identifier-checker

A universal, automated command-line tool for mobile QA engineers, SDETs, and test automation engineers working with any mobile application technology:

• Native Android (Kotlin / Java / Jetpack Compose)
• Native iOS (Swift / SwiftUI / UIKit)
• React Native (Bridged Architecture)
• React Native Turbo (New Architecture / Fabric)
• .NET MAUI (XAML / C# Multi-platform App UI)
• Capacitor & Ionic (HTML5 WebViews)
• Flutter

It verifies whether accessibility and test identifiers (resource-id, content-desc, name, label, testID, AutomationProperties.AutomationId, id) are present in the runtime UI hierarchy, correctly exposed in page source attributes, and queryable by live Appium element locators across your app's screens.

Features

• 🌐 Universal Framework Compatibility: Detects test and accessibility attributes across Native Android, Native iOS, React Native, React Native Turbo Modules, .NET MAUI, Capacitor, Ionic, and Flutter.
• 🚀 5-Second Initial Startup Delay: Automatically pauses for 5 seconds on initial app launch to allow splash screens, heavy SDKs, and remote data to finish loading.
• ⚡ Ultra-Fast Missing Element Lookup: Uses a 0.5-second lookup timeout for missing identifiers, failing missing elements twice as fast.
• 🎯 Strict Appium Locators: Performs live element lookups using By.ACCESSIBILITY_ID and By.ID (no slow XPath overhead).
• 📱 Screen-Wise Verification: Group your expected identifiers screen-by-screen in a simple JSON file.
• ⏸️ Interactive Screen Navigation: Verifies the launch screen automatically, then prompts you to navigate to the next screen on your device/emulator before pressing ENTER.
• 📝 Markdown Summary Reports: Prints a clean terminal summary table and saves a formatted Markdown report (id_report_<timestamp>.md or a custom .md file path).
• ⚙️ CI/CD Ready: Exits with status code 0 when all identifiers across all screens pass, and 1 when any identifier fails or is missing.

Prerequisites

Before using identifier-checker, make sure you have the following installed and running:

1. Python & Package Manager:

   • Python 3.10+
   • pip (or pipx) installed on your system.

2. Appium Server:

   • Appium Server v2.x installed via Node/npm:

     npm install -g appium
     

   • Install drivers for your target platform:

     appium driver install uiautomator2   # For Android
     appium driver install xcuitest       # For iOS
     

3. Running Appium Server:

   • Start the Appium server in a separate terminal window before running verification:

     appium
     

     (By default, Appium listens on http://127.0.0.1:4723).

4. Target Device:

   • An active Android Emulator / Real Device (with USB debugging enabled) or iOS Simulator.

Technology Identifier Attribute Mappings

Step-by-Step User Guide

Step 1: Install identifier-checker

Install using python3 -m pip (or pipx for global CLI tools):

python3 -m pip install identifier-checker

(Or via pipx):

pipx install identifier-checker

Step 2: Create Your expected_ids.json File

Create a JSON file (e.g. expected_ids.json) listing your expected identifiers grouped by screen name. You can use either the simple list format or the automated transition format:

Format A: Simple List Format

{
  "screens": {
    "home_screen": [
      "app_drawer",
      "home_core_card",
      "recent_activity_$index",
      "truvideo_sdk",
      "view_all_recent_activity"
    ],
    "all_video_requests_screen": [
      "back_button",
      "status_$index",
      "toggle_stream",
      "video_request_item_$index",
      "video_request_list_add_fab_button",
      "video_requests_id_$index",
      "video_requests_type_$index"
    ]
  }
}

Format B: Advanced Format with Automated Screen Navigation (transition_to_next)

To automate screen transitions without manual terminal prompts, specify "transition_to_next" actions (e.g., clicking tabs/buttons, entering text, or deep links):

{
  "screens": {
    "home_screen": {
      "ids": [
        "home_header_title",
        "gallery_bottom_tab",
        "quick_record_btn"
      ],
      "transition_to_next": {
        "type": "click",
        "locator_value": "gallery_bottom_tab",
        "wait_after": 2.0
      }
    },
    "gallery_screen": {
      "ids": [
        "gallery_grid_item_0",
        "gallery_filter_btn"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Supported Navigation Action Types:

• click: Clicks a button or tab ({"type": "click", "locator_value": "button_id", "wait_after": 2.0})
• text_input: Enters text into input fields ({"type": "text_input", "locator_value": "username_field", "text": "my_user"})
• deep_link: Navigates directly via URL scheme ("deep_link": "myapp://settings")
• back: Presses the device Back button ({"type": "back"})
• scroll_down: Swipes down to reveal more content ({"type": "scroll_down"})
• wait: Pauses for animations to settle ({"type": "wait", "seconds": 2.0})

Step 3: Open Terminal and cd to Your JSON File Location

Open your terminal and navigate to the folder where you placed your expected_ids.json file:

cd /path/to/your/json/folder

Step 4: Run the Verification Command

Option A: Verify an Installed Android App (via Package Name)

You only need to pass --app-package. Appium will automatically open your installed app's launch screen:

identifier-checker \
  --ids expected_ids.json \
  --app-package com.example.myapp

Option B: Save Report to a Custom File Path

Specify a direct Markdown file path using --output:

identifier-checker \
  --ids expected_ids.json \
  --app-package com.example.myapp \
  --output ~/Desktop/my_verification_report.md

Command Line Options Reference

Exit Codes

Guides & Documentation

• 📖 Local Usage, Package Commands & PyPI Deployment Guide: Complete steps for running with Python commands, CLI package commands, and releasing updates to PyPI.
• 🗺️ Enhancement Roadmap: Multi-pillar evolution roadmap.