UI-Driven Test Infrastructure: Replace RCTTest with XCUITest/UIAutomator by wmathurin · Pull Request #459 · forcedotcom/SalesforceMobileSDK-ReactNative

wmathurin · 2026-06-03T17:45:10Z

Summary

This PR replaces the fragile RCTTest-based test infrastructure with a UI-driven approach using standard native UI testing frameworks (XCUITest on iOS, UIAutomator on Android). Tests are now driven by tapping buttons in a standard React Native app that displays test results inline.

Motivation

The current test infrastructure relies on platform-specific test bridges (RCTTestModule on iOS, SalesforceTestBridge on Android) that hook into React Native internals. React Native 0.84 introduced precompiled binaries which broke our iOS test infrastructure — the podspec_sources method used to extract RCTTest source code from the React Native pod no longer works with precompiled frameworks. This blocks us from upgrading beyond RN 0.83.

Previous RN upgrades also required test infrastructure fixes (e.g., PlatformConstants changes in 0.83), but RN 0.84 represents a fundamental breaking point: we cannot extract test infrastructure source from precompiled binaries.

Solution

iOS	Android

New Architecture

Native UI Test (XCUITest/UIAutomator)
  ↓ (finds and taps test buttons)
React Native Test App (test/TestApp.js)
  ↓ (runs selected test)
Pure JS Test Runner (test/testRunner.js)
  ↓ (executes test suite)
SDK Bridge → Native SDK
  ↓
Test Results (displayed inline in app UI)

Key Benefits:

✅ No coupling to React Native internal APIs
✅ Works with React Native precompiled binaries (unblocks RN 0.84+ upgrades)
✅ Full error messages visible in app UI
✅ Tests can be run manually (tap buttons in app)
✅ No complex test bridge modules
✅ Survives RN upgrades without infrastructure changes

What Changed

Removed (Old Infrastructure)

src/react.force.test.ts - Test bridge module (no longer needed)
iosTests/RCTTest/ - Custom RCTTestRunner extraction (incompatible with precompiled binaries)
All Android test bridge classes:
- ReactNativeTestHost.java
- ReactTestActivity.java
- SalesforceTestBridge.java
- TestResult.java

Added (New Infrastructure)

test/testRunner.js - Pure JS test runner (no native bridge)
test/TestApp.js - Standard RN app with test list UI
iosTests/ios/SalesforceReactTests/ - XCUITest suite (5 test classes, 35 tests)
androidTests/android/app/src/androidTest/ - UIAutomator suite (5 test classes, 35 tests)
react.force.mobilesync.resetSyncManager() - Enables JS-side test cleanup

Test Execution Flow

Native UI test (XCUITest/UIAutomator) launches app with instant login credentials
Finds test button by testID/accessibilityLabel (e.g., run_testGetApiVersion)
Taps button
Waits for result indicator (result_testGetApiVersion_pass or result_testGetApiVersion_fail)
If failed, reads error text (error_testGetApiVersion) and asserts

Test Results

iOS: All 35 tests passing via XCUITest on both iOS 18 and iOS 26

Test Suite 'All tests' passed
Executed 35 tests, with 0 failures in 1304.624 seconds
** TEST SUCCEEDED **

Android: All 35 tests passing via UIAutomator locally. CI integration in progress (Firebase Test Lab).

Both platforms use instant login (credentials via launch arguments) to bypass OAuth UI.

Test Infrastructure Details

iOS:

BaseReactNativeTest provides common test infrastructure
Subclasses override testTimeoutSeconds for longer tests (Net: 30s, MobileSync: 60s, default: 15s)
App launches once per test class via class func setUp()
Instant login via launch arguments (-creds <json>)

Android:

BaseReactNativeTest uses @Rule with ActivityScenarioRule pattern (follows AuthFlowTest in Android SDK)
Instant login via TestAuthenticationActivity with credentials intent extra
Subclasses override testTimeoutMs for longer tests (Net: 90_000ms, MobileSync: 180_000ms, default: 60_000ms)
Activity relaunches per test (fast with instant login)

Dependencies

This PR depends on instant login support in the native SDKs:

iOS SDK PR: #4050 (merged) - Semaphore-based instant login fix
Android SDK PR: Already merged - TestAuthenticationActivity

Files Changed

Core Changes (~80 commits):

JavaScript test infrastructure (test runner, test app UI)
iOS test suite (XCUITest-based)
Android test suite (UIAutomator-based)
Documentation updates (architecture, test docs)
Git URL dependencies for test apps (avoid yarn cache conflicts)

See commit history for detailed breakdown.

