Browserstack Documentation Documentation
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    Integrate Your Test Suite with BrowserStack

    This section will help you migrate your existing test suite to run on BrowserStack Automate. It also covers key features and best practice recommendations for smooth integration.

    Setup authentication

    Set environment variables for BrowserStack credentials

    Copy 
    # Set these values in your ~/.zprofile (zsh) or ~/.profile (bash)
export BROWSERSTACK_USERNAME="YOUR_USERNAME"
export BROWSERSTACK_ACCESS_KEY="YOUR_ACCESS_KEY"

    # setx.exe does not set the environment variable in the current command prompt, but it will be available in subsequent command prompts
setx BROWSERSTACK_USERNAME "YOUR_USERNAME"
setx BROWSERSTACK_ACCESS_KEY "YOUR_ACCESS_KEY"

# Verify whether the variables have been set
echo BROWSERSTACK_USERNAME
echo BROWSERSTACK_ACCESS_KEY

    In the previous section, we set up BrowserStack credentials directly in the test script. That method works for a sample build, but for a production-grade integration we recommend you store your credentials as environment variables and use those environment variables in your code.

    Use BrowserStack credentials in your test cases

    test-script.rb
    Copy icon Copy

    Update your test cases to read BrowserStack credentials from environment variables and point the Selenium hub to the BrowserStack remote hub URL.

    Connect your website under test

    BrowserStack can integrate with test suites pointing to your localhost URL, staging environment and even websites behind one or more proxies/firewalls.

    • Gem - Language Bindings
    • CLI Interface - Binary

    Install the package

    Terminal
    Copy icon Copy

    Add browserstack-local to your project using the gem command.

    Set the access key and use available methods in your test script

    test-script.rb
    Copy icon Copy

    Set the bs_local_args variable to your BrowserStack Access key and and use the following methods provided by the local library to manage your local connection:

    Method Description
    bs_local.start Expects bs_local object. Returns a callback when the tunnel has started successfully. Your test script should start executing after this callback has been invoked.
    bs_local.stop Call this method after your test suite is complete.
    bs_local.isRunning Check if BrowserStack local instance is running.

    Add capabilities to enable BrowserStack local

    test-script.rb
    Copy icon Copy

    Set the local capability to true.

    If your staging environment is behind a proxy or firewall, additional arguments, such as proxy username, proxy password, etc, need to be set. Check out Local Binary parameters to learn about additional arguments.

    test-script.rb
    Copy icon Copy

    Set the browserstack.local capability to true.

    If your staging environment is behind a proxy or firewall, additional arguments, such as proxy username, proxy password, etc, need to be set. Check out Local Binary parameters to learn about additional arguments.

    Run a test using Browserstack Local

    Try running a localhost after completing the above steps. Check out our sample Git repository for more details.

    Download BrowserStack Local

    Show download options

    Unzip the binary

    Unzip the downloaded file and move it to a folder/directory from which you have permission to start it using your command line or terminal.

    Run the binary using your command line or terminal

    Run the following command to initiate the BrowserStack Local connection

    Copy 
    # Step 3 - Run this command in your terminal to start the BrowserStack Local binary. Your working directory should be where you have the downloaded binary.
./BrowserStackLocal --key YOUR_ACCESS_KEY

    # Step 3 - Run this command in your command prompt. Your working directory should be where you have unzipped BrowserStackLocal.exe
BrowserStackLocal.exe --key YOUR_ACCESS_KEY

    If your staging environment is behind a proxy or firewall, additional arguments, such as proxy username, proxy password, etc, need to be set. Check out Local Binary parameters to learn about additional arguments.

    Set up config to enable local

    Set the local capability to true.

    test-script.rb
    Copy icon Copy

    Set the browserstack.local capability to true.

    test-script.rb
    Copy icon Copy

    Waiting for BrowserStack Local to run

    Waiting for BrowserStack Local to run

    Migrate your test cases

    This section will help you with all the config changes, commonly used features, and best practices for a smooth migration of your test cases to BrowserStack.

    Set OS-browser combination to run test

    test-script.rb
    Copy icon Copy

    We recommend running your build using a single browser like Chrome or Firefox to begin with. This will isolate issues during the migration phase and help with faster debugging. Refer the capabilities as shown to use Chrome. Once you’ve migrated your test cases or have achieved stability with Chrome or Firefox, you can set up cross-browser testing.

    Organize tests

    test-script.rb
    Copy icon Copy

    Use the following capabilities for naming your tests and builds. This ensures effective debugging, test reporting, and build execution time analysis.

    Capability Description
    sessionName Name for your test case. For example, Homepage - Get started
    buildName CI/CD job or build name. For example, Website build #23, staging_1.3.27
    projectName Name of your project. For example, Marketing Website

    Use a new buildName name every time you run your test cases. This ensures that sessions are logically grouped under a unique build name and helps you monitor the health of your test suite effectively.

    A build can only have a maximum of 1000 tests and post that a new build gets created with a ‘-1’ suffixed to the original build name.

    Mark test as passed or failed

    test-script.rb
    Copy icon Copy

    To mark whether your test has passed or failed on BrowserStack, use the Javascript executor in your test script. You can mark a test as passed or failed based on your test assertions.

