Airtest provides dedicated interfaces for deploying and removing applciations on iOS devices. The framework supports both local .ipa file paths and remote HTTP/HTTPS URLs for package distribution.

Application Deployment

Two approaches are available for installing packages: the global install function and the instance method install_app. Both achieve identical results but differ in invocation style.

from airtest.core.api import auto_setup, install, device

auto_setup(__file__)

# Approach 1: Global API call
install("/Users/tester/builds/target_app.ipa")

# Approach 2: Device instance method
ios_target = device()
ios_target.install_app("/Users/tester/builds/target_app.ipa")

Application Removal

Uninstalling follows the same dual-pattern design. The operation requires the target application's bundle identifier rather than a file path.

from airtest.core.api import auto_setup, uninstall, device

auto_setup(__file__)

test_device = device()
target_bundle = "com.company.internal.tool"

# Instance-based removal
test_device.uninstall_app(target_bundle)

# Global API equivalent
uninstall(target_bundle)

Enumerating Installed Packages

To audit applications currently residing on the device, utilize the list_app interface. It accepts a scope parameter to filter results across all, system, or user categories.

from airtest.core.api import auto_setup, device

auto_setup(__file__)

current_ios = device()

# Retrieve only user-installed third-party applications
user_packages = current_ios.list_app("user")
for pkg in user_packages:
    print(f"Detected package: {pkg}")

Version Note: When executing this method in Airtest 1.3.0.1, passing the filter string may raise a TypeError regarding an unexpected keyword argument. This is a known regression in the parameter parsing logic. As a temporary measure, invoke the method without arguments to retrieve the full list and filter the results programmatically.

Clipboard Interaction

Text injection and extraction are streamlined through set_clipboard and get_clipboard. These utilities are essential for bypassing on-screen keyboards or validating copy-paste workflows during atuomation.

from airtest.core.api import auto_setup, set_clipboard, get_clipboard, touch, Template

auto_setup(__file__)

# Write data to the system clipboard
input_data = "secure_token_998877"
set_clipboard(input_data)

# Read and verify the stored value
stored_value = get_clipboard()
print(f"Active clipboard content: {stored_value}")

# Tap a text field to trigger the iOS context menu
touch((120, 380))

# Locate and tap the 'Paste' option using image recognition
paste_option = Template(r"tpl_ios_context_paste.png", record_pos=(-0.25, -0.65), resolution=(1170, 2532))
touch(paste_option)