Testing

✅ All 35 iOS tests pass via XCUITest (iOS 18 and iOS 26)
✅ All 35 Android tests pass via UIAutomator locally
✅ Templates build successfully with this branch (verified via test_template.sh)
✅ CI: iOS ^18 and iOS ^26 both green on GitHub Actions

Before Merging

✅ iosTests/package.json: Updated to git+https://github.com/forcedotcom/SalesforceMobileSDK-ReactNative.git#dev
✅ androidTests/package.json: Updated to git+https://github.com/forcedotcom/SalesforceMobileSDK-ReactNative.git#dev

Impact

This PR unblocks React Native 0.84+ upgrades by eliminating our dependency on RCTTest source extraction. Future RN upgrades will only require version bumps in package.json, not test infrastructure rewrites.

Related Work

Spec: specs/W-22797324-rn-ui-driven-test-infrastructure/spec.md
Progress Doc: specs/W-22797324-rn-ui-driven-test-infrastructure/progress.md
Workspace PR: https://git.soma.salesforce.com/SalesforceMobileSDK/SalesforceMobileSDK-Workspace/pull/12

- Add test/testRunner.js: registerSuite, registerTest, testDone, runTest - Add test/TestApp.js: renders test list with run buttons and inline results - Update all test files to use testRunner imports - Update index.js entry points to render TestApp

- Switch from file:.. to link:.. to avoid recursive yarn copy - Add watchFolders to metro config so Metro resolves symlinked test/ - Remove test/ from .npmignore (needed by Metro)

The app target needs a proper RCTAppDelegate that loads the React bundle. The old bare UIResponder AppDelegate showed nothing because it never created a React surface.

Uses SalesforceReactSDKManager, AuthHelper.loginIfRequired, and RCTReactNativeFactory — matching the ReactNativeTemplate. NOTE: Xcode project needs manual update to add AppDelegate.swift and remove AppDelegate.h, AppDelegate.m, main.m references.

iOS: - Remove RCTTest/ directory (custom test runner pod) - Remove React-RCTTest from Podfile - Remove old XCTest files (ReactTestCase, React*Tests.m) - Podfile: all pods in app target, test target inherits Android: - Remove SalesforceTestBridge, ReactNativeTestHost, ReactTestActivity, ReactActivityTestDelegate, TestResult, SalesforceReactTestPackage, DebugSalesforceReactPackage - Remove old instrumentation test classes - Rewrite SalesforceReactTestApp.kt to match template pattern - Add MainActivity.kt (standard SalesforceReactActivity) - Update AndroidManifest for new MainActivity JS: - Remove src/react.force.test.tsx (replaced by test/testRunner.js) - Remove forceTest export from src/index.ts

…ate)

…frastructure

Copied the template's iOS project structure (AppDelegate.swift, Podfile, xcodeproj, bootconfig, Info.plist) and renamed to SalesforceReactTestApp. Uses use_frameworks! :static for Swift module imports.

…nfig/Info.plist - bundleURL() always loads index.ios.bundle from app bundle - bootconfig.plist and Info.plist checked in with placeholders - Fill in values per docs/TESTING_CREDENTIALS.md for local testing

…cursion) - Switch back from link:.. to file:.. (link caused dep resolution failures) - .npmignore now excludes node_modules/ which prevents recursive copy - Simplified metro configs (no watchFolders needed — test/ is in the copy)

… dev support

…ctActivityDelegate

Having react and react-native in both dependencies and peerDependencies caused yarn to install a nested copy under node_modules/react-native-force/ node_modules/react, breaking React hooks (useState returns null).

