@appetize/cli 0.19.0 → 0.20.0

package/skills/appetize/SKILL.md

@@ -10,138 +10,63 @@ description: >-
   or answering what is currently on screen — even if Appetize is not mentioned
   by name.
 metadata:
-  cli-version: '0.19.0'
+  cli-version: '0.20.0'
 ---
 
 # Appetize
 
-Drive an iOS or Android app on a cloud device with the `appetize` CLI. You get a
-real simulator or emulator: you can see the view hierarchy, act on it, and
-screenshot the result.
+Drive an iOS or Android app on a cloud simulator or emulator with the
+`appetize` CLI.
 
-The single most important habit: **look before you act, and verify after**. You
-cannot see the screen directly, so `inspect` and `screenshot` are your eyes.
-Acting blind on remembered coordinates is the main way these sessions go wrong.
+**Look before you act, and verify after.** You cannot see the screen, so
+`inspect` and `screenshot` are your eyes. Acting blind on remembered coordinates
+is the main way these sessions go wrong.
 
 ## Prereqs
 
-Confirm the CLI is installed and note the version:
-
-```bash
-appetize --version
-```
-
-End every command with `--json`, so its result is always JSON. If your tool runs
-commands in a terminal, add `--quiet` too.
+Run `appetize --version` to confirm the CLI is installed. End every command with
+`--json`; if your tool runs commands in a terminal, add `--quiet` too.
 
 `APPETIZE_API_TOKEN` must be set for private APIs and session targets. A target
-is an uploaded build's public key, e.g. `app_a1b2c3`. Discover one with
-`appetize build list`, filtering with `--app <appId>` when you know the bundle
-or package id.
-
-Put a local `.apk`, `.zip` or `.tar.gz` on the platform with
-`appetize build upload ./app.apk`. The extension tells Appetize which platform
-the build targets, and the `id` it prints is a target you can start a session
-against immediately.
-
-A device id names a model, e.g. `iphone15pro`. Discover valid ids and the OS
-versions each supports with `appetize device list`, filtering with
-`--platform ios` or `--platform android`.
+is a build's public key, e.g. `app_a1b2c3`. Find one with
+`appetize build list --app <appId>`, or upload a local build with
+`appetize build upload ./app.apk` and use the `id` it prints.
 
-`APPETIZE_ENDPOINT` sets the Appetize URL, so a non-production environment is
-configured once rather than flagged on every session.
+A device id names a model, e.g. `iphone15pro`;
+`appetize device list --platform android` shows each with its OS versions. `APPETIZE_ENDPOINT` points at a non-production
+environment.
 
 ## Session lifecycle
 
-Start a session, naming a device and a target:
-
 ```bash
 appetize session start iphone15pro app_a1b2c3 --json
-appetize session start pixel7 app_a1b2c3 --device-os-version 14 --json
-appetize session start iphone15pro app_a1b2c3 --open myapp://orders/42 --json
+appetize session start pixel7 app_a1b2c3 --device-os-version 14 --proxy --json
 ```
 
-This blocks until the device is ready, then prints the session:
-
-```json
-{
-  "adbSerial": "127.0.0.1:44555",
-  "baseUrl": "https://lax4b-android-9.appetize.io",
-  "controlSocket": "/home/you/.appetize/cli/sessions/tidy-pandas-jump/control.sock",
-  "logs": {
-    "daemon": "/home/you/.appetize/cli/sessions/tidy-pandas-jump/daemon.log",
-    "device": "/home/you/.appetize/cli/sessions/tidy-pandas-jump/device.log.jsonl"
-  },
-  "sessionId": "tidy-pandas-jump",
-  "viewerUrl": "http://127.0.0.1:4321/"
-}
-```
+This blocks until the device is ready; a background daemon then holds the
+session open. From its result:
 
