Integrate Your MSTest Test Suite with BrowserStack

BrowserStack’s MSTest SDK supports a plug-and-play integration. Run your entire test suite in parallel with a few steps!

Prerequisites

An existing automated test suite.
.Net v5.0+ and NUnit v3.0.0+.

Looking for a starter project? Get started with our MSTest sample project.

Integration steps

Based on the method you use to build your project, complete the steps in the following tabs to integrate with BrowserStack.

Visual Studio
CLI

Set BrowserStack credentials

Save your BrowserStack credentials as environment variables. It simplifies running your test suite from your local or CI environment.

Copy

Add BrowserStack SDK as NuGet package

Steps to install BrowserStack SDK as a NuGet package:

On the Visual Studio toolbar, select Project → Manage NuGet Packages. A NuGet Package Manager Window opens.
In the Browse tab, search for BrowserStack.TestAdapter, and click Install.

Create your BrowserStack config file

After installing the SDK, create a browserstack.yml config file at the root level of your project. This file holds all the required capabilities to run tests on BrowserStack.

Set app to be tested

The app property determines the app to be tested. You can upload an Android app (.apk or .aab file) or an iOS app (.ipa file) from your local filesystem.

Supported method	Description
path(Recommended)	SDK uploads the app using the specified relative or absolute path. Eg: `app: ./SampleApp.apk`.

Check out how to create IPA files for iOS app testing on BrowserStack.

Other acceptable app property values

You can use BrowserStack REST API to upload your app.

Following is a sample response that is generated when you upload an app using any of the mentioned methods:

 {
    "app_url":"bs://f7c874f21852ba57957a3fdc33f47514288c4ba4", 
    "custom_id":"SampleApp",
    "shareable_id":"exampleuser/SampleApp"
 }

The following table explains the other acceptable app property values:

Supported method	Description
app_url	Uploaded app’s `app_url` is a valid value for `app` property. Eg: `app: bs://45e1c1473b17b7643aed1761f51cb5cdf3d3e334`
custom_id	If you’ve defined a `custom_id` while uploading your app, the same value can be used as `app` property value. Eg: `app: CalculatorApp`
shareable_id	If you wish to test an app uploaded by someone else from your organization, a `shareable_id` can be used as the `app` property value. Eg: `app: exampleuser/CalculatorApp`

Check out how to specify the application under test to understand the above options better.

Set platforms to test on

Set the devices you want to test under the platforms object.

Do you want to dynamically configure platforms?

To dynamically configure platforms across different tests, you can comment out the platforms capability while still passing platform-specific capabilities.

Set number of parallel threads per platform

The parallelsPerPlatform property determines the number of parallel threads to be executed. BrowserStack’s SDK runner will select the best strategy based on the configured value.

Example 1: If you have configured 3 platforms and set parallelsPerPlatform as 2: a total of 6 (3 x 2) parallel threads will be used on BrowserStack.

Example 2: If you have configured 1 platform and set parallelsPerPlatform as 15: a total of 15 (1 x 15) parallel threads will be used on BrowserStack.

Do you want to perform cross-browser testing without test level parallelization?

Remove the parallelsPerPlatform capability from the configuration file.

Do you want to test parallelization without performing cross-browser testing?

Remove or comment out the platform capability while keeping the parallelsPerPlatform capability intact in the configuration file.

Do you want to skip cross-browser testing as well as parallelization?

Remove or comment out the platform and parallelsPerPlatform capabilities from the configuration file.

Test apps with local/staging API servers

True

False

Test apps locally with local/staging API servers

BrowserStack’s Local Testing feature connects with locally hosted API servers to run your apps

Learn more

BrowserStack Reporting

You can leverage BrowserStack’s extensive reporting features using the following capabilities:

buildIdentifier	Description	Generated build name on BrowserStack dashboard
${BUILD_NUMBER} (Default)	If build is triggered locally, an incremental counter is appended. If build is triggered with CI tools, CI generated build number is appended.	bstack-demo 1 bstack-demo CI 1395
${DATE_TIME}	The timestamp of run time is appended to the build.	bstack-demo 29-Nov-20:44

Advanced use cases for Build Names

Custom formatting of build name

Prefix buildIdentifier with desired characters, for example, # or :

buildName: bstack-demo
buildIdentifier: '#${BUILD_NUMBER}'

Re-run tests in a build

You can re-run selected tests from a build using any of the following options:

Option 1: Set the build name as a combination of buildName and buildIdentifier, as seen on the dashboard, and set buildIdenitifier as null:

buildName: bstack-demo 123
buildIdentifier: null

Option 2: Set the buildIdentifier as the build number or time of the required build as seen on the dashboard:

buildName: bstack-demo
buildIdentifier: 123

Do you want to enable/disable auto-marking of test status and session?

