Instruments crashed on startup -iOS real device

Support
1

Hi,

 I am doing iOS automation on real device. But i got stuck with the error "Failed to start an Appium session, err was: Error: Instruments crashed on startup". logs are below. Please help to resolve this error. Thanks in advance.

info: Appium REST http interface listener started on 0.0.0.0:4723
info: Console LogLevel: debug
info: --> POST /wd/hub/session {“desiredCapabilities”:{“app”:"/Users/rajesh.madaswamy/Desktop/PlainNote/code/sencha/cordova/platforms/ios/build/emulator/Fly_dotREZ.ipa",“platformVersion”:“7.1.2”,“platformName”:“iOS”,“deviceName”:“iPhone 5S”,“bundleId”:“com.accenture.london.Voyage-Air”,“udid”:“5f5e07c61ae3ad4f755801bd6336d21d90927095”}}
info: Client User-Agent string: Apache-HttpClient/4.3.6 (java 1.5)
info: [debug] Using local .ipa from desired caps: /Users/rajesh.madaswamy/Desktop/PlainNote/code/sencha/cordova/platforms/ios/build/emulator/Fly_dotREZ.ipa
info: [debug] Copying local zip to tmp dir
info: [debug] /Users/rajesh.madaswamy/Desktop/PlainNote/code/sencha/cordova/platforms/ios/build/emulator/Fly_dotREZ.ipa copied to /var/folders/mt/7w1_nx811y9cyx1778lqs_700000gq/T/115210-67883-1h28vtl/appium-app.zip
info: [debug] Unzipping /var/folders/mt/7w1_nx811y9cyx1778lqs_700000gq/T/115210-67883-1h28vtl/appium-app.zip
info: [debug] Testing zip archive: /var/folders/mt/7w1_nx811y9cyx1778lqs_700000gq/T/115210-67883-1h28vtl/appium-app.zip
info: [debug] Zip archive tested clean
info: [debug] Unzip successful
info: [debug] Using locally extracted app: /var/folders/mt/7w1_nx811y9cyx1778lqs_700000gq/T/115210-67883-1h28vtl/Payload/Fly dotREZ.app
info: [debug] Creating new appium session 709e3337-b330-4549-b6d0-eb10722cc83b
info: [debug] Removing any remaining instruments sockets
info: [debug] Cleaned up instruments socket /tmp/instruments_sock
info: [debug] Setting Xcode folder
info: [debug] Setting Xcode version
info: [debug] Setting iOS SDK Version
info: [debug] Getting sdk version from xcrun with a timeout
info: [debug] iOS SDK Version set to 7.0
info: [debug] Not checking whether simulator is available since we’re on a real device
info: [debug] Detecting automation tracetemplate
info: [debug] Not auto-detecting udid, running on sim
info: [debug] Parsed app Info.plist (as binary)
info: [debug] Parsed app Localizable.strings
info: [debug] Creating instruments
info: [debug] Preparing uiauto bootstrap
info: [debug] Dynamic bootstrap dir: /Users/rajesh.madaswamy/Library/Application Support/appium/bootstrap
info: [debug] Dynamic env: {“nodePath”:"/usr/local/bin/node",“commandProxyClientPath”:"/Users/rajesh.madaswamy/.npm-packages/lib/node_modules/appium/node_modules/appium-uiauto/bin/command-proxy-client.js",“instrumentsSock”:"/tmp/instruments_sock",“interKeyDelay”:null,“justLoopInfinitely”:false,“autoAcceptAlerts”:false,“autoDismissAlerts”:false,“sendKeyStrategy”:“grouped”}
info: [debug] Dynamic bootstrap code: // This file is automatically generated. D…ot manually modify!
info: [debug] Dynamic bootstrap path: /Users/rajesh.madaswamy/Library/Application Support/appium/bootstrap/bootstrap-b98646d39f6b505e.js
info: [debug] Reusing dynamic bootstrap: /Users/rajesh.madaswamy/Library/Application Support/appium/bootstrap/bootstrap-b98646d39f6b505e.js
info: [debug] Not setting device type since we’re on a real device
info: [debug] Checking whether we need to set app preferences
info: [debug] Not setting iOS and app preferences since we’re on a real device
info: [debug] Running ios sim reset flow
info: [debug] Killing the simulator process
info: [debug] Killall iPhoneSimulator
info: [debug] Killing any other simulator daemons
info: [debug] On a real device; cannot clean device state
info: [debug] Not setting locale because we’re using a real device
info: [debug] No iOS / app preferences to set
info: [debug] Starting iOS device log capture via deviceconsole
info: [debug] Not pre-launching simulator