 - `sessionId` — what every later command takes
 - `adbSerial` — Android only; `adb connect` it to use adb
 - `viewerUrl` — local browser viewer for co-driving
-- `baseUrl` — the streaming host serving the session
-- `controlSocket` — where the daemon listens
-- `logs.device` — the device's own logs; `logs.daemon` is the CLI's
-
-A background daemon holds the session open.
-
-With one session running, the other commands find it automatically — you do not
-need to pass anything. If you start several, pass `--session-id <id>` to pick
-one, or name them yourself by passing `--session-id` to `session start`.
-`--no-wait` returns immediately with just `sessionId` and `logs`, useful when you
-want to do other work while the device boots.
-
-`--open` launches a URL after start. `ready` fires before the URL is opened, so
-wait for the destination screen with `inspect --timeout`.
-
-The daemon streams device logs as JSONL to `logs.device`. Read or `tail -f` it
-when you need to see what the app itself is reporting — a crash, a failed
-request, a log line your change was supposed to emit.
-
-Starting with `--proxy` also captures the app's network traffic as JSONL to
-`logs.network`. Each line is a request, response or error
-event, so it answers what the app actually sent and what the server actually
-returned — useful when the app's own logs do not say:
+- `logs.device` — the app's logs as JSONL; read it for crashes and failed requests
+- `logs.network` — with `--proxy`, the app's requests, responses and errors
+- `logs.daemon` — the CLI's own output, for when the session misbehaves
 
 ```bash
 jq 'select(.type == "response") | "\(.response.status) \(.request.method) \(.request.url)"' network.jsonl
 ```
 
+With one session running, other commands find it automatically; with several,
+pass `--session-id <id>`, which also names a session on `session start`. The session's `state.json` sits beside its logs and
+shows what it is doing without disturbing it.
+
 Stop the session when you are done, so the device is released:
 
 ```bash
 appetize session stop --json
 ```
 
-Session state lives in `~/.appetize/cli/sessions/<session-id>/state.json` (or under
-`$APPETIZE_CLI_HOME`). Reading it is a good way to see what a session is doing
-without disturbing it. `logs.daemon` holds the daemon's own output — read that
-when the session itself misbehaves, rather than the app.
-
-## Recording the screen
-
-Video is not captured unless you ask for it — nothing streams from the device
-until you start:
-
-```bash
-appetize recording start login-flow --json
-appetize recording stop --json
-```
-
-`recording start` has the daemon open the video stream and write it to the file
-you name, printing the path. The name is required; `.mp4` is added if you omit
-it, and the directory must already exist. `recording stop` closes the stream and
-the file. Starting again while one is already running fails, whatever path you
-name, so a recording always begins where you asked it to. Ending the session
-while recording closes the file cleanly. Recording over an existing file fails unless
-you pass `--force`, so name a new file to record again in the same session.
-
-Any player opens it. A session that dies unexpectedly still leaves the file
-playable, losing at most the last second.
-
-Playback is a constant 30fps, so it does not track real time.
-
 ## The loop
 
 ### 1. Inspect first
@@ -150,50 +75,29 @@ Playback is a constant 30fps, so it does not track real time.
 appetize inspect --select-test-id login-form --json
 ```
 
-`inspect` writes the view hierarchy as JSON to `inspect.json` by default (name
-a path to choose another, `--pretty` to indent) and prints a summary — byte
-count, node count, output path — so you know what you got.
-
-Scope it with a selector and read the file rather than dumping it to the
-terminal. An unscoped hierarchy on an ordinary screen runs past 100 KB, which
-buries the thing you were looking for and wastes most of your context.
+`inspect` writes the view hierarchy to `inspect.json` and prints its size. Scope
+it with a selector and read the file: an unscoped hierarchy runs past 100 KB and
+buries what you were looking for.
 
-The tree contains **only what is currently on screen**. An element that is
-scrolled away or covered is not in it — absence means "not visible right now",
-not "does not exist".
+The tree holds **only what is currently on screen**. Absence means "not visible
+right now" — scrolled away or covered — not "does not exist".
 
 ### 2. Act through selectors
 
-Prefer matching what an element _is_ over where it happens to sit:
-
 ```bash
 appetize tap --select-test-id save --json
-appetize tap --select-text 'Log in' --json
 appetize tap --select-text '/^item \d+/i' --select-index 2 --json
 appetize type 'user@example.com{Tab}hunter2{Enter}' --json
 appetize swipe --direction up --json
-appetize swipe --from-test-id card-3 --to-test-id archive-bin --json
+appetize swipe --from-text 'Drag me' --to-test-id drop-zone --json
 ```
 
-`swipe` comes in two shapes. A `--direction` scrolls the screen (add
-`--distance` for a fraction of it), while a `--from-*`/`--to-*` pair drags along
-a path between two points — which is how you reorder a list or drop something on
-a target. Both ends take the same selectors as `tap`, so a drag can name its
-endpoints instead of guessing coordinates:
+A `--direction` swipe scrolls; a `--from-*`/`--to-*` pair drags along a path,
+naming its ends with the same selectors as `tap`.
 
-```bash
-appetize swipe --direction left --from-test-id card --from-index 1 --json
-appetize swipe --from-text 'Drag me' --from-y 0.9 --to-test-id drop-zone --json
-```
-
-`--select-test-id` is the most durable, then `--select-text` (an exact string,
-or `/regex/flags`). `--select-index` picks among multiple matches, 0-based.
-Coordinates (`--select-position 0.5,0.75`) still work and are the right tool for
-canvases, maps and sliders — but a selector survives layout changes and a
-coordinate does not.
-
-In `type`, `{...}` names a key: `{Enter}`, `{Tab}`, `{Backspace}`, the arrows.
-`{Backspace>16/}` repeats one 16 times, and `{{` types a literal `{`.
+Prefer `--select-test-id`, then `--select-text` (exact, or `/regex/flags`). A
+selector survives layout changes; a coordinate (`--select-position 0.5,0.75`)
+does not, so save those for canvases, maps and sliders.
 
 ### 3. Verify
 
@@ -202,9 +106,8 @@ appetize screenshot after-login --json
 ```
 
