Integrate BrowserStack Automate with Semaphore

A step-by-step guide to help you integrate Semaphore with the BrowserStack device cloud for running all your Selenium tests on BrowserStack Automate.

Semaphore is a cloud-based automation service that lets you test and deploys code at the push of a button with hosted continuous integration and delivery. Semaphore offers a clutter-free UI and visual Workflow Builder offers effective pipeline visualizations. Semaphore is free for open-source projects. If you are new to Semaphore or CICD in general, you can read more about it here

In this guide, you’ll learn how to:

• Set up a pipeline in Semaphore
• Integrate existing test cases
• Integrate test cases for locally hosted websites

Prerequisites

• BrowserStack Username and Access key, which you can find in your account settings. If you have not created an account yet, you can sign up for a Free Trial or purchase a plan.
• Your Semaphore CI account credentials.
• An SCM repository on Github or Bitbucket for which you want to activate the CI pipeline and collaborator access to it.

Set up a pipeline in Semaphore

To create a pipeline in Semaphore, complete the following steps:

1. Go to Semaphore CI and create an organization where you plan to host the project.
2. Create BrowserStack credential secret for the pipeline. Secrets are used to store and retrieve sensitive data, such as API keys, which should never be committed to source control.
   To add your BrowserStack account credentials to Semaphore:
   • Go to your Organization and click Settings.
   • Under Secrets, click New Secret.
   • Enter the BrowserStack account credentials as two environment variables, namely BROWSERSTACK_USERNAME and BROWSERSTACK_ACCESS_KEY.
   • Click Save Secret to save the credentials.
3. Sign in to your Semaphore Organization and connect your repository. You can either use a template starter workflow or customize it in the workflow builder. In your workflow editor for the project, click the Secrets tab, and verify that the BrowserStack credentials secret is selected. You can follow the official Semaphore Guide to create a project.
4. Click Run the Workflow to generate a new branch set-up-semaphore along with semaphore.yml configuration file. The following code shows a sample configuration file.
   

    version: v1.0
      name: Test MyApp
      agent:
        machine:
          type: e1-standard-2
          os_image: ubuntu2004
      blocks:
        - name: Build and Test
          task:
            jobs:
              - name: E2E Test on Browserstack
                commands:
                  - checkout
                  - sem-version node 12
                  - cache restore
                  - npm install
                  - cache store
                  - npm run test
            secrets:
              - name: Browserstack Creds
   

5. After the pipeline setup is complete, commit and push your changes to the integrated SCM repository that you used to set the Semaphore pipeline.
6. Open the Semaphore CI dashboard, click Projects and select your project.
7. View your test result on the BrowserStack Automate Dashboard.

Integrate existing test cases

In order to integrate your existing test cases to BrowserStack, ensure that you have added the BrowserStack Capabilities, Credentials, and Remote URL before creating the Remote WebDriver. You can use the environment variables to pass the credentials to your test scripts.

Though your existing test scripts include capabilities, BrowserStack also provides specific capabilities that help determine how tests are run. The following example code snippet sets the os to Windows and the browser to Chrome, declares Username and Access Key from environment variables and creates a remote driver connection.

Using the default SEMAPHORE_JOB_NAME and SEMAPHORE_JOB_ID environment variables in the BrowserStack build name helps generate a unique build name for every test run. To learn more about this environment variable, check out the Semaphore Environment Variables Reference page.

String username = System.getenv("BROWSERSTACK_USERNAME");
String accessKey = System.getenv("BROWSERSTACK_ACCESS_KEY");
String buildName = System.getenv("SEMAPHORE_JOB_NAME");
String buildID = System.getenv("SEMAPHORE_JOB_ID");
  
MutableCapabilities capabilities = new MutableCapabilities();
HashMap<String, Object> browserstackOptions = new HashMap<String, Object>();
browserstackOptions.put("buildName", "semaphore-" + buildName + "-" + buildID);
browserstackOptions.put("seleniumVersion", "4.0.0");
  
capabilities.setCapability("bstack:options", browserstackOptions);
   
