell Command    Stop-Process -Id ${process}

*** Keywords ***
Open Windows App
    &{capabilities}    Create Dictionary
    ...    platformName=Windows
    ...    appium:automationName=NovaWindows2
    ...    appium:app=Root
    ...    appium:newCommandTimeout=20
    Open Application    ${REMOTE_URL}    &{capabilities}

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📚 Keyword Reference

Windows Specific Keywords

Extends standard interactions with Windows-specific mouse events.

Keyword	Arguments	Description
Appium Right Click	locator, timeout=20, **kwargs	Performs a mouse right-click on the element found by locator.
Appium Double Click	locator, timeout=20, **kwargs	Performs a mouse double-click on the element found by locator.
Appium Hover	locator, start_locator=None, timeout=20	Hovers the mouse cursor over the specified element.
Appium Drag And Drop	start_locator, end_locator, timeout=20	Drags an element from start_locator and drops it at end_locator.
Appium Click Offset	locator, x_offset, y_offset	Clicks at a specific coordinate offset relative to an element.
Appium Sendkeys	text	Sends keystrokes to the active window using native Windows APIs.

PowerShell & System Keywords

Directly interact with the underlying OS for setup, teardown, and validation.

Keyword	Arguments	Description
Appium Execute Powershell Command	command	Executes a single-line PowerShell command and returns the output.
Appium Execute Powershell Script	ps_script OR file_path	Executes a full PowerShell script block or a .ps1 file.
Appium Ps Click	locator, x, y, button='left'	Simulates a mouse click using PowerShell (useful as a fallback).
Appium Ps Drag And Drop	start_locator, end_locator, ...	Simulates drag and drop using PowerShell mouse events.
Appium Ps Sendkeys	text	Sends keys using PowerShell System.Windows.Forms.SendKeys.

Advanced File Transfer

Optimized for reliability and handling large files over the wire.

Keyword	Arguments	Description
Appium Pull File	path, save_path=None	Downloads a file from the target machine.
Appium Pull Folder	path, save_path_as_zip=''	Zips and downloads a folder from the target machine.
Appium Push File	destination_path, source_path	Uploads a file to the target machine.
Appium Split And Push File	source_path, remote_path, chunk_size_mb	Splits a large file, uploads chunks, and recombines on target.

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to open issues or submit pull requests to improve compatibility or add new features.

Repository: nguyenvanhuy0612/robotframework-appiumwindows