info: [debug] Creating iDevice object with udid 5f5e07c61ae3ad4f755801bd6336d21d90927095
info: [debug] Checking app install status using: /Users/rajesh.madaswamy/.npm-packages/lib/node_modules/appium/build/fruitstrap/fruitstrap isInstalled --id 5f5e07c61ae3ad4f755801bd6336d21d90927095 --bundle com.accenture.london.Voyage-Air
info: [debug] App is installed.
info: [debug] fullReset not requested. No need to install.
info: [debug] Starting command proxy.
info: [debug] Instruments socket server started at /tmp/instruments_sock
info: [debug] Starting instruments
info: [debug] Instruments is at: /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/usr/bin/instruments
info: Launching instruments
info: [debug] Attempting to run app on real device with UDID 5f5e07c61ae3ad4f755801bd6336d21d90927095
info: [debug] Spawning instruments with command: /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/usr/bin/instruments -t /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Applications/Instruments.app/Contents/PlugIns/AutomationInstrument.bundle/Contents/Resources/Automation.tracetemplate -D /tmp/appium-instruments/instrumentscli0.trace -w 5f5e07c61ae3ad4f755801bd6336d21d90927095 com.accenture.london.Voyage-Air -e UIASCRIPT “/Users/rajesh.madaswamy/Library/Application Support/appium/bootstrap/bootstrap-b98646d39f6b505e.js” -e UIARESULTSPATH /tmp/appium-instruments
info: [debug] And extra without-delay env: {}
info: [debug] And launch timeouts (in ms): {“global”:90000}
info: [debug] [INST STDERR] 2015-03-10 17:30:06.747 instruments[67920:707] Failed to start Instruments daemon for ‘iOS’ on ‘jitendra.k.dash’s iPhone (v7.1.2)’ (The service is invalid.)
info: [debug] [INST STDERR] 2015-03-10 17:30:06.862 instruments[67920:2203] Failed to start Instruments daemon for ‘iOS’ on ‘jitendra.k.dash’s iPhone (v7.1.2)’ (The service is invalid.)
info: [debug] [INST STDERR] Instruments Trace Error : Failed to start trace.
info: [debug] [INSTSERVER] Instruments exited with code 253
info: [debug] Killall instruments
info: [debug] Instruments crashed on startup
info: [debug] Attempting to retry launching instruments, this is retry #1
info: [debug] Killall iPhoneSimulator
info: Launching instruments
info: [debug] Attempting to run app on real device with UDID 5f5e07c61ae3ad4f755801bd6336d21d90927095
info: [debug] Spawning instruments with command: /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/usr/bin/instruments -t /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Applications/Instruments.app/Contents/PlugIns/AutomationInstrument.bundle/Contents/Resources/Automation.tracetemplate -D /tmp/appium-instruments/instrumentscli0.trace -w 5f5e07c61ae3ad4f755801bd6336d21d90927095 com.accenture.london.Voyage-Air -e UIASCRIPT “/Users/rajesh.madaswamy/Library/Application Support/appium/bootstrap/bootstrap-b98646d39f6b505e.js” -e UIARESULTSPATH /tmp/appium-instruments
info: [debug] And extra without-delay env: {}
info: [debug] And launch timeouts (in ms): {“global”:90000}
info: [debug] [INST STDERR] 2015-03-10 17:30:13.444 instruments[67923:707] Failed to start Instruments daemon for ‘iOS’ on ‘jitendra.k.dash’s iPhone (v7.1.2)’ (The service is invalid.)
info: [debug] [INST STDERR] 2015-03-10 17:30:13.555 instruments[67923:2003] Failed to start Instruments daemon for ‘iOS’ on ‘jitendra.k.dash’s iPhone (v7.1.2)’ (The service is invalid.)
info: [debug] [INST STDERR] Instruments Trace Error : Failed to start trace.
info: [debug] [INSTSERVER] Instruments exited with code 253
info: [debug] Killall instruments
info: [debug] Instruments crashed on startup
info: [debug] Attempting to retry launching instruments, this is retry #2
info: [debug] Killall iPhoneSimulator
info: Launching instruments
info: [debug] Attempting to run app on real device with UDID 5f5e07c61ae3ad4f755801bd6336d21d90927095
