MCP Appium - MCP server for Mobile Development and Automation | iOS, Android, Simulator, Emulator, and Real Devices

MCP Appium is an intelligent MCP (Model Context Protocol) server designed to empower AI assistants with a robust suite of tools for mobile automation. It streamlines mobile app testing by enabling natural language interactions, intelligent locator generation, and automated test creation for both Android and iOS platforms.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Prerequisites
• Installation
• Configuration
• Available Tools
• Client Support
• Usage Examples
• Contributing
• License

🚀 Features

• Cross-Platform Support: Automate tests for both Android (UiAutomator2) and iOS (XCUITest).
• Intelligent Locator Generation: AI-powered element identification using priority-based strategies.
• Interactive Session Management: Easily create and manage sessions on local mobile devices.
• Smart Element Interactions: Perform actions like clicks, text input, screenshots, and element finding.
• Automated Test Generation: Generate Java/TestNG test code from natural language descriptions.
• Page Object Model Support: Utilize built-in templates that follow industry best practices.
• Flexible Configuration: Customize capabilities and settings for different environments.
• Multilingual Support: Use your native language - AI handles all interactions naturally in any language (English, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc.).

📋 Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:

System Requirements

• Node.js (v22 or higher)
• npm or yarn
• Java Development Kit (JDK) (8 or higher)
• Android SDK (for Android testing)
• Xcode (for iOS testing on macOS)

Mobile Testing Setup

Android

1. Install Android Studio and the Android SDK.
2. Set the ANDROID_HOME environment variable.
3. Add the Android SDK tools to your system's PATH.
4. Enable USB debugging on your Android device.
5. Install the Appium UiAutomator2 driver dependencies.

iOS (macOS only)

1. Install Xcode from the App Store.
2. Install the Xcode Command Line Tools: xcode-select --install.
3. Install iOS simulators through Xcode.
4. For real device testing, configure your provisioning profiles.

🛠️ Installation

Standard config works in most of the tools::

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "appium-mcp": {
      "disabled": false,
      "timeout": 100,
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "appium-mcp@latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ANDROID_HOME": "/path/to/android/sdk",
        "CAPABILITIES_CONFIG": "/path/to/your/capabilities.json"
      }
    }
  }
}

In Cursor IDE

The easiest way to install MCP Appium in Cursor IDE is using the one-click install button:

This will automatically configure the MCP server in your Cursor IDE settings. Make sure to update the ANDROID_HOME environment variable in the configuration to match your Android SDK path.

Or install manually:

Go to Cursor Settings → MCP → Add new MCP Server. Name it to your liking, use command type with the command npx -y appium-mcp@latest. You can also verify config or add command arguments via clicking Edit.

Here is the recommended configuration:

{
  "appium-mcp": {
    "disabled": false,
    "timeout": 100,
    "type": "stdio",
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["appium-mcp@latest"],
    "env": {
      "ANDROID_HOME": "/Users/xyz/Library/Android/sdk"
    }
  }
}

Note: Make sure to update the ANDROID_HOME path to match your Android SDK installation path.

With Gemini CLI

Use the Gemini CLI to add the MCP Appium server:

gemini mcp add appium-mcp npx -y appium-mcp@latest

This will automatically configure the MCP server for use with Gemini. Make sure to update the ANDROID_HOME environment variable in the configuration to match your Android SDK path.

With Claude Code CLI

Use the Claude Code CLI to add the MCP Appium server:

claude mcp add appium-mcp -- npx -y appium-mcp@latest

This will automatically configure the MCP server for use with Claude Code. Make sure to update the ANDROID_HOME environment variable in the configuration to match your Android SDK path.