The sessionName and sessionStatus are the names of your test sessions and status of your test sessions respectively. They are automatically picked from your test class/spec names and statuses. They do not need to be set manually when using the BrowserStack SDK. To override the sessionName and sessionStatus capabilities, use the following in your browserstack.yml file:

You can configure local testing to start without initializing the BrowserStack binary, or even with an existing binary using a local identifier

testContextOptions:
    skipSessionName: true
    skipSessionStatus: true

Use additional debugging features

By default, BrowserStack provides prettified session logs, screenshots on every failed command, and a video of the entire test. Additionally, you can enable the following features:

Use App Percy Visual Testing

App Percy is an all-in-one visual testing and review platform enabling teams to automate visual tests, detect visual bugs, and provide valuable insights into UI changes.

percyCaptureMode takes effect only if you set percy to true. If you set the capture mode to manual, ensure you use the Percy Screenshot function in your test script.

Create browserstack.yml file

Create browserstack.yml file in the root folder of your test suite and add the code to it.

You can also pass regular expressions (regex) in deviceName and platformVersion capabilities if your device selection is more flexible. Check out how to use regular expressions to specify device attributes.

Copy

Use our Capability Generator to select from a comprehensive set of options you can use to customize your tests.

Run your test suite

The BrowserStack Test Adapter enables you to execute your test suite seamlessly, just as you did previously.

On the Visual Studio toolbar, select Test → Test Explorer.
Right-click on your test and click Run.

Run test suite using VS code

Set BrowserStack credentials

Saving your BrowserStack credentials as environment variables makes it easier to run your test suite from your local or CI environment.

Copy

Install BrowserStack SDK

Run the following command to install the BrowserStack SDK and create a browserstack.yml file in the root directory of your project.

Explore more

The browserstack.yml config file holds all the required capabilities to run tests on BrowserStack.
The NUnit 3 Test Adapter allows you to run NUnit 3 tests inside Visual Studio or with dotnet on the command line.

Copy

[Only for Macs with Apple silicon] Install dotnet x64 on MacOS

If you are using a Mac computer with Apple silicon chip (M1 or M2) architecture, use the given command.

Copy

<path> - Mention the absolute path to the directory where you want to save dotnet x64
<version> - Mention the dotnet version which you want to use to run tests

This command performs the following functions:

Installs dotnet x64
Installs the required version of dotnet x64 at an appropriate path
Sets alias
Sets an alias for the dotnet installation location on confirmation (enter y option)
The command sets the installation path in your ~/.zshrc (zsh) or ~/.bashrc (bash) profile and you can use this alias to run your tests later. If you choose not to set the alias, when you run the tests, you have to use the entire path to the installation location on every test run.

Update your BrowserStack config file

After installing the SDK, create a browserstack.yml config file at the root level of your project. This file holds all the required capabilities to run tests on BrowserStack.

Set app to be tested

The app property determines the app to be tested. You can upload an Android app (.apk or .aab file) or an iOS app (.ipa file) from your local filesystem.

Supported method	Description
path(Recommended)	SDK uploads the app using the specified relative or absolute path. Eg: `app: ./SampleApp.apk`.

Check out how to create IPA files for iOS app testing on BrowserStack.

Other acceptable app property values

You can use BrowserStack REST API to upload your app.

Following is a sample response that is generated when you upload an app using any of the mentioned methods:

 {
    "app_url":"bs://f7c874f21852ba57957a3fdc33f47514288c4ba4", 
    "custom_id":"SampleApp",
    "shareable_id":"exampleuser/SampleApp"
 }

The following table explains the other acceptable app property values:

Supported method	Description
app_url	Uploaded app’s `app_url` is a valid value for `app` property. Eg: `app: bs://45e1c1473b17b7643aed1761f51cb5cdf3d3e334`
custom_id	If you’ve defined a `custom_id` while uploading your app, the same value can be used as `app` property value. Eg: `app: CalculatorApp`
shareable_id	If you wish to test an app uploaded by someone else from your organization, a `shareable_id` can be used as the `app` property value. Eg: `app: exampleuser/CalculatorApp`

Check out how to specify the application under test to understand the above options better.

