gridfleet-testkit 0.3.0

Supported pytest and run-orchestration helpers for GridFleet integrations

GridFleet Testkit

testkit/ is the supported Python integration surface for external pytest/Appium suites that run through GridFleet.

What This Package Owns

• Stable import root: gridfleet_testkit
• Supported pytest plugin: gridfleet_testkit.pytest_plugin
• Supported public helpers:
  • build_appium_options
  • create_appium_driver
  • get_connection_target_from_driver
  • get_device_config_for_driver
  • GridFleetClient
  • HeartbeatThread
  • register_run_cleanup
• Manual hardware examples under testkit/examples/

What It Does Not Own

• Appium server installation or host-level driver setup
• Selenium Grid lifecycle
• Device registration, verification, or readiness setup
• CI orchestration beyond the documented client helpers

The supported contract is the installable package and documented import pattern. The example scripts are onboarding aids, not CI-backed conformance tests.

Install

From PyPI:

pip install "gridfleet-testkit[appium]"

From a local checkout:

uv pip install -e ./testkit[appium]

From a copied testkit/ directory inside another repository:

uv pip install -e ./testkit[appium]

From a Git checkout or VCS URL that contains this package:

uv pip install "git+https://github.com/<org>/<repo>.git#subdirectory=testkit"

The package supports Python 3.10 and newer.

Environment

Variable	Default	Meaning
GRID_URL	http://localhost:4444	Selenium Grid hub URL used by the pytest Appium fixture
GRIDFLEET_API_URL	http://localhost:8000/api	GridFleet API base used for session reporting, config lookup, run helpers, and driver-pack catalog lookup
GRIDFLEET_TESTKIT_USERNAME	unset	Machine-auth username sent as HTTP Basic auth on every API call. Required when the manager runs with GRIDFLEET_AUTH_ENABLED=true. Use the same value as the manager's GRIDFLEET_MACHINE_AUTH_USERNAME.
GRIDFLEET_TESTKIT_PASSWORD	unset	Machine-auth password sent as HTTP Basic auth on every API call. Required when the manager runs with GRIDFLEET_AUTH_ENABLED=true. Use the same value as the manager's GRIDFLEET_MACHINE_AUTH_PASSWORD.
GRIDFLEET_TESTKIT_PACK_ID	unset	Optional default driver pack id for Appium option building
GRIDFLEET_TESTKIT_PLATFORM_ID	unset	Optional default platform id for Appium option building

The package assumes a running GridFleet API, a reachable Selenium Grid hub, and platform-specific Appium driver setup on the registered hosts. When auth is disabled on the manager, leave GRIDFLEET_TESTKIT_USERNAME / GRIDFLEET_TESTKIT_PASSWORD unset and the testkit will send no Authorization header.

Pytest Plugin

Load the supported plugin from your test project:

pytest_plugins = ["gridfleet_testkit.pytest_plugin"]

Minimal usage:

import pytest

@pytest.mark.parametrize(
    "appium_driver",
    [{"pack_id": "appium-uiautomator2", "platform_id": "android_mobile"}],
    indirect=True,
)
def test_session_starts(appium_driver):
    assert appium_driver.session_id is not None

The plugin resolves pack_id and platform_id against the enabled driver-pack catalog, then injects Appium platformName, appium:automationName, appium:platform, and gridfleet:testName.

When exactly one enabled pack provides a platform id, platform_id alone is accepted. For environment-portable tests, set GRIDFLEET_TESTKIT_PACK_ID and GRIDFLEET_TESTKIT_PLATFORM_ID, then parametrize with {}.

If you need raw Appium control instead, omit pack_id and platform_id, then pass platformName as a normal capability key.