info: [debug] Spawning instruments with command: /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/usr/bin/instruments -t /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Applications/Instruments.app/Contents/PlugIns/AutomationInstrument.bundle/Contents/Resources/Automation.tracetemplate -D /tmp/appium-instruments/instrumentscli0.trace -w 5f5e07c61ae3ad4f755801bd6336d21d90927095 com.accenture.london.Voyage-Air -e UIASCRIPT “/Users/rajesh.madaswamy/Library/Application Support/appium/bootstrap/bootstrap-b98646d39f6b505e.js” -e UIARESULTSPATH /tmp/appium-instruments
info: [debug] And extra without-delay env: {}
info: [debug] And launch timeouts (in ms): {“global”:90000}
info: [debug] [INST STDERR] 2015-03-10 17:30:20.152 instruments[67927:707] Failed to start Instruments daemon for ‘iOS’ on ‘jitendra.k.dash’s iPhone (v7.1.2)’ (The service is invalid.)
info: [debug] [INST STDERR] 2015-03-10 17:30:20.253 instruments[67927:3f03] Failed to start Instruments daemon for ‘iOS’ on ‘jitendra.k.dash’s iPhone (v7.1.2)’ (The service is invalid.)
info: [debug] [INST STDERR] Instruments Trace Error : Failed to start trace.
info: [debug] [INSTSERVER] Instruments exited with code 253
info: [debug] Killall instruments
info: [debug] Instruments crashed on startup
info: [debug] Attempting to retry launching instruments, this is retry #3
info: [debug] Killall iPhoneSimulator
info: Launching instruments
info: [debug] Attempting to run app on real device with UDID 5f5e07c61ae3ad4f755801bd6336d21d90927095
info: [debug] Spawning instruments with command: /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/usr/bin/instruments -t /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Applications/Instruments.app/Contents/PlugIns/AutomationInstrument.bundle/Contents/Resources/Automation.tracetemplate -D /tmp/appium-instruments/instrumentscli0.trace -w 5f5e07c61ae3ad4f755801bd6336d21d90927095 com.accenture.london.Voyage-Air -e UIASCRIPT “/Users/rajesh.madaswamy/Library/Application Support/appium/bootstrap/bootstrap-b98646d39f6b505e.js” -e UIARESULTSPATH /tmp/appium-instruments
info: [debug] And extra without-delay env: {}
info: [debug] And launch timeouts (in ms): {“global”:90000}
info: [debug] [INST STDERR] 2015-03-10 17:30:26.840 instruments[67930:707] Failed to start Instruments daemon for ‘iOS’ on ‘jitendra.k.dash’s iPhone (v7.1.2)’ (The service is invalid.)
info: [debug] [INST STDERR] 2015-03-10 17:30:26.952 instruments[67930:3827] Failed to start Instruments daemon for ‘iOS’ on ‘jitendra.k.dash’s iPhone (v7.1.2)’ (The service is invalid.)
info: [debug] [INST STDERR] Instruments Trace Error : Failed to start trace.
info: [debug] [INSTSERVER] Instruments exited with code 253
info: [debug] Killall instruments
info: [debug] Instruments crashed on startup
info: [debug] We exceeded the number of retries allowed for instruments to successfully start; failing launch
info: [debug] Stopping iOS log capture
info: [debug] Running ios sim reset flow
info: [debug] Killing the simulator process
info: [debug] Killall iPhoneSimulator
info: [debug] Killing any other simulator daemons
info: [debug] On a real device; cannot clean device state
info: [debug] Cleaning up appium session
error: Failed to start an Appium session, err was: Error: Instruments crashed on startup
info: [debug] Error: Instruments crashed on startup
at Instruments.onInstrumentsExit (/Users/rajesh.madaswamy/.npm-packages/lib/node_modules/appium/node_modules/appium-instruments/lib/instruments.js:389:31)
at null. (/Users/rajesh.madaswamy/.npm-packages/lib/node_modules/appium/node_modules/appium-instruments/lib/instruments.js:308:12)
at ChildProcess.emit (events.js:110:17)
at Process.ChildProcess._handle.onexit (child_process.js:1067:12)
info: [debug] Responding to client with error: {“status”:33,“value”:{“message”:“A new session could not be created. (Original error: Instruments crashed on startup)”,“origValue”:“Instruments crashed on startup”},“sessionId”:null}
info: <-- POST /wd/hub/session 500 24889.612 ms - 182