 Screenshot after each meaningful step. A tap that "succeeded" only means the
-gesture was delivered — the app may still have shown an error, stayed put, or
-navigated somewhere unexpected. The name is optional and the extension is added
-for you.
+gesture was delivered — the app may have shown an error, stayed put, or
+navigated somewhere unexpected.
 
 ### 4. Wait by inspecting, not by sleeping
 
@@ -212,52 +115,32 @@ for you.
 appetize inspect --select-test-id home-feed --timeout 5000 --json
 ```
 
-`--timeout <ms>` makes the command wait for the element and fail with a non-zero
-exit if it never appears. That is your wait primitive: it returns the moment the
-element is there, and it tells you clearly when it is not. Sleeping guesses, and
-guesses are either slow or flaky.
+`--timeout <ms>` returns the moment the element appears and fails if it never
+does. Sleeping guesses, and guesses are either slow or flaky.
 
 ### 5. Change the code, reinstall, repeat
 
-When the app itself is what you are changing, keep the session running and put
-each new build on the device rather than starting over.
+Keep the session running and put each new build on the device.
 
-On Android, install the APK directly over adb:
+On Android, install over adb in seconds:
 
 ```bash
 adb connect <adbSerial>
 adb -s <adbSerial> install -r ./app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk
 ```
 
-This replaces the app in place and takes seconds. The `adbSerial` is the one
-`session start` printed. Keep reading the app's logs from `logs.device`.
+On iOS there is no direct install: the project's CI has to build the `.app` and
+upload it to Appetize. Find that workflow, push so it runs, then restart the
+session against the new build id. If you cannot tell from the CI configuration
+how an iOS build reaches Appetize, stop and ask rather than guessing.
 
-On iOS there is no direct install: a simulator build has to be produced by the
-project's CI (a workflow that archives the `.app` and uploads it to Appetize,
-often via `appetize build upload` or the Appetize upload action). Find that
-workflow, push your change so it runs, then restart the session against the
-build id it produced:
-
-```bash
-appetize session stop --json
-appetize session start iphone15pro <new-id> --json
-```
-
-If you cannot tell from the repository's CI configuration how an iOS build
-reaches Appetize, stop and ask how the change should be verified rather than
-guessing.
-
-Either way, go back to step 1 and inspect — do not assume the new build is
-running until you have seen it.
+Either way, go back to step 1 — do not assume the new build is running until you
+have seen it.
 
 ### 6. Show your work
 
-When a step changes what is on screen, or reaches a state worth seeing, take a
-screenshot and read the image into the transcript as you go. The person driving
-sees what you see, rather than a description of it.
-
-When a turn ends with a visual change or a final state that deserves a demo,
-record the flow and surface the video the same way:
+When a step changes what is on screen, read its screenshot into the transcript,
+so the person driving sees what you see. When a flow deserves a demo, record it:
 
