Android Image with Appium, Device-Farm, and UIAutomator

This project provides a base Docker image configured with Android SDK, Appium, Device-Farm plugin, and UIAutomator. It is designed to be used as a foundation for creating custom Docker images that run Android emulators. The base image includes all necessary setups to create and run emulators and also supports using Appium in a node or hub configuration.

You can use this image to build your own Docker container with emulators, run Appium, or just use it for Android development purposes.

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Table of Contents

1. Project Overview
2. Prerequisites
3. Requirements
4. How to Build
   • Build without passing any arguments
   • Build with specific arguments
5. How to Run
   • Run with default settings
   • Run with customized settings
   • Additional Appium Configurations
6. Docker Image Details
   • Android Versions
   • Build Variables
   • Run Variables
7. Troubleshooting
8. License

Project Overview

• Base Image: This image is intended to be used as a starting point for creating custom Docker images that run Android emulators.
• Appium Integration: Appium is pre-configured with the Device-Farm plugin and UIAutomator to run automated tests on Android emulators.
• Customizable: You can configure the image to either automatically run Appium or use it purely as an emulator environment for Android development.

Prerequisites

• Docker
• Basic knowledge of Appium and Android Emulator setup

Requirements

• Docker (version 20.10+)

How to Build

1. Build without passing any arguments

To build the Docker image without any specific arguments, run the following command:

docker build -t android-appium .

This command uses the default BUILD_TOOLS_VERSION=35.0.0 and other configurations as specified in the Dockerfile.

2. Build with specific arguments

To pass custom arguments during the build process, use the --build-arg flag. For example:

docker build --build-arg BUILD_TOOLS_VERSION=36.0.0 --build-arg ANDROID_VERSION=14 -t android-appium .

This will build the Docker image using the specified BUILD_TOOLS_VERSION and ANDROID_VERSION .

How to Run

3. Run the image with default settings

To run the Docker image using the default configuration (Appium not running), use the following command:

docker run -it android-appium

This will start the container and leave you in a bash shell with the default Android environment.

4. Run with customized settings

To start the Docker container with customized variables (for example, running Appium), you can pass the necessary environment variables when running the container. Example:

docker run -it -e APPIUM=true -e APPIUM_PORT=4725 android-appium

This will start Appium with the custom port (4725), instead of the default (4723) .

5. Additional Appium Configurations

You can pass other environment variables to customize the Appium server configuration. Some of the key variables are:

• APPIUM=true to start Appium server
• APPIUM_PORT=4723 to set the Appium port
• KEEP_ALIVE=600 to specify the keep-alive timeout (in milliseconds)
• HUB_ADDRESS to set a specific hub address for the Appium server to connect to

Example:

docker run -it -e APPIUM=true -e APPIUM_PORT=4725 -e HUB_ADDRESS="hub.example.com" android-appium

Docker Image Details

The Docker image is based on the official Android SDK image and is preconfigured with Android SDK packages and build tools.

Android Versions

Android Version	API Level
Android15	35
Android14	34
Android13	33
Android12L	32
Android12	31
Android11	30
Android10	29
Android9	28

Build Variables

Variable	Description	Default Value
BUILD_TOOLS_VERSION	Specifies the version of the Android Build Tools to install.	35.0.0
ANDROID_VERSION	Specifies the Android version to use for the base image.	13
API_LEVEL	Defines the Android API level to be installed.	33
ARCH	Architecture for the Android emulator image (e.g., x86_64).	x86_64
TARGET	The target platform for the emulator (e.g., google_apis_playstore).	google_apis_playstore
EMULATOR_PACKAGE	Android system image package to install for emulators.	system-images;android-33;google_apis_playstore;x86_64
PLATFORM_VERSION	The platform version for the Android SDK.	platforms;android-33
ANDROID_SDK_PACKAGES	List of Android SDK packages to install.	${EMULATOR_PACKAGE} ${PLATFORM_VERSION}

Run Variables

Variable	Description	Default Value
APPIUM	Whether to start Appium or not. Set to true to run Appium.	false
APPIUM_PORT	The port on which Appium will run.	4723
KEEP_ALIVE	The keep-alive timeout in milliseconds for the Appium server.	600
HUB_ADDRESS	The address of the Appium Hub, if using a hub setup.	"" (empty)

Troubleshooting

• If Appium fails to start, check the logs for errors. Common issues include incorrect port or network configurations.
• Ensure the required Android SDK packages and system dependencies are correctly installed.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.