FlutterProbe

A high-performance E2E testing framework for Flutter mobile apps. Write tests in plain English, execute with sub-50ms command round-trips via direct widget-tree access — no UI automation layer, no WebDriver overhead.

test "user can log in"
  @smoke
  open the app
  wait until "Sign In" appears
  type "user@example.com" into the "Email" field
  type "secret" into the "Password" field
  tap "Sign In"
  see "Dashboard"

How It Works

FlutterProbe has two components that communicate over WebSocket + JSON-RPC 2.0:

┌──────────────┐     WebSocket / JSON-RPC 2.0      ┌─────────────────┐
│  probe CLI   │ ──────────────────────────────────▶│  ProbeAgent     │
│  (Go)        │   localhost:48686                   │  (Dart, on      │
│              │   tap, type, see, wait, swipe       │   device)       │
│  Parses .probe│  screenshot, dump_tree             │                 │
│  Manages devs │  One-time token auth               │  Walks widget   │
│  Reports     │                                     │  tree directly  │
└──────────────┘                                    └─────────────────┘

Android: CLI → adb forward → WebSocket → ProbeAgent
iOS Simulator: CLI → localhost directly (simulator shares host loopback)

The ProbeAgent is a Dart package you add to your Flutter app as a dev dependency. It runs a WebSocket server inside your app and executes commands against the live widget tree — no flutter_test, no TestWidgetsFlutterBinding, no external driver.

Installation

Option A — Download pre-built binary (recommended for CI/CD)

Pre-built binaries for Linux, macOS (Intel + Apple Silicon), and Windows are attached to every GitHub Release.

# Linux (amd64)
curl -Lo probe https://github.com/AlphaWaveSystems/flutter-probe/releases/latest/download/probe-linux-amd64
chmod +x probe && sudo mv probe /usr/local/bin/

# macOS Apple Silicon
curl -Lo probe https://github.com/AlphaWaveSystems/flutter-probe/releases/latest/download/probe-darwin-arm64
chmod +x probe && sudo mv probe /usr/local/bin/

# macOS Intel
curl -Lo probe https://github.com/AlphaWaveSystems/flutter-probe/releases/latest/download/probe-darwin-amd64
chmod +x probe && sudo mv probe /usr/local/bin/

Option B — Build from source

git clone https://github.com/AlphaWaveSystems/flutter-probe.git
cd flutter-probe
make build        # → bin/probe
make install      # → $GOPATH/bin/probe (optional)

Requirements: Go 1.26+, Dart 3.3+ / Flutter 3.19+ (tested up to 3.41), ADB (Android), Xcode (iOS)

Physical iOS Devices

Testing on physical iOS devices requires iproxy (from libimobiledevice) for USB port forwarding:

brew install libimobiledevice  # macOS

Note: iproxy is not needed for iOS simulators (they share the host loopback) or Android devices (which use adb forward).

2. Add ProbeAgent to your Flutter app

In your app's pubspec.yaml:

dev_dependencies:
  probe_agent:
    path: /path/to/flutter-probe/probe_agent

In your main.dart, start the agent before runApp:

import 'package:probe_agent/probe_agent.dart';

void main() async {
  WidgetsFlutterBinding.ensureInitialized();
  await ProbeAgent.start();   // starts WebSocket server on port 48686
  runApp(MyApp());
}

3. Initialize your project and run tests

cd your-flutter-app
probe init          # creates probe.yaml and tests/ scaffold
probe test tests/   # run all tests

ProbeScript Language

Tests are written in .probe files using natural English with Python-style indentation.

Basic test

test "checkout flow"
  @smoke @checkout
  open the app
  wait until "Cart" appears
  tap "Checkout"
  type "John Doe" into the "Name" field
  type "john@example.com" into the "Email" field
  tap "Place Order"
  see "Order confirmed"
  take a screenshot called "order_confirmation"

Selectors

tap "Sign In"                   # by visible text
tap #login_button               # by ValueKey
tap "Submit" in "LoginForm"     # positional (widget inside a parent)
tap on the 1st "ListItem"       # ordinal

Recipes — reusable step sequences

# tests/recipes/auth.probe
recipe "sign in" (email, password)
  open the app
  wait until "Sign In" appears
  type <email> into the "Email" field
  type <password> into the "Password" field
  tap "Sign In"

# tests/login.probe
use "tests/recipes/auth.probe"

test "user can access dashboard"
  sign in "user@example.com" and "secret"
  see "Dashboard"

