Screen & system

Read the current screen's element tree, size and screenshot, open links, write the clipboard, and handle system alerts.

client.source#

The current screen's element tree. Useful when working out a locator, but slow — keep it out of tight loops.

typescript

client.source(format?: "xml" | "json", accessible?: boolean): string;

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
`format`	`"xml" \| "json"`	No	`"xml"`	The output format.
`accessible`	`boolean`	No	`false`	Pass true to keep only the accessibility-visible nodes, which makes the tree much smaller.

Returns

Type	Description
`string`	The element tree as text.

Example

javascript

var xml = client.source();
logd(xml.substring(0, 500));

setSnapshotMaxDepth#

Set how deep the element tree is read (default 50). Deeper finds more deeply nested elements but is slower. Returns the previous depth so you can raise it temporarily and restore it afterwards.

typescript

setSnapshotMaxDepth(depth?: number): number | null;

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
`depth`	`number`	No	`50`	The maximum depth.

Returns

Type	Description
`number \| null`	The previous depth, or null when it could not be read.

Notes

A depth of 0 means “root node only” in WDA, not “unlimited”. When restoring, skip values below 1.

Example

javascript

var prev = setSnapshotMaxDepth(80);
var found = findElement('accessibilityId', 'deep_button');
if (prev >= 1) {
  setSnapshotMaxDepth(prev);
}

client.windowSize#

The screen size in points. The result is cached.

typescript

client.windowSize(): { width: number; height: number };

Returns

Type	Description
`{ width, height }`	The screen width and height in points.

Example

javascript

var size = client.windowSize();
client.click(size.width / 2, size.height - 80);

client.screenshot#

Take a screenshot and get the image data. Colour, image and text lookups do not need this — call findColor / findImage / ocr directly.

typescript

client.screenshot(format?: "base64" | "bytes"): string | number[];

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
`format`	`"base64" \| "bytes"`	No	`"base64"`	base64 returns the PNG as a base64 string; bytes returns a byte array.

Returns

Type	Description
`string \| number[]`	The PNG image data.

Throws

Error	Raised when
`WDAError`	format is neither base64 nor bytes.

Example

javascript

var png = client.screenshot();
savePicVideo(png, 'screen.png');

client.openUrl#

Have the system open a URL or a custom scheme (such as an app deep link).

typescript

client.openUrl(targetUrl: string): object;

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
`targetUrl`	`string`	Yes	—	The address to open.

Returns

Type	Description
`object`	The raw WDA response; rarely needed.

Example

javascript

client.openUrl('https://example.com');

client.setClipboard#

Write to the device clipboard; non-ASCII text is supported. Read it back with client.getClipboard().

typescript

client.setClipboard(content: string, contentType?: string): object;
client.getClipboard(): string;

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
`content`	`string`	Yes	—	The text to write.
`contentType`	`string`	No	`"plaintext"`	The content type.

Returns

Type	Description
`object \| string`	setClipboard returns the raw WDA response; getClipboard returns the clipboard text.

Throws

Error	Raised when
`WDAError`	content is not a string.

Notes

iOS lets only the foreground app read the clipboard, so getClipboard brings WDA to the front through Siri, reads, and switches back — about 3 seconds in total.

Example

javascript

client.setClipboard('要粘贴的文字 / text to paste');
var text = client.getClipboard();

client.alert#

Handle system alerts (permission prompts, confirmations): check for one, accept, dismiss, or list the buttons.

typescript

client.alert.exists(): boolean;
client.alert.accept(): object;
client.alert.dismiss(): object;
client.alert.buttons(): string[];

Returns

Type	Description
`boolean \| object \| string[]`	exists is true when an alert is up; accept taps the last button (usually Allow or OK) and dismiss the first (usually Cancel or Don't Allow); buttons lists the button titles in order.

Notes

To tap a specific button use client.alert.click('Button title'); client.alert.wait(seconds) waits for an alert to appear.

Example

javascript

if (client.alert.exists()) {
  client.alert.accept();
}