WebDriver driver = new RemoteWebDriver(new URL("https://" + username + ":" + accessKey + "@hub.browserstack.com/wd/hub"), capabilities);

username = process.env.BROWSERSTACK_USERNAME
accessKey = process.env.BROWSERSTACK_ACCESS_KEY
buildName = process.env.SEMAPHORE_JOB_NAME
buildID = process.env.SEMAPHORE_JOB_ID

var capabilities = {
  'bstack:options' : {
    "buildName" : "semaphore-" + buildName + "-" + buildID,
    "userName" : username,
    "accessKey" : accessKey,
    "seleniumVersion" : "4.0.0",
  },
}

var driver = new webdriver.Builder().
  usingServer("https://hub-cloud.browserstack.com/wd/hub").
  withCapabilities(capabilities).
  build();

String username = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("BROWSERSTACK_USERNAME");
String accessKey = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("BROWSERSTACK_ACCESS_KEY");
String buildName = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("SEMAPHORE_JOB_NAME");
String buildID = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("SEMAPHORE_JOB_ID");

ChromeOptions capabilities = new ChromeOptions();
Dictionary<string, object> browserstackOptions = new Dictionary<string, object>();
browserstackOptions.Add("buildName", "Semaphore-" + buildName + "-" + buildID);
browserstackOptions.Add("userName", username);
browserstackOptions.Add("accessKey", accessKey);

capabilities.AddAdditionalOption("bstack:options", browserstackOptions);
driver = new RemoteWebDriver(new Uri("https://hub.browserstack.com/wd/hub/"), capabilities);

$username = getenv('BROWSERSTACK_USERNAME');
$accessKey = getenv('BROWSERSTACK_ACCESS_KEY');
$buildName = getenv('SEMAPHORE_JOB_NAME');
$buildID = getenv('SEMAPHORE_JOB_ID');

$caps = array(
	'bstack:options' => array(
		"buildName" => "semaphore-" + $buildName + "-" + $buildID,
		"seleniumVersion" => "4.0.0",
	),
);

$web_driver = RemoteWebDriver::create(
  "https://".$username.":".$accessKey."@hub-cloud.browserstack.com/wd/hub",
  $caps
);

username = os.environ.get('BROWSERSTACK_USERNAME')
accessKey = os.environ.get('BROWSERSTACK_ACCESS_KEY')
buildName = os.environ.get("SEMAPHORE_JOB_NAME");
buildID = os.environ.get("SEMAPHORE_JOB_ID");

bstack_options = {
    "buildName" : "semaphore-" + buildName + "-" + buildID,
    "seleniumVersion" : "4.0.0",
    "userName": username,
    "accessKey": accessKey
}
options = ChromeOptions()
options.set_capability('bstack:options', bstack_options)
driver = webdriver.Remote(
    command_executor="https://hub.browserstack.com/wd/hub",
    options=options)

username = ENV['BROWSERSTACK_USERNAME']
accessKey = ENV['BROWSERSTACK_ACCESS_KEY']
buildName = ENV['SEMAPHORE_JOB_NAME']
buildID = ENV['SEMAPHORE_JOB_ID']

# to run on Chrome
options = Selenium::WebDriver::Options.chrome
capabilities = {
  'bstack:options' => {
    "buildName" => "semaphore-" + buildName + "-" + buildID,
    "seleniumVersion" => "4.0.0",
  },
}
  
options.add_option('bstack:options', bstack_options)
driver = Selenium::WebDriver.for(:remote,
  :url => "https://"+username+":"+accessKey+"@hub.browserstack.com/wd/hub",
  :capabilities => options)

my $username = $ENV{"BROWSERSTACK_USERNAME"};
my $accessKey = $ENV{"BROWSERSTACK_ACCESS_KEY"};
my $buildName = $ENV{"SEMAPHORE_JOB_NAME"};
my $buildID = $ENV{"SEMAPHORE_JOB_ID"};

my $caps = {
  'bstack:options' => {
    "buildName" => "semaphore-" + $buildName + "-" + $buildID,
    "seleniumVersion" => "4.0.0",
    },
  }

my $host = "$username:$accessKey\@hub-cloud.browserstack.com";

my $driver = new Selenium::Remote::Driver('remote_server_addr' => $host,
  'port' => '80', 'extra_capabilities' => $caps);