⚙️ Configuration

Capabilities

Create a capabilities.json file to define your device capabilities:

{
  "android": {
    "appium:app": "/path/to/your/android/app.apk",
    "appium:deviceName": "Android Device",
    "appium:platformVersion": "11.0",
    "appium:automationName": "UiAutomator2",
    "appium:udid": "your-device-udid"
  },
  "ios": {
    "appium:app": "/path/to/your/ios/app.ipa",
    "appium:deviceName": "iPhone 15 Pro",
    "appium:platformVersion": "17.0",
    "appium:automationName": "XCUITest",
    "appium:udid": "your-device-udid"
  },
  "general": {
    "platformName": "mac",
    "appium:automationName": "mac2",
    "appium:bundleId": "com.apple.Safari"
  }
}

Set the CAPABILITIES_CONFIG environment variable to point to your configuration file.

Platform names and "general" mode

• You can pass any platform name to create_session.
• If the platform is ios or android, the server builds capabilities for that platform (including selected device info when local).
• If the platform is any other value, it is treated internally as general:
  • The session will use the provided capabilities exactly as given, or
  • If CAPABILITIES_CONFIG is set, it will merge with the general section from your capabilities file.
• This allows custom setups and non-standard platforms to work without changing server logic.

Screenshots

Set the SCREENSHOTS_DIR environment variable to specify where screenshots are saved. If not set, screenshots are saved to the current working directory. Supports both absolute and relative paths (relative paths are resolved from the current working directory). The directory is created automatically if it doesn't exist.

Performance Optimization

NO_UI Mode

Set the NO_UI environment variable to true or 1 to disable UI components and improve performance:

{
  "appium-mcp": {
    "env": {
      "NO_UI": "true",
      "ANDROID_HOME": "/path/to/android/sdk"
    }
  }
}

Benefits:

• Significantly Faster Response Times: UI rendering and data processing are completely skipped, resulting in 50-80% faster tool responses depending on the operation.
• Major Token Savings: Eliminates 500-5000+ tokens per request by removing HTML UI components from responses, dramatically reducing LLM API costs.
• Massive Bandwidth Reduction:
  • Screenshots: Saves 1-5MB of base64-encoded image data per screenshot
  • Page source: Saves 50-200KB+ of duplicated XML data in HTML UI
  • Locators: Saves 10-100KB+ of element data in interactive UI
  • Device/App lists: Saves 5-50KB of HTML UI per selection
• Lower Memory Usage: Client applications consume less memory without HTML rendering and embedded data.
• Perfect for Headless Environments: Ideal for CI/CD pipelines, automated testing scripts, batch operations, or any scenario where visual UI feedback is not required.
• Better Scalability: Reduced resource consumption allows handling more concurrent sessions.

Affected Tools:

The following tools return lightweight text-only responses when NO_UI is enabled:

• appium_screenshot - Screenshot files are still saved to disk, but base64 data is not embedded in responses
• appium_get_page_source - Returns XML as text without interactive inspector UI
• generate_locators - Returns locator data as JSON without interactive UI
• select_device - Returns device list as text without picker UI
• create_session - Returns session info as text without dashboard UI
• appium_get_contexts - Returns context list as text without switcher UI
• appium_list_apps - Returns app list as JSON without interactive UI

When to Enable NO_UI:

• ✅ Automated test execution in CI/CD pipelines
• ✅ Batch processing multiple devices/sessions
• ✅ Cost-sensitive LLM API usage (reduces token consumption by 60-90%)
• ✅ Network-constrained environments
• ✅ Scripted automation where human interaction is not needed
• ❌ Interactive debugging and exploration (keep UI enabled for better experience)

🎯 Available Tools

MCP Appium provides a comprehensive set of tools organized into the following categories:

Platform & Device Setup

Tool	Description
select_platform	REQUIRED FIRST: Ask user to choose between Android or iOS platform
select_device	Select a specific device when multiple devices are available
boot_simulator	Boot an iOS simulator and wait for it to be ready (iOS only)
setup_wda	Download and setup prebuilt WebDriverAgent for iOS simulators (iOS only)
install_wda	Install and launch WebDriverAgent on a booted iOS simulator (iOS only)

Session Management

Tool	Description
create_session	Create a new mobile automation session for Android, iOS, or general capabilities (see 'general' mode above). If a remote Appium server is referenced, create_session forwards the final capabilities to that server via the WebDriver newSession API - include device selection (e.g., appium:udid) in capabilities when targeting a remote server.
delete_session	Delete the current mobile session and clean up resources

Context Management

Tool	Description
appium_get_contexts	Get all available contexts in the current Appium session. Returns a list of context names including NATIVE_APP and any webview contexts (e.g., WEBVIEW_ or WEBVIEW_).
appium_switch_context	Switch to a specific context in the Appium session. Use this to switch between native app context (NATIVE_APP) and webview contexts (WEBVIEW_ or WEBVIEW_). Use appium_get_contexts to see available contexts first.

