Choosing where screenshots are stored

While your tests run, Testify writes the screenshots it captures to storage on the device. When a test fails, or records a new baseline, the image stays there until you pull it to your computer. Tests that pass delete their image.

Testify can write screenshots to one of three places:

1. App data directory

This is the default, and needs no configuration. Screenshots are written to the private data directory of the app under test.

Best for local development. Files are written on the device to /data/data/<app package>/app_images/screenshots/<device key>/.

screenshotPull and screenshotClear reach this directory through adb shell run-as, so the app under test must be a debuggable build, such as the debug build type.

2. SD card

Some CI environments don't allow Testify to write to, or read from, the app data directory. In those environments, write screenshots to the device's external storage instead. Best for CI environments that restrict the app data directory, and Firebase Test Lab. Files are written on the device to /sdcard/Android/data/<app package>/files/testify_images/<device key>/.

This is the same in build.gradle and build.gradle.kts:

testify {
    useSdCard = true
}

The emulator must have an SD card image. If it doesn't, the test fails with SdCardDestinationNotFoundException.

Setting useSdCard in the testify block is the most reliable option, because the plugin tasks read it too. screenshotPull and screenshotClear only look on the SD card when useSdCard is set in the build file.

You can also turn on SD card storage in two other ways:

• The useSdCard instrumentation argument. When useSdCard=true is passed to the test runner, Testify writes to the SD card. This is how you enable it on services that run your test APK directly, such as Firebase Test Lab.
• The TESTIFY_USE_SDCARD environment variable. When it's set to true while you run screenshotTest, the plugin passes useSdCard=true to the test runner. Because it doesn't change the testify block, screenshotPull and screenshotClear still look in the app data directory. To drive the setting from an environment variable, read it inside the testify block instead:

testify {
    useSdCard = System.getenv("TESTIFY_USE_SDCARD")?.toBoolean() ?: false
}

See Configuring Testify to write to the SDCard for more detail.

3. Test Storage

The AndroidX Test Storage service lets the Android Gradle Plugin collect files from a test run and copy them into your module's build directory. You need this when the device isn't available after the tests finish, as with a Gradle Managed Device.

Best for Gradle Managed Devices and other runs where the Android Gradle Plugin collects test output. Files are written to the AndroidX Test Storage service.

Test Storage needs three pieces of configuration:

android {
    defaultConfig {
        testInstrumentationRunnerArguments useTestStorageService: "true"
    }
}

dependencies {
    androidTestUtil "androidx.test.services:test-services:1.6.0"
}

testify {
    useTestStorage = true
}

If the service isn't enabled, tests fail with TestStorageNotFoundException.

In this mode, Testify still writes each image to the app data directory first. It then copies the images from failing and recording tests into Test Storage. Because the copy in the app data directory remains, screenshotPull still works on a connected device or emulator. On a Gradle Managed Device, find the images in build/outputs/managed_device_android_test_additional_output/<device name> once the run completes.

note

If you enable both useSdCard and useTestStorage, the SD card is used.

warning

screenshotPull only works with a connected device or emulator. On a Gradle Managed Device, screenshotPull is not supported.

Clearing screenshots from the device

screenshotClear deletes the screenshots left on the device by earlier runs. It looks in the same directory as screenshotPull. screenshotRecord runs it for you before recording, so stale images from an earlier run don't end up in your baselines.

$ ./gradlew app:screenshotClear