Argent Test UI Flow

Platform-agnostic

The interaction tool names are identical on iOS and Android — gesture-tap, gesture-swipe, describe, screenshot, launch-app, etc. — and the tool-server auto-dispatches based on the udid you pass (UUID-shape → iOS, adb serial → Android).

Before testing, resolve which device to test on. Call list-devices and follow <device_selection_rule>: prefer a running device on any platform;

Once a platform is chosen, the per-platform setup skill takes over:

1. Workflow

All interactions go through argent MCP tools. Ensure the simulator/emulator is ready before starting.

For implementation tasks that modify visible UI, this workflow can also serve as a visual acceptance path.

1. Baseline screenshot: Call screenshot to see the current UI state. For visual regression comparison or UI change verification, capture the baseline at scale: 1.0 with includeImageInContext: false and keep the returned path before editing whenever feasible.
2. Find target: Before tapping, use a discovery tool to get element coordinates:
   • React Native apps: use debugger-component-tree — it returns component names with (tap: x,y) coordinates. This is the preferred tool for RN apps on either platform. To use it, resolve the argent-react-native-app-workflow skill for setup; on Android you must also run adb -s <serial> reverse tcp:8081 tcp:8081 so Metro is reachable from the device.
   • Standard app screens and in-app modals: use describe. On iOS this returns the AX tree (falls back to native-devtools when AX is empty); on Android it returns the uiautomator tree in the same DescribeNode shape.
   • Permission prompts / system modal overlays: try describe first. Fall back to screenshot only if the overlay is not exposed reliably.
   • Fallback: use screenshot to estimate where the desired component is, then verify immediately after the action.
3. Interact: Perform the action (gesture-tap, gesture-swipe, keyboard, button, ...) — you receive a screenshot automatically.
4. Verify: Check the returned screenshot for expected results. If it shows a loading/transitional state, prefer blocking until it settles with await-ui-element (expected element visible, or a spinner hidden) over a guessed delay — but only with a selector you can trust (text/identifier/role) that the screen is known to have or that you saw in a prior describe; a guessed one just times out. Otherwise use a short fixed wait. Pick evidence by what's being asserted:
   • Visual (layout, spacing, color, typography, image/icon rendering, clipping, overflow, text rendering): prefer screenshot-diff against the baseline captured in step 1 — it surfaces pixel-visible changes the auto-screenshot might miss. Fall back to visual inspection of the auto-screenshot only when a stable baseline isn't available.
   • Structural (navigation state, element existence, accessibility labels/values, selection, hierarchy, route): verify with describe, debugger-component-tree, or native-describe-screen.
   • Runtime / log / network (console errors, API calls, persistence, timing): verify with view-network-logs, debugger-log-registry, debugger-evaluate, or targeted tests.
   • Mixed: collect evidence for each relevant class.
   • Report the combined verdict: expected behavior, observed behavior, evidence used, and any blocker for requested visual diffing.
5. Repeat for each step in the flow.

2. Template

Goal: Test [feature name]

Steps:
1. Classify expected result: visual / structural / runtime-log-network / mixed → choose evidence
2. [Navigate / tap / type to reach stable comparable starting point] → verify auto-screenshot
3. screenshot { scale: 1.0, includeImageInContext: false } → save baseline path when visual or mixed evidence needs diffing
4. [Perform the action to test] → verify auto-screenshot
5. Use screenshot-diff when requested or when comparable images add useful visual evidence
6. Report: pass / fail with combined visual, structural, runtime/log/network evidence as applicable

3. Examples

Login flow

1. screenshot → see login screen
2. gesture-tap { x: 0.5, y: 0.4 }  → tap email field
3. keyboard { text: "user@example.com" }
4. gesture-tap { x: 0.5, y: 0.55 } → tap password field
5. keyboard { text: "password123" }
6. gesture-tap { x: 0.5, y: 0.7 }  → tap Login button
7. screenshot → verify home screen appeared

Scroll and navigation

1. screenshot → see list at top
2. gesture-swipe { fromY: 0.7, toY: 0.3 } → scroll down
3. gesture-tap item at visible position → verify auto-screenshot
4. screenshot → verify detail view opened
5. button { button: "back" }
6. screenshot → verify returned to list

Visual behavior check

1. Classify expected result as visual or mixed.
2. Navigate to the stable starting state.
3. screenshot { scale: 1.0, includeImageInContext: false } → save baseline path.
4. describe / debugger-component-tree → find the control and use its returned tap coordinates.
5. gesture-tap → perform the visual behavior under test.
6. screenshot-diff { baselinePath, captureCurrent: true, udid, outputDir } → inspect visible change or stability.
7. describe / debugger-component-tree → verify selected state, label, route, or attributes if relevant.
8. Report combined verdict from expected behavior, visual inspection, diff summary, and structural evidence.

Wait for a loading spinner

1. gesture-tap { x: 0.5, y: 0.7 } → trigger an action that fetches data
2. screenshot → loading spinner is showing
3. await-ui-element { condition: hidden, selector: { text: "Loading" } } → block until the fetch finishes and the spinner disappears
4. describe / screenshot → verify the fetched content rendered

4. Recovery Pattern

• If a screen is mid-transition or loading: block until it settles with await-ui-element (wait for the target element to be visible, or the spinner/placeholder to be hidden) instead of a blind fixed delay, then re-check. Fall back to a fixed wait + screenshot only when no element reliably marks the transition.
• If tap misses target: re-run discovery tool (describe / debugger-component-tree), retry once with new coordinates.
• If a permission dialog or modal is visible: re-run describe first. Stay in screenshot-driven navigation only when the overlay is not exposed reliably, then switch back to describe / debugger-component-tree as soon as it is dismissed.
• If tap fails twice at same coordinates: stop, re-discover, report if element not found.
• If a saved flow fails during flow-execute replay (as opposed to live test steps above): follow argent-create-flow skill §10 for structured diagnosis and correction.

Tips

• Wait on the UI, don't poll. When a step needs the screen to change first, gate it with await-ui-element (block until an element is visible/hidden or contains text) rather than repeated screenshot calls with fixed sleeps. See the await-ui-element section of argent-device-interact.
• Use gesture-custom for long-press context menus (800ms hold).
• Report clearly: state what you expected, what you saw, and the verdict.
• Permission modals: try describe first. Use screenshot only as fallback, tap one visible button at a time, and verify with the returned screenshot before continuing.
• Record for replay: If a tested flow is likely to be repeated, use the argent-create-flow skill to record it as a .yaml script. This lets you replay the entire sequence later with a single flow-execute call instead of re-running each step manually.

Related Skills

Source: software-mansion/argent — distributed by TomeVault.