Plugin Lifecycle

• Creates an Appium session through GRID_URL
• Injects gridfleet:testName with the pytest test name
• Reports final session status back to GRIDFLEET_API_URL
• Exposes device_config for post-session config lookup using the runtime connection target
• Relies on manager-owned runtime isolation for Appium driver sub-ports and XCUITest build paths

Direct Appium Usage

If you need to create a driver outside pytest, use the public Appium helpers:

from gridfleet_testkit import create_appium_driver, get_device_config_for_driver

driver = create_appium_driver(
    pack_id="appium-uiautomator2",
    platform_id="firetv_real",
    test_name="manual-smoke",
)

try:
    assert driver.session_id is not None
    device_config = get_device_config_for_driver(driver)
finally:
    driver.quit()

create_appium_driver(...) reuses the same driver-pack catalog resolver as the pytest fixture. Managed nodes still get their host-scoped runtime allocations from the manager, so callers should not hard-code systemPort, chromedriverPort, mjpegServerPort, wdaLocalPort, or derivedDataPath. get_device_config_for_driver(...) is the non-pytest equivalent of the device_config fixture. If you only need the options object, use build_appium_options(...).

Client Helpers

Helper	Purpose
GridFleetClient.list_devices(filters)	List devices using backend filters such as status, pack_id, platform_id, host_id, connection_target, and tags.*
GridFleetClient.get_device(device_id)	Fetch one full device detail row by backend device id
GridFleetClient.get_device_config(connection_target, reveal=True)	Look up a device by runtime connection target and fetch its config
GridFleetClient.get_driver_pack_catalog()	Fetch enabled driver-pack catalog data for Appium platform selection
GridFleetClient.reserve_devices(...)	Create a run/reservation and return the manager response
GridFleetClient.claim_device(run_id, worker_id=...)	Claim one reserved device for a worker
GridFleetClient.claim_device_with_retry(run_id, worker_id=..., max_wait_sec=300)	Claim one reserved device, sleeping according to server Retry-After responses
GridFleetClient.release_device(run_id, device_id=..., worker_id=...)	Release a worker claim without cooldown
GridFleetClient.release_device_safe(run_id, device_id=..., worker_id=...)	Release a worker claim and tolerate 404/409 when cleanup races with run finalization or a prior release
GridFleetClient.release_device_with_cooldown(run_id, device_id=..., worker_id=..., reason=..., ttl_seconds=...)	Release a worker claim and keep that run from reclaiming the device until cooldown expires
GridFleetClient.signal_ready(run_id)	Move a run to ready
GridFleetClient.signal_active(run_id)	Move a run to active
GridFleetClient.heartbeat(run_id)	Send a run heartbeat and read current state
GridFleetClient.report_preparation_failure(run_id, device_id, message, source="ci_preparation")	Exclude one reserved device after setup fails
GridFleetClient.register_session(fields)	Register a Grid/Appium session with optional requested capability metadata
GridFleetClient.register_session_from_driver(driver, fields)	Extract session id and capabilities from an Appium driver and register the session
GridFleetClient.update_session_status(session_id, status)	Report final session status
GridFleetClient.complete_run(run_id)	Complete a run
GridFleetClient.cancel_run(run_id)	Cancel a run
GridFleetClient.start_heartbeat(run_id, interval=30)	Start a background heartbeat thread
build_error_session_payload(fields)	Build a /api/sessions payload for driver-creation failures without importing pytest
hydrate_allocated_device(claim_response, run_id, client)	Combine a claim response with optional device config and live capabilities
hydrate_allocated_device_from_driver(allocated, driver, client)	Return a new allocated-device object with capabilities from a running driver
register_run_cleanup(client, run_id, heartbeat_thread=None)	Register atexit and signal cleanup that completes or cancels a run

Worker Identity

worker_id is an arbitrary string used for claim ownership, telemetry, and cooldown attribution. For pytest-xdist, pass request.config.workerinput["workerid"] from worker processes; values are normally gw0, gw1, and so on. For controller-only flows, use "controller" or a stable hostname. For custom schedulers, use a UUID or job-specific worker name.

