Set up Local Testing
Learn how to set up Local Testing with BrowserStack Live.
To set up Local Testing, you need to either install the BrowserStack Local app or run the binary depending on the operating system and browser that you are using to access BrowserStack Live.
To understand why you need to install the BrowserStack Local app or run the binary, see Why do you need to install the BrowserStackLocal app?.
The Local Testing setup involves the following high-level steps:
- Download and install BrowserStackLocal app or binary
- Launch BrowserStackLocal app (Applicable only to BrowserStackLocal app)
- Verify whether BrowserStackLocal app is running (Applicable only to BrowserStackLocal app)
- Connect BrowserStackLocal app with Live (Applicable only to BrowserStackLocal app)
- Launch a Local Live session
- Access your local website on Live
Download and install BrowserStackLocal
The OS-browser combinations mentioned in the following sections are the OS and browser you are using to access BrowserStack Live, not the OS and browser you are going to open in the Live session for testing.
Chrome, Firefox, or Edge
Download BrowserStackLocal app installer
You can download the BrowserStackLocal app installer (BrowserStackLocal.msi) from the following sources:
After you download the installer or during the installation, you might get some security warnings depending on your organization’s security restrictions. You can still continue with the installation as the download links are secure. The installer is digitally signed, identifying the publisher as BrowserStack Ltd.
Direct download link:
Download the BrowserStack Local app
Live session: You can also download BrowserStackLocal.msi from the Local Testing option on the Live vertical toolbar.
The BrowserStackLocal.msi package is downloaded to your default downloads folder. You can also find the installer on your browser’s downloads page.
Install BrowserStackLocal app
- Double-click the
BrowserStackLocal.msiinstaller file.
You might get a security warning. Click Run to proceed.
- On the Welcome screen, click Next.
- Select the destination folder where you want to install the BrowserStackLocal app. Then, click Next.
- On the Ready to install BrowserStackLocal screen, click Install.
The installer requests for authentication to allow the installation.
The summary screen confirms that the BrowserStackLocal app is installed. Click Finish to close the installer.
Other browsers
Download the BrowserStack Local binary for Windows.
After you download the binary or when you run the binary, you might get some security warnings depending on your organization’s security restrictions. You can still continue with the installation as the download links are secure. The binaries are digitally signed, identifying the publisher as BrowserStack Ltd.
Unzip the file to a folder/directory on your system, open the command-line interface, and navigate to the folder containing the Local binary.
Run the Local binary using the following command:
BrowserStackLocal.exe --key YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
For next steps, see Launch a Local Live session and Access your local website on Live.
Chrome, Firefox, or Edge
Download BrowserStackLocal app installer
You can download the BrowserStackLocal app installer (BrowserStackLocal.pkg) from the following sources:
After you download the installer or during the installation, you might get some security warnings depending on your organization’s security restrictions. You can still continue with the installation as the download links are secure. The installer is digitally signed, identifying the publisher as BrowserStack Ltd.
Direct download link:
Download the BrowserStack Local app
Live session: You can also download BrowserStackLocal.pkg from the Local Testing option on the Live vertical toolbar.
The BrowserStackLocal.pkg package is downloaded to your default download folder. You can also find the installer on your browser’s downloads page.
Install BrowserStackLocal app
- Double-click the
BrowserStackLocal.pkgfile.
The installer launches. - On the Introduction screen, click Continue.
The installer takes the default destination for installation and goes to the Installation Type screen. - (Optional) If you want to change the destination folder, on the Installation Type screen, click Change Install Location. On the Destination Select screen, choose your desired location where you want to install the app and click Continue.
-
On the Installation Type screen, click Install.
The installer requests for your password to allow the installation. Enter the password and click Install Software.
The Summary window confirms that the BrowserStackLocal app is installed. Click Close.
Other browsers
Download the BrowserStack Local binary for macOS/OS X.