Element Discovery & Interaction

Tool	Description
appium_find_element	Find a specific element using various locator strategies (xpath, id, accessibility id, etc.)
appium_click	Click on an element
appium_double_tap	Perform double tap on an element
appium_long_press	Perform a long press (press and hold) gesture on an element
appium_drag_and_drop	Perform a drag and drop gesture from a source location to a target location (supports element-to-element, element-to-coordinates, coordinates-to-element, and coordinates-to-coordinates)
appium_set_value	Enter text into an input field
appium_get_text	Get text content from an element

Screen & Navigation

Tool	Description
appium_screenshot	Take a screenshot of the current screen and save as PNG
appium_element_screenshot	Take a screenshot of a specific element by its UUID and save as PNG
appium_scroll	Scroll the screen vertically (up or down)
appium_scroll_to_element	Scroll until a specific element becomes visible
appium_swipe	Swipe the screen in a direction (left, right, up, down) or between custom coordinates
appium_get_page_source	Get the page source (XML) from the current screen

App Management

Tool	Description
appium_activate_app	Activate (launch/bring to foreground) a specified app by bundle ID
appium_installApp	Install an app on the device from a file path
appium_uninstallApp	Uninstall an app from the device by bundle ID
appium_terminateApp	Terminate (close) a specified app
appium_list_apps	List all installed apps on the device (Android only)

Test Generation & Documentation

Tool	Description
generate_locators	Generate intelligent locators for all interactive elements on the current screen
appium_generate_tests	Generate automated test code from natural language scenarios
appium_documentation_query	Query Appium documentation using RAG for help and guidance

🤖 Client Support

MCP Appium is designed to be compatible with any MCP-compliant client.

📚 Usage Examples

Amazon Mobile App Checkout Flow

Here's an example prompt to test the Amazon mobile app checkout process:

Open Amazon mobile app, search for "iPhone 15 Pro", select the first search result, add the item to cart, proceed to checkout, sign in with email "test@example.com" and password "testpassword123", select shipping address, choose payment method, review order details, and place the order. Use JAVA + TestNG for test generation.

This example demonstrates a complete e-commerce checkout flow that can be automated using MCP Appium's intelligent locator generation and test creation capabilities.

Working in Your Native Language

MCP Appium works seamlessly in any language - you don't need to know English! The AI assistant understands and responds in your native language. Simply describe what you want to do in your preferred language:

Examples in different languages:

🇪🇸 Spanish: "Abre la aplicación de Amazon, busca 'iPhone 15 Pro' y agrégalo al carrito"

🇨🇳 Chinese: "打开Amazon应用，搜索'iPhone 15 Pro'并添加到购物车"

🇯🇵 Japanese: "Amazonアプリを開いて、'iPhone 15 Pro'を検索してカートに追加する"

🇰🇷 Korean: "Amazon 앱을 열고 'iPhone 15 Pro'를 검색한 후 장바구니에 추가"

🇫🇷 French: "Ouvre l'application Amazon, recherche 'iPhone 15 Pro' et ajoute-le au panier"

🇩🇪 German: "Öffne die Amazon App, suche nach 'iPhone 15 Pro' und füge es zum Warenkorb hinzu"

The AI will handle your requests naturally and generate the appropriate test code, regardless of the language you use.

🙌 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a pull request or open an issue to discuss any changes.

📄 License

This project is licensed under the Apache-2.0. See the LICENSE file for details.