Appium with Windows Installers (MSI)

Support
1

Very new to Appium but intend to use it (most likely in python) for several Windows desktop applications. I have a few queries that i would love some advice on,

Can I use Appium to launch an MSI and find elements for each installer window (ie next>next>next)?

Ive experimented by simply inserting the msiexec string into the desired cap [“app”]. It does launch the MSI but im not sure if im able to see its elements?

Can I scrape the desktop session for the MSI windows and its elements if the MSI is not a compatible desired element.

Should I just avoid using Appium to manage the MSI install process, and what alternatives are there out there? Launching the MSI etc is all fine in python, but want to detect the installer windows and validate content etc. Maybe another lib altogether or maybe robot fwk can manage?

thanks for any tips in advance.

2

I’d try to use the prerun capability for this purpose. Almost all installers have a possibility to run in unattended mode (e.g. no need for manual interactions). Usually these command line args are /install /quiet /norestart You could check possible options for your installer by running it with /? command line argument.

3

In general the installation wizard is a completely separate app, so it would be logical to have a separate driver instance to control it.