Overview
The platform runs Appium-based mobile UI tests against four execution tiers. Pick the one that fits your team's constraints — vendor lock-in, infrastructure ownership, iOS coverage, cost.
Local Emulator (T1)
Tier 1 — runs Appium on the developer's macOS machine against a local Android Emulator. Zero cost, instant feedback, single-developer use.
BrowserStack & Sauce Labs (T4)
Tier 4 — runs mobile tests on real devices in BrowserStack App Automate or Sauce Labs Real Device Cloud. Best for iOS coverage without owning Macs, real-device behavior (sensors, biometrics, OEM-specific bugs), and burst capacity.
Self-Hosted Emulators (T2)
Tier 2 — runs mobile tests on Android emulator pods that you operate in your own K8s cluster. Best balance of cost + control for sustained CI usage, and the strongest "data stays in our infra" posture.
Credentials
Vendor device farms (BrowserStack, Sauce Labs) require API credentials. The platform stores these once in the environment credential vault — encrypted at rest with AES-GCM — and references them from mobile apps by tag. No secrets in JSON.
YAML Format
Mobile tests use the same YAML shape as UI tests, with mobile-specific actions and selectors. Same steps list, same {} substitution rules, same assertion patterns.