    The arguments passed in the Javascript method for setting the status and the corresponding reason of the test are status and reason

    • status accepts either passed or failed as the value
    • reason accepts a string value

    Set up debugging capabilities

    test-script.rb
    Copy icon Copy

    Use the following common debugging capabilities for your tests:

    1. Set the the debug capability to enable visual logs and capture screenshots at every Selenium command automatically.
    2. Console Logs with log level ‘errors’ are enabled by default. Set the consoleLogs capability to enable different log levels, such as warnings, info, verbose, errors, and disable.
    3. Set the networkLogs capability to capture the browser’s performance data such as network traffic, latency, HTTP requests, and responses in a HAR format.

    Commonly used features and advanced-use cases

    Here’s a list of features and capabilities you may find useful.

    Accept insecure certificates

    test-script.rb
    Copy icon Copy

    This capability suppresses browser popups warning about self-signed certificates usually found in staging environments.

    Capability Expected values
    acceptInsecureCerts A boolean. Default is False.
    True if you want to accept all SSL certificates.

    Change desktop resolution

    test-script.rb
    Copy icon Copy

    This capability changes the default desktop screen resolution for your tests on BrowserStack infra.

    Capability Description Expected values
    resolution Set the resolution of your remote machine before beginning your test A string. Default resolution is 1024x768

    Supported resolutions:
    Windows (XP, 7): 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x800, 1280x1024, 1366x768, 1440x900, 1680x1050, 1600x1200, 1920x1200, 1920x1080, and 2048x1536

    Windows (8, 8.1, 10): 1024x768, 1280x800, 1280x1024, 1366x768, 1440x900, 1680x1050, 1600x1200, 1920x1200, 1920x1080, and 2048x1536

    OS X (Sonoma, Ventura, Monterey, Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave, and High Sierra): 1024x768, 1280x960, 1280x1024, 1600x1200, 1920x1080, 2560x1440, 2560x1600, and 3840x2160

    OS X (All other versions): 1024x768, 1280x960, 1280x1024, 1600x1200, and 1920x1080

    Others

    Some of the additional capabilities that you might find usefule are:

    Set OS-browser combination to run test

    test-script.rb
    Copy icon Copy

    We recommend running your build using a single browser like Chrome or Firefox to begin with. This will isolate issues during the migration phase and help with faster debugging. Refer the capabilities as shown to use Chrome. Once you’ve migrated your test cases or have achieved stability with Chrome or Firefox, you can set up cross-browser testing.

    Organize tests

    test-script.rb
    Copy icon Copy

    Use the following capabilities for naming your tests and builds. This ensures effective debugging, test reporting, and build execution time analysis.

    Capability Description
    name Name for your test case. For example, Homepage - Get started
    build CI/CD job or build name. For example, Website build #23, staging_1.3.27
    project Name of your project. For example, Marketing Website

    Use a new build name every time you run your test cases. This ensures that sessions are logically grouped under a unique build name and helps you monitor the health of your test suite effectively.

    A build can only have a maximum of 1000 tests and post that a new build gets created with a ‘-1’ suffixed to the original build name.

    Mark test as passed or failed

    test-script.rb
    Copy icon Copy

    To mark whether your test has passed or failed on BrowserStack, use the adjacent Javascript executor in your test script. You can mark a test as passed or failed based on your test assertions.

    The arguments passed in the Javascript method for setting the status and the corresponding reason of the test are status and reason

    • status accepts either passed or failed as the value
    • reason accepts a value in string datatype

    Set up debugging capabilities

    test-script.rb
    Copy icon Copy

    Use the following common debugging capabilities for your tests:

    1. Set the the browserstack.debug capability to enable visual logs and capture screenshots at every Selenium command automatically.
    2. Console Logs with log level ‘errors’ are enabled by default. Set the browserstack.consoleLogs capability to enable different log levels, such as warnings, info, verbose, errors, and disable.
    3. Set the browserstack.networkLogs capability to capture the browser’s performance data such as network traffic, latency, HTTP requests, and responses in a HAR format.

    Commonly used features and advanced-use cases

    Here’s a list of features and capabilities you may find useful.

    Accept insecure certificates

    test-script.rb
    Copy icon Copy

    This capability suppresses browser popups warning about self-signed certificates usually found in staging environments.

    Capability Expected values
    acceptSslCerts A boolean. Default is False.
    True if you want to accept all SSL certificates.

    Change desktop resolution

    test-script.rb
    Copy icon Copy

    This capability changes the default desktop screen resolution for your tests on BrowserStack infra.

    Capability Description Expected values
    resolution Set the resolution of your remote machine before beginning your test A string. Default resolution is 1024x768

    Supported resolutions:
    Windows (XP, 7): 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x800, 1280x1024, 1366x768, 1440x900, 1680x1050, 1600x1200, 1920x1200, 1920x1080, and 2048x1536

    Windows (8, 8.1, 10): 1024x768, 1280x800, 1280x1024, 1366x768, 1440x900, 1680x1050, 1600x1200, 1920x1200, 1920x1080, and 2048x1536

    OS X (Sonoma, Ventura, Monterey, Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave, and High Sierra): 1024x768, 1280x960, 1280x1024, 1600x1200, 1920x1080, 2560x1440, 2560x1600, and 3840x2160

    OS X (All other versions): 1024x768, 1280x960, 1280x1024, 1600x1200, and 1920x1080

    This capability changes the default desktop screen resolution for your tests on BrowserStack infra.

    Others

    Some of the additional capabilities that you might find usefule are:

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