Set platforms to test on

Set the devices you want to test under the platforms object.

Do you want to dynamically configure platforms?

To dynamically configure platforms across different tests, you can comment out the platforms capability while still passing platform-specific capabilities.

Set number of parallel threads per platform

The parallelsPerPlatform property determines the number of parallel threads to be executed. BrowserStack’s SDK runner will select the best strategy based on the configured value.

Example 1: If you have configured 3 platforms and set parallelsPerPlatform as 2: a total of 6 (3 x 2) parallel threads will be used on BrowserStack.

Example 2: If you have configured 1 platform and set parallelsPerPlatform as 15: a total of 15 (1 x 15) parallel threads will be used on BrowserStack.

Do you want to perform cross-browser testing without test level parallelization?

Remove the parallelsPerPlatform capability from the configuration file.

Do you want to test parallelization without performing cross-browser testing?

Remove or comment out the platform capability while keeping the parallelsPerPlatform capability intact in the configuration file.

Do you want to skip cross-browser testing as well as parallelization?

Remove or comment out the platform and parallelsPerPlatform capabilities from the configuration file.

Test apps with local/staging API servers

True

False

Test apps locally with local/staging API servers

BrowserStack’s Local Testing feature connects with locally hosted API servers to run your apps

Learn more

BrowserStack Reporting

You can leverage BrowserStack’s extensive reporting features using the following capabilities:

buildIdentifier	Description	Generated build name on BrowserStack dashboard
${BUILD_NUMBER} (Default)	If build is triggered locally, an incremental counter is appended. If build is triggered with CI tools, CI generated build number is appended.	bstack-demo 1 bstack-demo CI 1395
${DATE_TIME}	The timestamp of run time is appended to the build.	bstack-demo 29-Nov-20:44

Advanced use cases for Build Names

Custom formatting of Build Name

Prefix buildIdentifier with desired characters, for example # or :

buildName: bstack-demo
buildIdentifier: '#${BUILD_NUMBER}'

Re-run tests in a build

You can re-run selected tests from a build using any of the following options:

Option 1: Set the build name as a combination of buildName and buildIdentifier as seen on the dashboard and set the buildIdenitifier as null:

buildName: bstack-demo 123
buildIdentifier: null

Option 2: Set the buildIdentifier as the build number or time of the required build as seen on the dashboard:

buildName: bstack-demo
buildIdentifier: 123

Do you want to enable/disable auto-marking of test status and session?

You can configure local testing to start without initializing the BrowserStack binary, or even with an existing binary using a local identifier

testContextOptions:
    skipSessionName: true
    skipSessionStatus: true

Use additional debugging features

By default, BrowserStack provides prettified session logs, screenshots on every failed command, and a video of the entire test. Additionally, you can enable the following features:

Use App Percy Visual Testing

App Percy is an all-in-one visual testing and review platform enabling teams to automate visual tests, detect visual bugs, and provide valuable insights into UI changes.

percyCaptureMode takes effect only if you set percy to true. If you set the capture mode to manual, ensure you use the Percy Screenshot function in your test script.

Update browserstack.yml file with selected capabilities

Copy the following code snippet and replace contents of browserstack.yml file in the root folder of your test suite.

Copy

Use our Capability Generator to select from a comprehensive set of options you can use to customize your tests.

Run your test suite

Continue running your tests as you have been running previously. The command to run your tests using the BrowserStack SDK remains unchanged. For your reference, here’s a sample command:

Copy

Did not set the alias?
Use the absolute path to the dotnet installation to run your tests on Mac computers with Apple silicon chips as shown below:

</absolute/path/to/location/of/dotnet/>/dotnet test

To find out the location of the BrowserStack SDK log files, refer to BrowserStack SDK Log Files. If you are looking for more information, see FAQ documentation.

After you run your test, visit the App Automate dashboard to view your test results.

Advanced features and use cases

Here’s a list of features and capabilities you may find useful.

Accept insecure certificates

The acceptInsecureCerts capability suppresses warning about self-signed certificates usually found in staging environments.

Capability	Expected values
`acceptInsecureCerts`	A boolean. Default is `False`. `True` if you want to accept all SSL certificates.

Change device orientation

The deviceOrientation capability changes the default mobile screen orientation for your tests on BrowserStack infra.

If the parameter is set at the root level, its applicable to all the devices in the test.
If you wish to apply it to a specific device, set it at the platform level which has the device details.