- New resetSyncManager in react.force.mobilesync.ts - Added to TurboModule spec (NativeSFMobileSyncReactBridge.ts) - iOS bridge: calls [SFMobileSyncSyncManager removeSharedInstances] - Android bridge: calls SyncManager.reset() - Removed test/alltests.js (no longer used, TestApp imports directly)

iOS: - BaseReactNativeTest.swift: launches app, waits for testList, runTest() - ReactHarnessTests, ReactOAuthTests, ReactNetTests, ReactSmartStoreTests, ReactMobileSyncTests Android: - BaseReactNativeTest.kt: launches activity, waits for testList, runTest() - ReactHarnessTest, ReactOAuthTest, ReactNetTest, ReactSmartStoreTest, ReactMobileSyncTest

…testID TouchableOpacity with testID doesn't map to XCUIElement Button type. Use generic element query with identifier matching instead.

iOS: - BaseReactNativeTest reads test_credentials.json from test bundle - Passes as -creds launch argument (SDK instant login in DEBUG builds) Android: - BaseReactNativeTest launches TestAuthenticationActivity with creds - Reads test_credentials.json from assets - TestAuthenticationActivity registered in AndroidManifest Both platforms authenticate without login screen before running tests.

- prepareandroid.js/prepareios.js: clean sibling node_modules before install, remove nested react-native-force/node_modules after install (prevents yarn v1 file: protocol from creating duplicate React) - iOS: BaseReactNativeTest reads test_credentials.json from bundle, passes as -creds launch argument - Android: BaseReactNativeTest launches TestAuthenticationActivity with credentials from assets, waits for test list - Removed TestAuthenticationActivity from manifest (already in SDK)

prepareios.js now copies to both ios/ (app) and ios/SalesforceReactTests/ (UI test bundle resources). Both locations gitignored.

Moves permissionRule and activityRule from @rule to @ClassRule in the companion object. This ensures the activity launches only once for the entire test class, not once per test method. Since we're doing batch execution with cached results, we don't need the activity to restart for each individual test method.

Tests now default to individual execution (ideal for Android Studio/Xcode), with opt-in batch execution for CI via system property/environment variable. Individual mode (default): - Single test runs in isolation - Fast iteration during development - No activity flashing between tests (Android @ClassRule) Batch mode (opt-in via useBatchExecution=true): - Entire suite runs via "Run All" button - Results cached and reused - Much faster for CI Android: -DuseBatchExecution=true iOS: useBatchExecution=true environment variable Added README.md files documenting both modes.

Reverted @ClassRule back to @rule - activity launches per test. Removed batch execution logic - all tests run individually now. Android tests are fast enough with ActivityScenarioRule that batch execution optimization isn't needed. Simplified BaseReactNativeTest: - Single testTimeoutMs property (no suite vs individual distinction) - runTest() directly executes the test (no caching) - Removed suiteName and testNames requirements from subclasses iOS still supports both batch and individual modes via useBatchExecution flag.

Removed batch execution logic - all tests run individually now. Simplified BaseReactNativeTest: - Single testTimeoutSeconds property - runTest() directly executes the test (no caching) - Removed suiteName and testNames requirements from subclasses Both iOS and Android now use straightforward individual test execution.

- Check if button exists before attempting scroll - Set maxSearchSwipes to 20 to allow scrolling further - Log warnings when scroll fails - Better error message when button not found This should fix testGetSyncStatusDeleteSync not being reachable.

Added contentContainerStyle with paddingBottom: 100 to ensure tests at the bottom of the list (like testGetSyncStatusDeleteSync) are reachable by scrolling on Android.

The sed command in b96b69c deleted test methods along with suiteName and testNames properties. Restored all test methods from dc4519c and removed only the batch execution properties.

