Mobile Inspector

The Mobile Inspector is a visual tool built into QANode for recording and building mobile automation steps interactively. Instead of writing XPath and selectors manually, you interact directly with the device screen and steps are generated automatically.

How to Access

The Mobile Inspector is opened from the flow editor:

1. Add a Mobile Flow node to the flow
2. Configure the mobile credential (device, platform, app)
3. Click the magnifying glass icon button in the node's properties panel

In the Desktop edition, Appium starts automatically when connecting. In the web/server edition, make sure Appium is running before opening the inspector.

Interface

The Mobile Inspector is divided into three main areas:

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  [Connect]   Mode: [Tap | Inspect]       [Close Session]     │
├─────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┤
│                         │  Recorded Steps                    │
│   Device Screen         │  ─────────────────────────────     │
│   (live screenshot)     │  1. tap — Login Button             │
│                         │  2. type — email@...               │
│                         │  3. tap — Login                    │
│                         │  ─────────────────────────────     │
│                         │  [Clear]           [Save Steps]    │
├─────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Selected Element: id=com.app:id/login_btn                   │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Device Screen Area

Displays an updated screenshot of the device in real time. You can:

• Tap elements to generate tap steps
• Drag to generate swipe steps
• Right-click to inspect an element without tapping (works in any mode)

Recorded Steps Area

Lists all steps recorded during the session. Each action shows:

• Icon and action color, following QANode's visual pattern
• Action type (tap, type, swipe, wait, extract, assert, etc.)
• Target description or text
• Actions to copy or remove the individual step

You can also reorder steps by dragging them in the list before saving to the node.

Selected Element Panel

Displays information about the tapped element in Inspect mode:

• selected target summary;
• text, label, native class, and bounds;
• relevant element attributes;
• detected selectors, with the option to enable or disable which ones will be used;
• match count when this information is available.

The selector section starts collapsed to keep the screen clean. Open it when you need to review or adjust the strategy before adding an action.

Operation Modes

Tap Mode (default)

In Tap mode, each click on the device screen:

1. Sends the tap to the device via Appium
2. Records a tap or tap-coords step with the tapped element's selectors
3. Updates the screenshot automatically after the action

To swipe: click and drag on the device screen — the gesture is executed on the device and recorded as a swipe step.

When a text field is selected, the inspector can also record filling through its own dialog without switching modes. Clear first is enabled by default.

Inspect Mode

In Inspect mode, clicking an element does not send the tap to the device — it only displays the element's information in the side panel. Use this mode to:

• Explore the element hierarchy without interacting with the app
• Copy selectors for manual use
• Identify the best selector before creating a step

Tip: You can also right-click anywhere on the device screen to inspect an element without switching to Inspect mode.

Recording Steps

Tap Step

1. Make sure you are in Tap Mode
2. Click the desired element on the device screen
3. The inspector detects the element, extracts its selectors, and records a tap step
4. The screen updates automatically

Double-tap shortcut: hold Shift while clicking the element to execute and record double-tap.

Type Step

After tapping a text field:

1. The inspector detects that the field is active
2. Type the text on your physical keyboard — the inspector captures keystrokes in real time
3. The typed text is grouped and recorded as a type step
4. Pressing Backspace deletes characters and updates the step

Swipe Step

1. In Tap Mode, click and drag on the device screen
2. The gesture is executed on the device
3. A swipe step is recorded with start and end coordinates

Visual Feedback

During inspector use, visual indicators are displayed over the device screen:

These indicators disappear automatically after a few seconds.

Advanced Actions

In addition to recording taps and swipes, the Mobile Inspector provides buttons to add advanced actions directly to the flow without manually configuring the fields.

Actions available in the panel

With a selected element (Inspect mode):

System actions (without a selected element):

Grant/Revoke Permission actions are Android-only and open a prompt requesting the permission name, for example: android.permission.CAMERA.

Sending a file during recording

Use Send File when the app needs to receive a file before opening a native picker or continuing the flow. The inspector sends the file to the device during recording and adds the corresponding step to Mobile Flow.

On Android, the default destination is usually the downloads folder. On iOS, the inspector uses the application container when available and applies an Appium-compatible fallback.

Downloading a file during recording

Use Download File when the app generated a file and the test needs to capture it as a fileRef.

The dialog lets you provide:

• exact path on the device;
• folder and filename pattern to find the most recent file;
• output variable name;
• output filename saved in QANode.

Use exact path when the app shows or defines the filename. Use folder/pattern when the filename is dynamic.

Saving Steps

When you click "Save Steps":

1. All recorded steps are transferred to the Mobile Flow node
2. The Appium session remains open (you can continue recording if needed)
3. The inspector closes and the steps are visible in the node panel

Steps generated by the inspector can be manually edited in the Mobile Flow node after saving — add evidence, adjust selectors, configure retry attempts, etc.

Managing the Session

Closing the inspector without clicking "Save Steps" discards the steps recorded in the current session. Steps previously saved to the node are not affected.

Generated Selectors

The inspector automatically generates selectors for each tapped element, prioritizing in this order:

1. accessibility_id, id, resource-id, name, or content-desc — strongest signals
2. hint, label, and text when they belong to the element itself
3. Nearby context — label/text associated with the field, useful for inputs without identifiers
4. xpath with @bounds — selector based on element coordinates
5. Fallback coordinates — absolute X/Y used if all selectors fail
6. Generic class — used only as a last resort

@bounds selectors and coordinates are visual fallbacks. In automated flows, prefer selectors by accessibility_id, id, resource-id, label, or nearby context.

Tips

• Use Inspect Mode (or right-click) to identify the best selector before recording, especially on screens with many similar elements
• Record a complete flow in one go — connect, execute the use case in the app, save — to get steps with real context
• After saving, review the steps in the node and add evidence screenshots on critical steps
• For apps with long animations, add wait steps (elementVisible) after taps to ensure the screen has loaded before the next action
• In the Desktop edition, local device connection is faster — use for development. For cloud tests (BrowserStack, etc.), configure the SaaS credential before opening the inspector