Summary

The website content introduces Gradle Managed Devices (GMD) as a new feature in the Android Gradle plugin for streamlining Android testing by allowing developers to configure and run tests on virtual or physical devices directly from their build.gradle file.

Abstract

The article "Gradle Managed Devices: The Future of Android Testing [Part 1]" discusses the integration of Android Automation Testing with Gradle Managed Devices using Android Studio. This feature, introduced by Google, aims to simplify the continuous integration (CI) process for Android applications by providing a stable environment for test automation. Developers can specify device configurations within the build.gradle file, and the Android Gradle Plugin (AGP) will create and manage the necessary virtual devices. The process involves adding specific code to the build.gradle file, syncing the project, running Gradle tasks to execute tests, and generating reports. The author provides examples and links to resources, including an example project on GitHub, and invites feedback. The article concludes by emphasizing the benefits of GMD, such as improved consistency, performance, and reliability in automated instrumented tests.

Opinions

The author believes that Gradle Managed Devices will make UI testing faster and easier, reducing the need for developers to create and maintain Android emulators manually.
The author is open to feedback and suggests that there may be room for improvement or alternative approaches in using GMD.
The article implies that the new Gradle plugin will lead to a more streamlined development process by having test device configurations and tests within the same Android project.
The author highlights the advantage of using cloud devices for running Android tests, which likely refers to the scalability and accessibility of testing resources.
By providing a list of related articles and resources, the author indicates the importance of community knowledge sharing and continuous learning in the context of Android development and testing practices.

Gradle Managed Devices: The Future of Android Testing [Part 1]

Android Automation Testing with Gradle Managed Devices using Android Studio

The new Android Gradle plugin helps developers run test on virtual/real devices. Testing Android applications as part of the CI process can get complicated, sometimes it’s hard to have a stable environment to run Android test automation. Google is helping developers with creating virtual Android devices to run your tests. With the new Gradle plugin you will write your test, then configure inside your file “build.gradle” which device you want your tests to run on. More details here Scale your tests with Gradle Managed Devices | Android Developers.

Goal

Run Android tests on cloud devices using Gradle managed devices

Prerequisites

Use the latest Android Studio
Use the latest Gradle managed devices is table in AGP (Android Gradle Plugin) 7.3.+

Steps

Below are the instructions to configure your Android project to use GMD (Gradle managed devices).

1. Add below code snippet inside file build.gradle(app) example

android{
  ...testOptions {
    managedDevices {
        devices {
            pixel2api30 (com.android.build.api.dsl.ManagedVirtualDevice) {
            // Use device profiles you typically see in Android Studio.
                device = "Pixel 2"
                // Use only API levels 30 and higher.
                apiLevel = 30
                // To include Google services, use "google".
                systemImageSource = "aosp"
            }
        }
    }
}
}

2. Sync Android studio. Find the Gradle tasks available with the command:

./gradlew tasks | grep DebugAndroidTest
//outputs the available devices to run your automation tests

3. Run the Gradle manged device task:

./gradlew pixel2api30DebugAndroidTest

4. The Gradle task runs the tests and generates a report file.

../app/build/reports/androidTests/managedDevice/allDevices/index.html

Example code: The Android project uses Android Compose and has one test to find and click a button. Test code: click a button. https://github.com/AndreSand/hello-world-Gradle-managed-device

Conclusion

TL;DR: GMD runs your tests on virtual Android devices and generates a test results report. Using the Android Gradle managed device plugin makes UI testing faster and easier.

With the new Gradle plugin now you will have your test devices configuration and tests all in the same Android project. With this you don’t have to create and maintain Android emulators, they are created by AGP.

Thanks for spending your time reading it and let me know if I’m wrong somewhere or if there’s something that could do differently or better. I’m open to your feedback 🙌🏻

-Andres

Part 1: This blog post.

Part 2: Run GMD using FTL devices locally from Android Studio

Part 3: Run GMD FTL devices from CI [Github Action and Bitrise]

Part 4: Run test on FTL using GCloud command (coming soon)