After you download the binary or when you run the binary, you might get some security warnings depending on your organization’s security restrictions. You can still continue with the installation as the download links are secure. The binaries are digitally signed, identifying the publisher as BrowserStack Ltd.
Unzip the file to a folder/directory on your system, open the command-line interface, and navigate to the folder containing the Local binary.
Run the Local binary using the following command:
./BrowserStackLocal --key YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
A success message confirms that BrowserStackLocal is running on your system.
For next steps, see Launch a Local Live session and Access your local website on Live.
Download the appropriate BrowserStack Local binary for your system:
After you download the binary or when you run the binary, you might get some security warnings depending on your organization’s security restrictions. You can still continue with the installation as the download links are secure. The binaries are digitally signed, identifying the publisher as BrowserStack Ltd.
Unzip the file to a folder/directory on your machine, open the command-line interface, and navigate to the folder containing the Local binary.
Run the Local binary using the following command:
./BrowserStackLocal --key YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
A success message is shown on the terminal confirming that BrowserStackLocal is running.
For next steps, see Launch a Local Live session and Access your local website on Live.
Launch BrowserStackLocal app
This step is only applicable to the BrowserStackLocal app, and not the binary.
After the BrowserStackLocal app is installed, it starts automatically and you are not required to do anything to start the BrowserStackLocal app.
If the app doesn’t start automatically, follow these steps to launch the BrowserStack Local app:
Select the search button on the taskbar and type BrowserStackLocal. Click the BrowserStackLocal app from the search results to launch it. If the app doesn’t come up in the search results, you can find the app in the installation location you selected during the installation.
Open Finder. Then, go to the Applications folder and click the BrowserStackLocal app.
To know more about the options on the BrowserStackLocal app, see BrowserStackLocal app UI options.
Verify whether BrowserStackLocal app is running
This step is only applicable to the BrowserStackLocal app, and not the binary.
To verify whether the BrowserStackLocal app is running:
You can see the BrowserStack Local app icon in the Windows system tray.
You can see the BrowserStack Local app icon in the top menu bar.
Connect the BrowserStackLocal app with Live
This step is only applicable to the BrowserStackLocal app, and not the binary.
If you do not have the Live dashboard or Live session open in your browser, open the dashboard to initiate the connection between the BrowserStackLocal app and Live.
If you already have the Live dashboard open or a Live session running in your browser, the BrowserStackLocal app automatically connects with Live.
On the BrowserStackLocal app, the status shows as Connected. The Connected status indicates that Live is now connected to BrowserStackLocal.
Launch a Local Live session
If you do not have a Live session running in your browser, open the Live dashboard and launch a Live session.
To launch a Live session, follow these steps:
- In your browser, open the Live dashboard.
- Select the device-browser combination to launch a Live session.
On the Live vertical toolbar, the green indicator beside the Local Testing option indicates that Local Testing is enabled for your session.
If you had a Live session already running before you connected BrowserStackLocal with Live, then the session restarts with the Local settings. On the Live vertical toolbar, the Local Testing indicator becomes green. This indicates that Local Testing is enabled and ready for you to use.
Access your local website on Live
In the Live session, enter your website address in the remote device browser (for instance, localhost:3000). You can now continue to browse and test your website as you would on your local device.
On iOS, the localhost URL doesn’t work. The localhost URL automatically changes to http://bs-local.com. If the localhost URL doesn’t change automatically, replace localhost with bs-local.com manually. For example, instead of using localhost:3000, use bs-local.com:3000 to load your local website. Also, ensure that your local server is configured to serve requests from bs-local.com.
Next steps
- For issues related to accessing the website on Live devices, see Access local website on Live devices
- For advanced use cases such as VPN, Firewall, see Behind proxy, firewall or VPN?
- For websites with self-signed certificates, see Using self-signed certificates?
- For troubleshooting setup issues, see Troubleshoot setup issues?
- For troubleshooting on iOS, see Troubleshoot issues on iOS
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