Capability	Description	Expected values
`deviceOrientation`	Set the orientation of your app before beginning your test	A string. Default orientation is `portrait`. Supported orientations: `portrait` and `landscape`.

Simulate IP geolocation

The geoLocation capability lets you test your app across different countries.

Note that this capability is supported on the Enterprise plan only. You can contact sales to get an Enterprise plan for your account.

Capability	Description	Expected values
`geoLocation`	Set the country code you want your test to detect	A string. An ISO 2 country code `FR` for France, `CN` for China Check out the complete list of 45+ countries we support.

Simulate network conditions

The networkProfile capability lets you test your app under different network conditions.

Capability	Description	Expected values
`networkProfile`	Set the network profile to start the test with	A string. `2g-gprs-good`, `4g-lte-advanced-lossy`

Others

Following are a few additional links to documentation pages that might help with your test scenarios:

Troubleshooting

Here’s a list of troubleshooting options you may find useful.

Resigned Apps and Third-Party Library Integration Issues

Uploading an unsigned version of an Android app will require us to sign it with our certificates before installing it on our devices. In the same manner, any uploaded .aab files will be converted into a universal APK and signed with our certificates.
If BrowserStack resigns the apps, third-party library integrations such as Google Firebase services, Google Maps SDK, Facebook SDK, etc., may not function properly if the use of API keys is restricted based on the SHA-1 certificate fingerprint of the app’s signing key.
To prevent this issue, it’s recommended to sign the APK with your own certificates before uploading it to BrowserStack.

Disabling Re-Signing for iOS Apps

If you upload an iOS app, we will re-sign the app with our own provisioning profile to be able to install your app on our devices during test execution.
However, if your app is signed using the Apple Developer Enterprise Program, you can disable this behavior to test features such as push notifications on BrowserStack devices.

Capability	Expected values
`resignApp`	A boolean. To disable re-signing, set the capability to `false` in your Appium test scripts.

If you want to toggle between BrowserStack and your Local device grid when using BrowserStack SDK, refer to the command here.

Next steps

Once you have successfully integrated your test suite with BrowserStack, you might want to check the following:

Generate a list of capabilities that you want to use in tests
Find information about your Projects, Builds and Sessions using our REST APIs
Set up your CI/CD: Jenkins, Bamboo, TeamCity, Azure, CircleCI, TravisCI.

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Integrate Your MSTest Test Suite with BrowserStack

Prerequisites

Integration steps

Set BrowserStack credentials

Add BrowserStack SDK as NuGet package

Create your BrowserStack config file

Set app to be tested

Other acceptable app property values

Set platforms to test on

Do you want to dynamically configure platforms?

Set number of parallel threads per platform

Do you want to perform cross-browser testing without test level parallelization?

Do you want to test parallelization without performing cross-browser testing?

Do you want to skip cross-browser testing as well as parallelization?

Enable BrowserStack Local

BrowserStack Reporting

Advanced use cases for Build Names

Custom formatting of build name

Re-run tests in a build

Do you want to enable/disable auto-marking of test status and session?

Use additional debugging features

Use App Percy Visual Testing

Create browserstack.yml file

Run your test suite

Set BrowserStack credentials

Install BrowserStack SDK

Explore more

[Only for Macs with Apple silicon] Install dotnet x64 on MacOS

Update your BrowserStack config file

Set app to be tested

Other acceptable app property values

Set platforms to test on

Do you want to dynamically configure platforms?

Set number of parallel threads per platform

Do you want to perform cross-browser testing without test level parallelization?

Do you want to test parallelization without performing cross-browser testing?

Do you want to skip cross-browser testing as well as parallelization?

Enable BrowserStack Local

BrowserStack Reporting

Advanced use cases for Build Names

Custom formatting of Build Name

Re-run tests in a build

Do you want to enable/disable auto-marking of test status and session?

Use additional debugging features

Use App Percy Visual Testing

Update browserstack.yml file with selected capabilities

Run your test suite

Advanced features and use cases

Accept insecure certificates

Change device orientation

Simulate IP geolocation

Simulate network conditions

Others

Troubleshooting

Resigned Apps and Third-Party Library Integration Issues

Disabling Re-Signing for iOS Apps

Next steps

We're sorry to hear that. Please share your feedback so we can do better

We're continuously improving our docs. We'd love to know what you liked

We're sorry to hear that. Please share your feedback so we can do better

We're continuously improving our docs. We'd love to know what you liked