Recording

FlutterProbe can generate .probe files by recording your interactions on a real device or simulator. This is useful for creating initial test drafts without writing ProbeScript manually.

Usage

# Start recording (interact with your app, then Ctrl+C to stop)
probe record --device <UDID-or-serial> --output tests/my_flow.probe

# Record with a timeout (auto-stops after 60s)
probe record --timeout 60s -o tests/my_flow.probe

How It Works

1. The CLI sends a probe.start_recording RPC call to the Dart agent
2. The agent installs a global pointer route via GestureBinding.instance.pointerRouter.addGlobalRoute()
3. Each touch event is captured, classified, and streamed back to the CLI as JSON-RPC notifications

Event Classification

Interaction	Detection
Tap	Pointer down + up with displacement < 20px
Long press	Pointer down + up with displacement < 20px and hold > threshold
Swipe	Pointer down + up with displacement >= 20px, direction detected
Text input	Controller listener on EditableText elements, debounced at 300ms

Widget Identification

For each touch event, the recorder:

1. Hit-tests at the touch position
2. Walks hit test entries looking for user-meaningful selectors
3. Prefers: ValueKey > Text content > Semantics label > widget type
4. Skips framework internals like NotificationListener, Padding, Container

Wait Step Insertion

When the gap between two actions exceeds 2 seconds, a wait N seconds step is automatically inserted in the generated script.

Real-Time Feedback

As you interact with the app, the CLI prints each detected event:

  ● Recording on A1B2C3D4... — interact with your app
  ✓ tap "Sign In"
  ✓ type "user@test.com" into "Email"
  ✓ swipe up
  ✓ tap "Submit"
  ✓ Recorded 4 events → tests/my_flow.probe

Platform Differences

• iOS: Uses ReadTokenIOS() directly — no port forwarding needed (simulator shares host loopback)
• Android: Uses ForwardPort() + ReadToken() via ADB

Limitations

• Icon-only buttons may resolve to framework widget types instead of meaningful selectors — manual cleanup may be needed
• Complex gestures (pinch, rotate) are not recorded
• Implicit scrolling from list view interactions may not be captured accurately

Tips

• Use ValueKey on important widgets in your app to get cleaner recorded selectors
• Record short flows and combine them into recipes
• Treat recorded output as a starting point — review and refine the generated ProbeScript