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Can Appium automate desktop applications?

Author

Sophia Bowman

Updated on February 27, 2026

Can Appium automate desktop applications?

Appium is an open source, cross-platform automation testing tool. The tool has a major focus on both Android and iOS apps and was only restricted to the mobile application testing domain. Recently, a few updates back, Appium also announced that they will support the testing of desktop applications for windows.

Considering this, how do you automate desktop Appium?

Getting started with Appium Desktop

  1. Install Java and set up the environment variables.
  2. Install Android Studio and set up Android environment variables.
  3. Install Eclipse IDE for Java.
  4. Install Appium Desktop from this link and download the Appium Jars for Eclipse.

Also, how do I automate my desktop application? Follow these steps to automate a Windows desktop application:

  1. Select My flows.
  2. Select the UI flows (preview) tab.
  3. Select New > Desktop app > Next.
  4. Give your app a name and then select Next.
  5. Select the Recording card and then select Launch recorder.
  6. Select Record and then perform the steps you want to automate.

People also ask, what types of application can be automated using Appium?

  • Native Mobile Applications that are written using iOS, Android or Windows SDKs.
  • Mobile Web Applications that can be accessed using mobile browsers such as Safari, Chrome, or in-built native browser applications for android devices.
  • Hybrid Mobile Applications that have a native wrapper around the web view.

Can selenium be used to automate desktop applications?

The simple answer is no. Selenium is designed to automate web applications, not desktop applications. Automating desktop applications requires a different type of automation tool that's designed for desktop automation.

What is the use of Appium Desktop?

Appium Desktop is an open-source app for Mac, Windows, and Linux which gives you the power of the Appium automation server in a flexible UI. It is a combination of a few Appium-related tools: A graphical interface for the Appium Server to set options, start/stop the server, see logs, etc.

How do you automate a desktop application in Python?

Steps to tackle this task,
  1. Install python and then pywinauto + pytest in your python environment (preferably in your own virtualenv)
  2. Launch your desktop app.
  3. Launch SWAPY and look at the list of apps it displays, watch for your app in that list.

Can Appium run on Windows?

Appium on Windows supports both Windows and Android app automation! See Windows App Testing for more details.

How do I set desired capabilities in Appium desktop?

How to Appium…Setting Desired Capabilities in Appium
  1. Step 1: Gather Desired Capabilities.
  2. Step 2: Launch And Start Appium Node Server.
  3. Step 3: Create Appium Test Script In Eclipse.

Is Appium similar to Selenium?

Both Selenium and Appium are cross-platform test automation frameworks. Selenium accelerates web application testing by supporting major desktop browsers and operating systems. On the other hand, Appium supports?Windows along with major mobile platforms like iOS and Android.

Can we use Appium for web applications?

If you're interested in automating your web app in Mobile Safari on iOS or Chrome on Android, Appium can help you. Basically, you write a normal WebDriver test, and use Appium as the Selenium server with a special set of desired capabilities.

Which language is used in Appium?

Appium supports all Webdriver-compatible programming languages: Java, Objective-C, JavaScript with Node.js, PHP, Python, Ruby, C#, Clojure and Perl.

Why do we use Appium?

Appium is the most popular open-source framework for mobile app automation testing. It allows QAs to automate tests for popular mobile platforms like Android, iOS, and Windows. Appium uses the mobile JSON wire protocol (an extension of Selenium JSON wire protocol) to drive native, mobile web and hybrid applications.

Is Appium a tool?

Appium is an open-source tool for automating native, mobile web, and hybrid applications on iOS mobile, Android mobile, and Windows desktop platforms.

How does Appium connect to real device?

In order to Run Appium automation tests in real android device, we need to connect real android device to PC by enabling USB debugging mode. To test on a real device or on on a simulator, we need SDK to be installed on your machine.

How do I automate login in Appium?

