What is airtest?

Airtest is a testing framework that automates tapping, swiping, and other interactions on mobile apps and games without requiring any modifications to the app itself. It does this by using image recognition to locate buttons and other elements on screen, then simulating the touch or click. Because it works by looking at what is visible rather than hooking into the app's code, it can handle games built in Unity and similar engines where traditional automation tools often struggle. The framework supports Android, iOS, and Windows applications from a single set of Python scripts. A developer writes the test once, specifying which image on screen to tap and what result to expect, and the same script can run against different devices. For those who prefer a visual interface, the project also ships AirtestIDE, a desktop application that lets users record actions, run tests, and view reports without writing code by hand. A companion library called Poco extends Airtest by giving direct access to the internal structure of an app's user interface. Where image recognition looks at pixels, Poco can query named elements and their properties, which makes it possible to write more precise and reliable automation for supported platforms and game engines. Tests can be run from the command line against devices connected over USB or over a network, making it straightforward to scale testing across a farm of physical devices. After a test run, Airtest generates an HTML report that includes screenshots and screen recordings so it is easy to see exactly what happened and where something went wrong. The project was created by NetEase and is actively maintained as open-source software.