String username = System.getenv("BROWSERSTACK_USERNAME");
String accessKey = System.getenv("BROWSERSTACK_ACCESS_KEY");
String buildName = System.getenv("SEMAPHORE_JOB_NAME");
String buildID = System.getenv("SEMAPHORE_JOB_ID");

DesiredCapabilities capabilities = new DesiredCapabilities();
capabilities.setCapability("os", "Windows");
capabilities.setCapability("os_version", "10");
capabilities.setCapability("browser", "Chrome");
capabilities.setCapability("browser_version", "latest");
capabilities.setCapability("name", "BStack-[Semaphore] Sample Test");
capabilities.setCapability("build", "semaphore-" + buildName + "-" + buildID);
capabilities.setCapability("browserstack.user", username);
capabilities.setCapability("browserstack.key", accessKey);
driver = new RemoteWebDriver(new URL("https://hub-cloud.browserstack.com/wd/hub"), capabilities);

username = process.env.BROWSERSTACK_USERNAME
accessKey = process.env.BROWSERSTACK_ACCESS_KEY
buildName = process.env.SEMAPHORE_JOB_NAME
buildID = process.env.SEMAPHORE_JOB_ID

var capabilities = {
  "os" : "Windows",
  "os_version" : "10",
  "browser" : "chrome",
  "browser_version" : "latest",
  "name": "BStack-[Semaphore] Sample Test"
  "build" : "semaphore-" + buildName + "-" + buildID
  "browserstack.user" : username,
  "browserstack.key" : accessKey,
}

var driver = new webdriver.Builder().
  usingServer("https://hub-cloud.browserstack.com/wd/hub").
  withCapabilities(capabilities).
  build();

String username = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("BROWSERSTACK_USERNAME");
String accessKey = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("BROWSERSTACK_ACCESS_KEY");
String buildName = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("SEMAPHORE_JOB_NAME");
String buildID = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("SEMAPHORE_JOB_ID");

ChromeOptions capability = new ChromeOptions();
capability.AddAdditionalCapability("os", "Windows", true);
capability.AddAdditionalCapability("os_version", "10", true);
capability.AddAdditionalCapability("browser", "Chrome", true);
capability.AddAdditionalCapability("browser_version", "latest", true);
capability.AddAdditionalCapability("name", "BStack-[Semaphore] Sample Test", true);
capability.AddAdditionalCapability("build", "Semaphore-" + buildName + "-" + buildID, true);
capability.AddAdditionalCapability("browserstack.user", username, true);
capability.AddAdditionalCapability("browserstack.key", accessKey, true);
driver = new RemoteWebDriver(new Uri("https://hub-cloud.browserstack.com/wd/hub/"), capability);

$username = getenv('BROWSERSTACK_USERNAME');
$accessKey = getenv('BROWSERSTACK_ACCESS_KEY');
$buildName = getenv('SEMAPHORE_JOB_NAME');
$buildID = getenv('SEMAPHORE_JOB_ID');

$caps = array(
  "os" => "Windows",
  "os_version" => "10",
  "browser" => "Chrome",
  "browser_version" => "latest",
  "name" => "BStack-[Semaphore] Sample Test",
  "build" => "semaphore-" + buildName + "-" + buildID,
  "browserstack.user" => username,
  "browserstack.key" => accessKey
);
$web_driver = RemoteWebDriver::create("https://hub-cloud.browserstack.com/wd/hub", $caps);

username = os.environ.get('BROWSERSTACK_USERNAME')
accessKey = os.environ.get('BROWSERSTACK_ACCESS_KEY')
buildName = os.environ.get("SEMAPHORE_JOB_NAME");
buildID = os.environ.get("SEMAPHORE_JOB_ID");

