patrol_cli

Patrol

A powerful, multiplatform E2E UI testing framework for Flutter apps that overcomes the limitations of integration_test by handling native interactions. Developed by LeanCode since 2022, battle-tested and shaped by production-grade experience.

Learn more about Patrol:

• Our extensive documentation
• How Patrol 4.0 Makes Cross-Platform Flutter Testing Possible
• Simplifying Flutter Web Testing: Patrol Web
• Patrol VS Code Extension - A Better Way to Run and Debug Flutter UI Tests

How can we help you:

Patrol is an open-source framework created and maintained by LeanCode. However, if your company wants to scale fast and accelerate Patrol’s adoption, we offer a set of value-added services on top of the core framework.

You can find out more below:

• 🚀 Automate Flutter app testing with Patrol
• 🚀 Patrol Setup & Patrol Training

[!NOTE] Patrol 4.7.0 adds Swift Package Manager support for iOS and macOS! If you migrate your project to SPM, a few small setup changes are needed — see the iOS setup guide for details.

Patrol custom finders

Flutter's finders are powerful, but not very intuitive to use.

We took them and made something awesome.

Thanks to Patrol's custom finders, you'll take your tests from this:

testWidgets('signs up', (WidgetTester tester) async {
  await tester.pumpWidget(AwesomeApp());
  await tester.pumpAndSettle();

  await tester.enterText(
    find.byKey(Key('emailTextField')),
    'charlie@root.me',
  );
  await tester.pumpAndSettle();

  await tester.enterText(
    find.byKey(Key('nameTextField')),
    'Charlie',
  );
  await tester.pumpAndSettle();

  await tester.enterText(
    find.byKey(Key('passwordTextField')),
    'ny4ncat',
  );
  await tester.pumpAndSettle();

  await tester.tap(find.byKey(Key('termsCheckbox')));
  await tester.pumpAndSettle();

  await tester.tap(find.byKey(Key('signUpButton')));
  await tester.pumpAndSettle();

  expect(find.text('Welcome, Charlie!'), findsOneWidget);
});

to this:

patrolTest('signs up', (PatrolIntegrationTester $) async {
  await $.pumpWidgetAndSettle(AwesomeApp());

  await $(#emailTextField).enterText('charlie@root.me');
  await $(#nameTextField).enterText('Charlie');
  await $(#passwordTextField).enterText('ny4ncat');
  await $(#termsCheckbox).tap();
  await $(#signUpButton).tap();

  await $('Welcome, Charlie!').waitUntilVisible();
});

Learn more about custom finders in the docs!

Patrol's custom finders are also available standalone in the patrol_finders package.

Patrol native automation

Flutter's default integration_test package can't interact with the OS your Flutter app is running on. This makes it impossible to test many critical business features, such as:

• granting runtime permissions
• signing into the app which through WebView or Google Services
• tapping on notifications
• much more!

Patrol's native automation feature solves these problems:

void main() {
  patrolTest('showtime', (PatrolIntegrationTester $) async {
    await $.pumpWidgetAndSettle(AwesomeApp());
    // prepare network conditions
    await $.platform.mobile.enableCellular();
    await $.platform.mobile.disableWifi();

    // toggle system theme
    await $.platform.mobile.enableDarkMode();

    // handle native location permission request dialog
    await $.platform.mobile.selectFineLocation();
    await $.platform.mobile.grantPermissionWhenInUse();

    // tap on the first notification
    await $.platform.mobile.openNotifications();
    await $.platform.mobile.tapOnNotificationByIndex(0);
  });
}

CLI

See packages/patrol_cli.

The CLI is needed to enable Patrol's native automation feature in integration tests. It also makes development of integration tests much faster thanks to [Hot Restart].

To run widget tests, you can continue to use flutter test.

Package

See packages/patrol.

CI/CD Workflows

See .github/WORKFLOWS.md for detailed documentation about all GitHub Actions workflows, including test schedules, Flutter versions, and deployment pipelines.

Patrol contracts generator

1. (Optionally) add new request type:

class OpenAppRequest {
  late String appId;
}

2. Add new method to NativeAutomator:

abstract class NativeAutomator<IOSServer, AndroidServer, DartClient> {
  ...
  void openApp(OpenAppRequest request);
  ...
}

3. Run gen_from_schema script, few files will be updated

Develop patrol_cli

If you have previously activated patrol_cli run:

dart pub global deactivate patrol_cli

then

cd packages/patrol_cli
flutter pub global activate -s path .

🛠️ Maintained by LeanCode

This package is built with 💙 by LeanCode. We are top-tier experts focused on Flutter Enterprise solutions.

Why LeanCode?

• Creators of Patrol – the next-gen testing framework for Flutter.

• Production-Ready – We use this package in apps with millions of users.

• Full-Cycle Product Development – We take your product from scratch to long-term maintenance.