- iOS: select correct Xcode before pod install to avoid SwiftBridging redefinition error when two Xcode versions are present on the runner - Android: double test timeouts (base: 15s→30s, MobileSync: 60s→120s) for Firebase Test Lab ARM devices which are slower than local emulators

iOS: remove testLogout and testAuthenticate which don't exist in oauth.test.js Android: add testGetAuthCredentials which was missing from ReactOAuthTest

Android (reusable-android-workflow.yaml): - Add --use-orchestrator + clearPackageData=true to prevent cascade failures when one test crashes the instrumentation process - Add --num-flaky-test-attempts=1 for one automatic retry on transient failures - Increase --timeout from 10m to 20m (MobileSync needs ~10m alone) - Add explicit --project mobile-apps-firebase-test - Route github context vars through env: per security best practice - Fix results copy to use test_result_1.xml (not wildcard) iOS (reusable-workflow.yaml): - Switch from mxcl/xcodebuild test run to action:none + direct xcodebuild test enabling -retry-tests-on-failure (mxcl does not support it) - Add explicit simulator resolver via xcrun simctl list with diagnostic output - Add -retry-tests-on-failure for one automatic retry on flaky tests - Add xcresult bundle verify step for clear failure when no tests ran - Set job_summary:true unconditionally (was failure-only, suppressed pass summaries) Validated: YAML parse OK, actionlint clean, zizmor 0 findings

wmathurin · 2026-06-04T04:40:45Z

Locally all the tests are passing.
Fixing CI here: wmathurin#1

…_OPTIONS=NO

…ition on Xcode 26

… runner builds

… path conflict

…r boot

…Sync 180s, Firebase timeout 30m, scroll any scrollable

brandonpage · 2026-06-04T20:42:13Z

        </activity>
    </application>
-
-    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />


brandonpage

Incredible work. This is awesome.

…t 90s, Firebase 40m

… starts is too slow

wmathurin added 30 commits June 2, 2026 09:33

Add .npmignore to prevent recursive file: copy in yarn install

e05896a

Fix bundle: use link: protocol and watchFolders for symlink resolution

01bcda9

- Switch from file:.. to link:.. to avoid recursive yarn copy - Add watchFolders to metro config so Metro resolves symlinked test/ - Remove test/ from .npmignore (needed by Metro)

Fix iOS black screen: AppDelegate must extend RCTAppDelegate

07ac32e

The app target needs a proper RCTAppDelegate that loads the React bundle. The old bare UIResponder AppDelegate showed nothing because it never created a React surface.

Podfile: add DEFINES_MODULE for SDK pods (enables Swift imports)

1482d58

Add Info.plist for SalesforceReactTestApp

ed70048

Add Info.plist and bootconfig.plist with placeholders (matching templ…

4aa7051

…ate)

Merge remote-tracking branch 'upstream/dev' into rn-ui-driven-test-in…

6e73c8b

…frastructure

Replace iOS test app with copy of ReactNativeTemplate

be05668

Copied the template's iOS project structure (AppDelegate.swift, Podfile, xcodeproj, bootconfig, Info.plist) and renamed to SalesforceReactTestApp. Uses use_frameworks! :static for Swift module imports.

Add .xcode.env.local to .gitignore

dd383d4

Fix: load pre-built bundle (no Metro), restore placeholders in bootco…

951452e

…nfig/Info.plist - bundleURL() always loads index.ios.bundle from app bundle - bootconfig.plist and Info.plist checked in with placeholders - Fill in values per docs/TESTING_CREDENTIALS.md for local testing

Fix: bundleURL loads index.ios.bundle, restore bootconfig placeholders

4730533

Remove .xcode.env.local from tracking (gitignored)

19dfdb4

Fix Android build: hardcode isNewArchEnabled/isHermesEnabled, disable…

c3dbadf

… dev support

Fix Android blank screen: override getMainComponentName and createRea…

079f307

…ctActivityDelegate

Fix duplicate React: move react/react-native to peerDependencies only

e125753

Having react and react-native in both dependencies and peerDependencies caused yarn to install a nested copy under node_modules/react-native-force/ node_modules/react, breaking React hooks (useState returns null).