2

It’s not an Appium issue, it’s the Instruments.

Make sure the app is made with distribution profile that has this phone’s UDID.

3

Yes. You mean provisioning profile? App is made with this profile and has its UDID. I am able to install the app manually in the device and launch the app.

4

I can personally confirm that installing ios app on a device using appium is flakey (I’ll do some investigation on that and raise a bug in due time).

In the meantime, I suggest extracting the app installation into a separate script. You can either re-use what appium uses (fruitstrap), or install directly with xcode.

Make sure you update the tests to reuse the existing app rather than install fresh.

5

Thanks for your reply. I tried installing the app separately. And ran the test script using “fullReset = false” .So that this will not install the app again. But getting the error “Failed to start Instruments daemon for ‘iOS’ on iPhone (v7.1.2)’ (The service is invalid.)”

6

Can you try launching the app manually with Instruments?

1.Install the app on device
2. open instruments
3. open Automation
4. At the top of the window, select your device (iphone 7.1.2)
5. choose the app you’re trying to automate as the target
6. at this point, if everything works so far, tap record at the bottom of the automation window to start recording inputs

7

–Go to Settings on device-> Developer -> Enable UI automation –

8

@sureshjashti 's solution helped me.

9

Writing this for my own records. Any of the following solutions may help here. But the last solution is what works for me every time.

  1. Check that the bundle id (e.g. com.crunch.crunch.iOS) is correct.
  2. Check that the UDID of the device is correct.
  3. Go to Xcode, build the app for the mobile device, and run it once.
  4. Go to Xcode->Window->devices.
    Locate your device.
    Clear console logs. (Hit the Delete button on bottom right corner).
10

@savishy,
This issue got resolved for me. I will explain the steps which I have done.
Go to Xcode ->Click Open Developer Tools-> Click Instruments->In
top of the Instruments tab you can find Choose a profiling
template(Choose your iPhone device)->Select Automation->Click
Choose button->Click the Play button.

In Appium ->iOS settings->go to Advanced settings->tick the Native instrument library.
Go to Appium and start the server.

Now your app get installed successfully in device.

2 Likes
11

Cool :slight_smile: Although what would really work for me is a way to do all this in a fully automated fashion. Have explored but not found anything meaningful yet.

12

Thanks.

I was facing this issue from last two days. Read many solutions but your solution works in first attempt.

great Thanks

1 Like