[Mobile] iOS Setup (Simulators) in Katalon Studio

This article shows you how to set up Xcode simulators to test iOS applications with Katalon Studio.

To begin with, you need to setup a macOS environment. You can not execute iOS mobile testing in Windows and Linux.

Note:

• From version 9.1.0 onwards, Katalon Studio supports Appium 2 for mobile testing.

Part 1: Install Xcode

Install Xcode version 10.2 or newer. You can download Xcode from the App Store or the Apple Developer website: Xcode 13.

Note:

• Xcode must support the current version of your macOS and iOS device. Check that your macOS and iOS device are compatible with Xcode in this document supported iOS environments in Katalon Studio and Apple Developer document System requirements.

Part 2: Install Appium and Xcode command-line tools

Install with built-in tools

You can install Appium and Xcode command-line tools (Xcode CLT) via Katalon built-in tools. To do so:

1. Go to Tools > Set up iOS environment and select Install Dependencies.
   
2. Katalon will automatically install the latest version of Xcode CLT, Appium, Homebrew, NodeJS, and other iOS dependencies.
   

Install manually

1. Install the command-line tool for Xcode. You can download the command-line tool compatible with your Xcode version from the Apple Developer website here: Download.
   Alternatively, you can copy and paste the following command-line arguments in this order in the Terminal to install the command-line tool for Xcode:

   xcode-select --install

   sudo xcode-select -s /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer
2. Download and install Node.js from the Node.js website: Node.js Downloads.
   Make sure you install Node.js into a location where you have full Read/Write permissions.
3. Install Appium with the following commands in the Terminal:
   • For Katalon Studio 9.1.0 onwards, install the latest Appium version:

     npm install -g appium
   • For Katalon Studio before 9.1.0, install Appium 1.12.1+:

     npm install -g appium@version
   Note:

   • If you are using emulators other than Xcode simulators, some emulators come with Appium installed. If you want to run an application on an emulator, check your emulator settings before installing Appium.

   To learn more about Appium, you can refer to the Appium document here: Getting started.

Part 3: Set up Xcode simulators for mobile testing in Katalon Studio

After installing Xcode, Katalon automatically recognizes Xcode simulators as iOS devices. To check whether Katalon successfully recognizes Xcode simulators, on the main toolbar, select the iOS device in the dropdown list next to Run.

You should see a list of pre-installed Xcode simulators appearing as iOS devices.

Part 4: Prepare the iOS application file

To execute mobile testing with Xcode simulators, you need to prepare an .app file.

1. Open the .xcodeproj project file with Xcode. Here, we open our sample Coffee Timer.xcodeproj project file.
   
2. After opening the project in Xcode, choose one of the iOS simulators to launch the apps.
   
3. To build the .app file, click Product > Build.
   Wait for the build to finish, to find the app file, go to ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/{app name}/Build/Products/{scheme}-iphonesimulator/{app name}.app. In this example, we can find our sample Coffee Timer.app file at: ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/Coffee Timer/Build/Products/Debug-iphonesimulator/Coffee Timer.app.
   Tip:

   • To quickly search for the DerivedData folder, copy and paste the following path ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData into the Spotlight.