Adding bundle to xcode proj

ac2d0db

UI: move Run button to end of each test row

99c5f76

Modifying iosTests xcode project to add UI tests target

6bf8027

Remove androidTests/android/build/ from tracking (already gitignored)

44bf793

Fix iOS UI test: use descendants(matching: .any) to find elements by …

ab7cb1d

…testID TouchableOpacity with testID doesn't map to XCUIElement Button type. Use generic element query with identifier matching instead.

Downgrade Xcode project to objectVersion 56 (CocoaPods 1.16 compat)

e82d707

Copy test_credentials.json to iOS UI test target folder

5a96aaf

prepareios.js now copies to both ios/ (app) and ios/SalesforceReactTests/ (UI test bundle resources). Both locations gitignored.

wmathurin added 11 commits June 3, 2026 15:42

Add androidTests/README.md

dc4519c

Add bottom padding to ScrollView for last tests

7d61bba

Added contentContainerStyle with paddingBottom: 100 to ensure tests at the bottom of the list (like testGetSyncStatusDeleteSync) are reachable by scrolling on Android.

Fix iOS test files: restore test methods that were accidentally deleted

67be5d6

The sed command in b96b69c deleted test methods along with suiteName and testNames properties. Restored all test methods from dc4519c and removed only the batch execution properties.

Sync OAuth native tests with oauth.test.js

83f3d05

iOS: remove testLogout and testAuthenticate which don't exist in oauth.test.js Android: add testGetAuthCredentials which was missing from ReactOAuthTest

wmathurin mentioned this pull request Jun 4, 2026

[CI test] Verify fix/ci-workflows workflows trigger correctly wmathurin/SalesforceMobileSDK-ReactNative#1

Closed

wmathurin added 9 commits June 3, 2026 21:42

Fix simulator resolver: pick latest iOS minor version, not first

431ecf1

Lower SalesforceReactTests deployment target from 18.6 to 18.0

f38c78f

Disable iOS ^26 matrix entry until Xcode 26 runner stability improves

3949c8a

Re-enable iOS ^26, add fail-fast:false, add SWIFT_SERIALIZE_DEBUGGING…

6fc9a19

…_OPTIONS=NO

Move mxcl action:none before pod install to fix SwiftBridging redefin…

6231a78

…ition on Xcode 26

Add -derivedDataPath to avoid stale cached swiftmodules from previous…

3edf75c

… runner builds

Redirect Xcode.app symlink to selected version to fix prebuilt module…

22e5e39

… path conflict

Increase iOS testList wait from 30s to 60s for slower iOS 26 simulato…

92671c9

…r boot

Increase Android timeouts for Firebase: testList 60s, Net 60s, Mobile…

df24478

…Sync 180s, Firebase timeout 30m, scroll any scrollable

brandonpage reviewed Jun 4, 2026

View reviewed changes

brandonpage approved these changes Jun 4, 2026

View reviewed changes

wmathurin added 5 commits June 4, 2026 15:18

Android: swipe-based scroll, 2s render wait, re-find before click, Ne…

65e49bb

…t 90s, Firebase 40m

Remove accidental package.json.bak

c0738f2

Drop --use-orchestrator: JS setUp/tearDown handles isolation, 35 cold…

10d0841

… starts is too slow

Merge upstream/dev: minSdk 31, API 36 Firebase device, SECURITY.md

d841cea

Before merge: update react-native-force to forcedotcom#dev

3a04643

wmathurin merged commit 071a4ff into forcedotcom:dev Jun 5, 2026
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UI-Driven Test Infrastructure: Replace RCTTest with XCUITest/UIAutomator#459

UI-Driven Test Infrastructure: Replace RCTTest with XCUITest/UIAutomator#459
wmathurin merged 98 commits into
forcedotcom:devfrom
wmathurin:rn-ui-driven-test-infrastructure

wmathurin commented Jun 3, 2026 •

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Summary

Motivation

Solution

New Architecture

What Changed

Removed (Old Infrastructure)

Added (New Infrastructure)

Test Execution Flow

Test Results

Test Infrastructure Details

Dependencies

Files Changed

Testing

Before Merging

Impact

Related Work

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wmathurin commented Jun 4, 2026

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wmathurin commented Jun 3, 2026 •

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