desired_cap = {
 'os': 'Windows',
 'os_version': '10',
 'browser': 'Chrome',
 'browser_version': 'latest',
 'name': 'BStack-[Semaphore] Sample Test'
 'build': "semaphore-" + buildName + "-" + buildID
 'browserstack.user': username,
 'browserstack.key': accessKey,
}
driver = webdriver.Remote(
    command_executor='https://hub-cloud.browserstack.com/wd/hub',
    desired_capabilities=desired_cap
)

username = ENV['BROWSERSTACK_USERNAME']
accessKey = ENV['BROWSERSTACK_ACCESS_KEY']
buildName = ENV['SEMAPHORE_JOB_NAME']
buildID = ENV['SEMAPHORE_JOB_ID']

caps = Selenium::WebDriver::Remote::Capabilities.new
caps["os"] = "Windows"
caps["os_version"] = "10"
caps["browser"] = "Chrome"
caps["browser_version"] = "latest"
caps['name'] = 'BStack-[Semaphore] Sample Test'
caps['build'] = "semaphore-" + buildName + "-" + buildID
caps['browserstack.user'] = username
caps['browserstack.key'] = accessKey

driver = Selenium::WebDriver.for(:remote,
  :url => 'https://hub-cloud.browserstack.com/wd/hub',
  :desired_capabilities => caps)

my $username = $ENV{"BROWSERSTACK_USERNAME"};
my $accessKey = $ENV{"BROWSERSTACK_ACCESS_KEY"};
my $buildName = $ENV{"SEMAPHORE_JOB_NAME"};
my $buildID = $ENV{"SEMAPHORE_JOB_ID"};

my $caps = {
  "os" => "Windows",
  "os_version" => "10",
  "browser" => "chrome",
  "browser_version" => "latest",
  "name" => "BStack-[Semaphore] Sample Test",
  "build" => "semaphore-" + buildName + "-" + buildID,
  "browserstack.user" => username,
  "browserstack.key" => accessKey
};

my $host = "hub-cloud.browserstack.com";

my $driver = new Selenium::Remote::Driver('remote_server_addr' => $host,
  'port' => '80', 'extra_capabilities' => $caps);

Integrate test cases for locally hosted websites

If you are testing websites hosted locally as part of your testing or development environment, you need to configure your Semaphore pipeline to use Local testing. Ensure that the Internal Testing or development environment are available and accessible on the network where Semaphore is running.

Using the Local testing feature of BrowserStack, remote browsers at the BrowserStack cloud can access websites hosted on your private or internal networks. To learn more about how Local testing works, check out the Local testing guide.

Apart from setting up a Local connection, you must also add the browserstack.local capability in your test scripts.

This section guides how to:

1. Enable Local testing
2. Add the browserstack.local capability to test scripts

Enable Local Testing

You can enable Local testing using the ways as shown in the following tab:

Add browserstack.local capability to test scripts

Add the browserstack.local capability to test scripts using the following code snippets. When you set this capability to true, BrowserStack resolves the request via the Local agent running in your network.

browserstackOptions.put("local", "true");

'bstack:options' : {
	"local" : "true",
},

browserstackOptions.Add("local", "true");

'bstack:options' => array(
	"local" => "true",
),

'bstack:options' : {
	"local" : "true",
},

'bstack:options' => {
	"local" => "true",
},

'bstack:options' : {
	"local" : "true",
},

capabilities.setCapability("browserstack.local", "true");

"browserstack.local" : "true",

capability.AddAdditionalCapability("browserstack.local", "true", true);

"browserstack.local" => "true",

"browserstack.local" : "true",

caps["browserstack.local"] = "true",

"browserstack.local" => "true",

Post these configurations, you should be able to run tests on your locally hosted websites on BrowserStack Automate.

You can verify if the test passed or failed on the Semaphore Dashboard, as shown in the following image.