Hooks

before each
  clear app data
  open the app

after each
  take a screenshot called "after"

on failure
  take a screenshot called "failure"
  dump the widget tree

Data-driven tests

test "login with <email>"
  open the app
  type <email> into the "Email" field
  tap "Continue"
  see <result>
  Examples:
    | email              | result      |
    | "user@example.com" | "Dashboard" |
    | "bad@example.com"  | "Error"     |

Conditionals and loops

if "Onboarding" is visible
  tap "Skip"
repeat 3 times
  swipe up
  wait 1 seconds

App lifecycle

clear app data          # wipe storage, relaunch, reconnect
restart the app         # force-stop, relaunch, reconnect (data preserved)

OS-level permissions

allow permission "camera"
deny permission "notifications"
grant all permissions
revoke all permissions

Dart escape hatch

run dart:
  final version = await PackageInfo.fromPlatform();
  print('App version: ${version.version}');

CLI Commands

Command	Description
`probe init`	Scaffold `probe.yaml` and `tests/` in your project
`probe test [path]`	Run tests (file, directory, or glob)
`probe test --tag smoke`	Run tests by tag
`probe test --format json -o results.json`	Output JSON results
`probe lint [path]`	Validate `.probe` syntax
`probe record`	Record interactions → generate ProbeScript
`probe report --input results.json`	Generate HTML report
`probe device list`	List connected devices and simulators
`probe studio`	Open interactive widget tree inspector
`probe generate --prompt "test login flow"`	AI-generate a test from a description
`probe version`	Print CLI version
`probe-convert`	Convert tests from other frameworks

Key flags for `probe test`

Flag	Default	Description
`--device <serial>`	—	Device serial or simulator UDID
`--timeout <duration>`	`30s`	Per-step timeout
`--format terminal\|json\|junit`	`terminal`	Output format
`-o <path>`	—	Output file for JSON/JUnit results
`--video`	off	Record video during run
`-v`	off	Verbose step output
`-y`	off	Auto-confirm destructive operations
`--tag <tag>`	—	Run only tests with this tag
`--name <pattern>`	—	Run only tests matching name
`--adb <path>`	PATH	Custom ADB binary

Visual Regression

Capture baseline screenshots and compare on every run:

test "main screen looks correct"
  open the app
  wait 2 seconds
  take a screenshot called "main_screen"   # first run: saves baseline
                                            # subsequent runs: compares

Configure sensitivity in probe.yaml:

visual:
  threshold: 0.5    # max % of pixels allowed to differ
  pixel_delta: 8    # per-pixel color tolerance (0–255)

Test Recording

Capture real interactions and generate ProbeScript automatically:

probe record --device emulator-5554 --output tests/recorded.probe

Tap, swipe, and type in your app — FlutterProbe writes the .probe file as you go.

CI/CD Integration

No need to clone this repo in your own CI pipelines. Download the pre-built binary directly from GitHub Releases:

# .github/workflows/e2e.yml
jobs:
  e2e:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Install FlutterProbe
        run: |
          curl -Lo probe https://github.com/AlphaWaveSystems/flutter-probe/releases/latest/download/probe-linux-amd64
          chmod +x probe
          sudo mv probe /usr/local/bin/

      - name: Start Android emulator
        uses: reactivecircus/android-emulator-runner@v2
        with:
          api-level: 33
          script: |
            probe test tests/ \
              --device emulator-5554 \
              --format junit \
              -o results.xml \
              --timeout 60s -v -y

      - name: Upload test results
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        if: always()
        with:
          name: test-results
          path: results.xml

Pin to a specific version for reproducible builds:

- name: Install FlutterProbe v0.1.0
  run: |
    curl -Lo probe https://github.com/AlphaWaveSystems/flutter-probe/releases/download/v0.1.0/probe-linux-amd64
    chmod +x probe && sudo mv probe /usr/local/bin/

Generate a portable HTML report from JSON output:

probe test tests/ --format json -o reports/results.json
probe report --input reports/results.json -o reports/report.html --open

Cloud Device Farms

Run tests on real devices without managing your own device lab. Bring your own account:

Provider	Flag value
BrowserStack App Automate	`browserstack`
Sauce Labs Real Device Cloud	`saucelabs`
LambdaTest Real Devices	`lambdatest`
AWS Device Farm	`aws`
Firebase Test Lab	`firebase`

probe test tests/ \
  --cloud-provider browserstack \
  --cloud-device "Google Pixel 7-13.0" \
  --cloud-app app-release.apk \
  --cloud-key YOUR_KEY \
  --cloud-secret YOUR_SECRET

Migrating from Other Frameworks

probe-convert translates tests from 7 formats at 100% construct coverage:

probe-convert tests/maestro/          # Maestro YAML
probe-convert tests/features/         # Gherkin / Cucumber
probe-convert tests/robot/            # Robot Framework
probe-convert tests/detox/            # Detox (JS/TS)
probe-convert tests/appium/           # Appium (Python, Java, JS)

VS Code Extension

Install from source (vscode/) for:

Syntax highlighting for .probe files
Code completion for all ProbeScript commands, selectors, tags, and recipes
CodeLens Run buttons above every test block
Run by tag, run with options, auto-lint on save
Session Manager — configure and run across multiple devices simultaneously
Test Explorer sidebar
Integrated recording and Studio launcher

Configuration (`probe.yaml`)

project:
  app: com.example.myapp

defaults:
  platform: android
  timeout: 30s
  screenshots: true
  video: false
  retry: 0

agent:
  port: 48686
  dial_timeout: 30s
  token_timeout: 30s

device:
  boot_timeout: 120s

visual:
  threshold: 0.5
  pixel_delta: 8

tools:
  adb: /path/to/adb          # optional override
  flutter: /path/to/flutter  # optional override

ai:
  api_key: sk-ant-...        # for probe generate and self-healing
  model: claude-sonnet-4-6

Self-Healing Selectors

When a selector fails, FlutterProbe automatically tries to find a replacement using:

Fuzzy text match — Levenshtein similarity against visible text
Partial key match — Substring match on ValueKey
Semantic match — Accessibility label similarity
LLM-assisted — Claude API suggestion with confidence score (requires ai.api_key)

Repository Structure

cmd/probe/              CLI entry point
internal/
  cli/                  Cobra command implementations
  parser/               ProbeScript lexer + parser (AST)
  runner/               Test orchestration + reporting
  probelink/            JSON-RPC 2.0 WebSocket client
  device/               ADB integration (Android)
  ios/                  xcrun simctl integration (iOS)
  cloud/                Device farm provider integrations
  ai/                   Self-healing + AI test generation
  visual/               Screenshot visual regression
  plugin/               YAML-defined custom commands
  report/               HTML report generation
probe_agent/            Dart package (runs on-device)
tools/probe-convert/    Multi-format test converter
vscode/                 VS Code extension
website/                Documentation site (Starlight/Astro)
tests/                  E2E test suites and health checks

Documentation

Full documentation: alphawavesystems.github.io/flutter-probe

License

Business Source License 1.1 — free for all use except competing commercial hosted testing services. Converts to Apache 2.0 after 4 years per release.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 103 Commits
.github		.github
cmd/probe		cmd/probe
docker		docker
docs/wiki		docs/wiki
internal		internal
plugins		plugins
probe_agent		probe_agent
scripts		scripts
signatures		signatures
tests		tests
tools/probe-convert		tools/probe-convert
vscode		vscode
website		website
.gitignore		.gitignore
CHANGELOG.md		CHANGELOG.md
CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md		CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
CONTRIBUTING.md		CONTRIBUTING.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
Makefile		Makefile
README.md		README.md
SECURITY.md		SECURITY.md
VERSION		VERSION
go.mod		go.mod
go.sum		go.sum
probe.yaml.example		probe.yaml.example

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FlutterProbe

Table of Contents

How It Works

Installation

Option A — Download pre-built binary (recommended for CI/CD)

Option B — Build from source

Physical iOS Devices

2. Add ProbeAgent to your Flutter app

3. Initialize your project and run tests

ProbeScript Language

Basic test

Selectors

Recipes — reusable step sequences

Hooks

Data-driven tests

Conditionals and loops

App lifecycle

OS-level permissions

Dart escape hatch

CLI Commands

Key flags for probe test

Visual Regression

Test Recording

CI/CD Integration

Cloud Device Farms

Migrating from Other Frameworks

VS Code Extension

Configuration (probe.yaml)

Self-Healing Selectors

Repository Structure

Documentation

License

About

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Resources

License

Code of conduct

Contributing

Security policy

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Key flags for `probe test`

Configuration (`probe.yaml`)

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