 ```bash
 appetize recording start demo --json
@@ -265,73 +148,57 @@ appetize recording start demo --json
 appetize recording stop --json
 ```
 
-Where your environment lets you attach media to a pull request, include the
-screenshots or video in the description as evidence of the change. Otherwise the
-transcript is the record — never commit screenshots or recordings to the repo.
+Where you can attach media to a pull request, include it as evidence. Never
+commit screenshots or recordings to the repo.
 
 ## Troubleshooting
 
-| What you see                                     | What it means                                                 |
-| ------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
-| `No active sessions`                             | Nothing is running — `session start` first.                   |
-| `Multiple active sessions; specify --session-id` | Pass the `sessionId` of the one you want.                     |
-| `No session found for id X`                      | That session ended, or the id is wrong.                       |
-| Element not found                                | Re-inspect. It is off screen, covered, or the screen changed. |
-| App fails only on network calls                  | If you started with `--proxy`, retry without it.              |
-
-If `session start` is taking a while, `state.phase` in its `state.json` tells
-you whether you are queued for capacity or waiting on an install.
+| What you see                         | What to do                                                        |
+| ------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| `No active sessions`                 | `session start`; if one should be live, read its `logs.daemon`    |
+| `There are multiple active sessions` | Pass `--session-id` for the one you want                          |
+| `No session found for id X`          | It ended — `endedReason` in its `state.json` says why             |
+| `Session is not ready`               | `state.phase` in `state.json`: queued for capacity, or installing |
+| Element not found                    | Re-inspect. It is off screen, covered, or the screen changed      |
+| App fails only on network calls      | If you started with `--proxy`, retry without it                   |
 
 ## Dismissing the soft keyboard
 
-There is no `hideKeyboard` command, so the keyboard is dismissed differently on
-each platform. Tapping an inert element does **not** work: it only clears focus
-if the app wired that up, and many apps do not.
-
-**iOS** — press the return key:
+There is no hide-keyboard command, and tapping an inert element only works if
+the app wired that up. Instead, on iOS press return; on Android press back,
+which dismisses the keyboard rather than navigating while it is up:
 
 ```bash
 appetize type '{Enter}' --json
-```
-
-**Android** — press the back button; while the keyboard is up it dismisses
-the keyboard instead of navigating back:
-
-```bash
 appetize press back --json
 ```
 
-Both leave you on the same screen with the field still focused. Confirm from
-`inspect`: on Android the IME contributes nodes with `inputmethod`, `ime` or
-`latin` in their identifiers, and on iOS its keys appear as nodes labelled `q`,
-`space` and `return`. When those are gone, the keyboard is down. Since the tree
-holds only what is visible, a field the keyboard covers simply is not there,
-which is the symptom that sends you here.
+Confirm with `inspect`: the keyboard is down once Android nodes with
+`inputmethod`, `ime` or `latin` in their identifiers, or iOS keys labelled `q`,
+`space` and `return`, are gone. A field the keyboard covers is missing from the
+tree, which is the usual symptom that sends you here.
 
-Resist the urge to make this easier by changing the app under test — adding a
-test id or a dismiss button changes the thing you are supposed to be verifying.
+Do not change the app under test to make this easier — that changes the thing
+you are verifying.
 
 ## Deep links
 
-Prefer `open` over navigating screen by screen when a deep link exists:
+Prefer a deep link over navigating screen by screen:
 
 ```bash
 appetize open myapp://orders/42 --json
-appetize open https://myapp.com/orders/42 --json
 appetize inspect --select-test-id order-42 --timeout 5000 --json
 ```
 
-`open` returning only means the URL was delivered, so verify the destination
-screen with `inspect --timeout`. A custom scheme needs its app installed on the
-device. iOS caps URLs at 2048 characters.
+`open`, like `session start --open`, only delivers the URL, so wait for the
+destination with `inspect --timeout`. A custom scheme needs its app installed.
 
 ## Logged-out state
 
-On iOS, `appetize keychain clear` clears the entire keychain without restarting
-the session. It has no effect on Android.
+On iOS, `appetize keychain clear` clears the keychain without restarting the
+session.
 
 ## Full command reference
 
-`references/commands.md` has every command, flag, output shape and exit
-behaviour. Read it when you need a flag this page does not cover, or run
-`appetize <command> --help`.
+Run `appetize <command> --help` for flags. `references/commands.md` covers
+behaviour and edge cases `--help` does not.