# Appium Platform Support

Appium supports a variety of platforms and testing modalities (native,
hybrid, web, real devices, simulators, etc...). This document is designed to
make explicit the level of support and requirements for each of these.

## iOS Support

See [Running on OS X: iOS](running-on-osx.md) for iOS requirements and setup
instructions.

* Versions: 6.1, 7.0, and 7.1
* Devices: iPhone Simulator, iPad Simulator, and real iPhones and iPads
* Native app support: Yes, with debug version of .app (simulator),
  or correctly-signed .ipa (real devices). Underlying support is provided by
  Apple's [UIAutomation](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/DeveloperTools/Reference/UIAutomationRef/_index.html)
  framework.
* Mobile web support: Yes, via automation of mobile Safari. For real devices,
  ios-webkit-remote-debugger is required, and automation of native aspects of
  the Safari interface is not possible. See the [mobile web doc](mobile-web.md) for instructions.
* Hybrid support: Yes. For real devices, ios-webkit-remote-debugger is
  required. See the [hybrid doc](hybrid.md) for instructions.
* Support for automating multiple apps in one session: No
* Support for automating multiple devices simultaneously: No
* Support for automating vendor-provided or third-party apps: Only
  vendor-provided apps (Preferences, Maps, etc...), and only on the simulator

## Android Support

See [Running on OS X: Android](running-on-osx.md),
[Running on Windows](running-on-windows.md), or
[Running on Linux](running-on-linux.md) for Android requirements and setup
instructions.

* Versions: 2.3 and up
  * Versions 4.2 and up are supported via Appium's own [UiAutomator](http://developer.android.com/tools/help/uiautomator/index.html)
    libraries. This is the default automation backend.
  * Versions 2.3 through 4.3 are supported via Appium's bundled version of
    [Selendroid](http://selendroid.io), which utilizes [Instrumentation](http://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/Instrumentation.html).
    Selendroid has a different set of commands than the default Appium (though
    this is rapidly being minimized) and a different support profile. To
    access this automation backend, use the `automationName` capability with
    the value `Selendroid`.
* Devices: Android emulators and real Android devices
* Native app support: Yes
* Mobile web support: Yes (but not when using Selendroid backend). Automation
  is effected using a bundled [Chromedriver](https://code.google.com/p/selenium/wiki/ChromeDriver)
  server as a proxy. With 4.2 and 4.3, automation works on official Chrome
  browser or Chromium only. With 4.4+, automation also works on the built-in
  "Browser" app. Chrome/Chromium/Browser must already be installed on the
  device under test. See the [mobile web doc](mobile-web.md) for instructions.
* Hybrid support: Yes. See the [hybrid doc](hybrid.md) for instructions.
  * With default Appium automation backend: versions 4.4 and up
  * With Selendroid automation backend: versions 2.3 and up
* Support for automating multiple apps in one session: Yes (but not when
  using the Selendroid backend)
* Support for automating multiple devices simultaneously: Yes,
  though Appium must be started using different ports for the server
   parameters `--port`, `--bootstrap-port` (or `--selendroid-port`) and/or
  `--chromedriver-port`. See the [server args doc](server-args.md) for more
  information on these parameters.
* Support for automating vendor-provided or third-party apps: Yes (but not
  when using the Selendroid backend)