LOGIN PROCESS IN A DEMO APPLICATION USING APPIUM

a) Device Name: Run command “adb devices” in command prompt. You'll get the device name there. b) OS Version: Android version of your device. c) App Activity Name & Package Name: Download APK Info application in your Android device.

When API testing is done?

API testing involves testing the application programming interfaces (APIs) directly and as part of integration testing to determine if they meet expectations for functionality, reliability, performance, and security. Since APIs lack a GUI, API testing is performed at the message layer.

What is XCUITest?

XCUITest. Espresso is a test automation framework for Android. XCUITest is a test automation framework for iOS. Both Espresso and XCUITest do white box testing.

Is Selenium a testing tool?

The Selenium testing tool is used to automate tests across browsers for web applications. It's used to ensure high-quality web applications — whether they are responsive, progressive, or regular. Selenium is an open source tool. Testers use Selenium because it's easy to generate test scripts to validate functionality.

How do I manually test my desktop application?

Testing checklist for desktop applications may include the following:
  1. Graphical User Interface Testing.
  2. Functional Testing. Check for broken links. Warning messages.
  3. Platform Compatibility Testing. Testing the application on different operating systems.
  4. Performance Testing.

How do you automate an application?

12 Best Automation Tools for Desktop Apps in 2021
  1. WinAppDriver.
  2. Winium.
  3. TestArchitect.
  4. Ranorex.
  5. Tricentis Tosca.
  6. TestComplete.
  7. Micro Focus UFT (QTP)
  8. SikuliX.

What is meant by desktop applications?

A desktop application is a software program that can be run on a standalone computer to perform a specific task by an end-user. Some desktop applications such as word editor and media player allow you to perform different tasks while other such as gaming apps are developed purely for entertainment.

How do I automate my computer?

How to automate tasks in Windows
  1. Launch Task Scheduler. The easiest way to get to the tool is by typing Task Scheduler into the Start menu search.
  2. Create a task.
  3. Set triggers.
  4. Specify an action.
  5. Different action, same time.
  6. Defrag disk when idle.
  7. Set additional conditions.
  8. Display a message.

Which automation tool is best?

Your information is safe.
  1. Selenium. “Selenium automates browsers.
  2. Appium. “Is native app automation missing from your tool belt?
  3. Katalon Studio. “An all-in-one test automation solution.”
  4. Cucumber.
  5. HPE Unified Functional Testing (UFT)
  6. WorkSoft.
  7. IBM Rational Functional Tester (RFT)
  8. Telerik Test Studio.

Is Selenium used only for Web applications?

Yes, Selenium is used only for Web Applications. We can use Java, Python, and many other programming languages for web application automation. Selenium can be used for applications which WebDriver can integrate with, and as per documentation, it is web applications and mobile applications by using Appium.

How do I automate a Windows GUI?

GUI test automation steps
  1. Run an application or access a running one.
  2. Define the main application window.
  3. Find the necessary control element (button, text field, drop-down list, etc.).
  4. Perform a user action on the control element (click on the button, enter text, etc.).
  5. Check the results.

Why does selenium not support desktop applications?

Why you CANNOT automate Desktop Applications using Selenium? This is totally because Selenium cannot recognize the objects or the web elements on the desktop application.

What type of applications can be automated with Selenium?

Selenium WebDriver is used to automate web application testing to verify that it works as expected. It supports many browsers such as Firefox, Chrome, IE, and Safari. However, using the Selenium WebDriver, we can automate testing for web applications only.

Is Selenium only for UI testing?

What Cannot Be Automated Using Selenium? Selenium cannot automate mobile app tests, as it is only for web app testing.

What is Winium desktop?

Winium is a Selenium based tool for testing and automating desktop applications on the Windows desktop. It is the tool that is built on Selenium to interact with Windows applications. It is free and open source.

Can UFT be used for Web applications?

The tool is primarily used for functional, regression, and service testing. Using UFT, testers can automate user actions on a web or client based computer application and test and identify bugs that may appear when those actions are being performed.