Reservation Flow

from gridfleet_testkit import GridFleetClient, register_run_cleanup

client = GridFleetClient("http://manager-ip:8000/api")

run = client.reserve_devices(
    name="my-test-run",
    requirements=[
        {
            "pack_id": "appium-uiautomator2",
            "platform_id": "firetv_real",
            "os_version": "8",
            "allocation": "all_available",
            "min_count": 1,
        }
    ],
    ttl_minutes=45,
    created_by="local-dev",
)

run_id = run["id"]
worker_count = len(run["devices"])
heartbeat_thread = client.start_heartbeat(run_id, interval=30)
register_run_cleanup(client, run_id, heartbeat_thread)

# If one reserved device fails setup:
client.report_preparation_failure(
    run_id,
    device_id="device-123",
    message="Driver bootstrap timed out during CI setup",
    source="local-dev",
)

client.signal_ready(run_id)
client.signal_active(run_id)

Use count for exact reservations. Use allocation: "all_available" when CI should reserve every currently eligible matching device and size its worker pool from len(run["devices"]).

Worker Claim With Cooldown

from gridfleet_testkit import GridFleetClient

client = GridFleetClient("http://manager-ip:8000/api")

claim = client.claim_device_with_retry(run_id, worker_id="gw0", max_wait_sec=300)
device_id = claim["device_id"]

try:
    # Create the Appium session and run test setup for this worker.
    ...
except RuntimeError as exc:
    client.release_device_with_cooldown(
        run_id,
        device_id=device_id,
        worker_id="gw0",
        reason=str(exc),
        ttl_seconds=60,
    )
    raise
else:
    client.release_device(run_id, device_id=device_id, worker_id="gw0")

Cooldowns are scoped to the active run. They prevent the same run from reclaiming the device until ttl_seconds expires, but completing or cancelling the run releases the physical device normally.

For pytest-xdist controller/worker orchestration, see Testkit xdist recipe. The recipe is copyable guidance, not a public testkit abstraction.

Allocated Device Hydration

Use hydrate_allocated_device(claim_response, run_id=run_id, client=client) immediately after a worker claim when a custom plugin needs a stable object instead of raw claim JSON.

from gridfleet_testkit import GridFleetClient, hydrate_allocated_device

client = GridFleetClient("http://manager-ip:8000/api")
run_id = "run-123"
claim = client.claim_device_with_retry(run_id, worker_id="gw0", max_wait_sec=300)
allocated = hydrate_allocated_device(claim, run_id=run_id, client=client)

assert allocated.device_id == claim["device_id"]
assert allocated.platform_name in {"Android", "iOS", "tvOS", "Roku"}

The helper fetches static device config by default when connection_target is present. It fetches live capabilities only when fetch_capabilities=True.

Examples

Baseline screenshot examples:

• examples/test_android_mobile_screenshot.py
• examples/test_android_tv_screenshot.py
• examples/test_firetv_screenshot.py
• examples/test_ios_simulator_screenshot.py
• examples/test_tvos_screenshot.py
• examples/test_roku_screenshot.py

Advanced example:

• examples/test_roku_sideload_screenshot.py

The baseline examples share the same flow:

1. Create a session through Selenium Grid
2. Print the resolved connection context
3. Save a screenshot
4. Assert that the screenshot file exists and is non-empty

Platform Notes

• Android Mobile / Android TV / Fire TV:
  • require the UiAutomator2 driver
  • rely on Grid routing hints generated from GridFleet metadata
• Fire TV:
  • baseline example supports optional appium:os_version filtering when you need a specific Fire OS release
• iOS simulator:
  • baseline example intentionally targets the simulator lane with appium:device_type=simulator
• tvOS:
  • baseline example intentionally targets a real device and assumes the host already satisfies XCUITest and WebDriverAgent prerequisites
• Roku:
  • screenshot examples install and activate the bundled sample dev app before capture
  • both Roku examples depend on Roku dev credentials