webdriverio / webdriverio/desktop-mobile
Re-enable prebuilt WDA (usePreinstalledWDA) for iOS once the iOS-26 :8100 wall is fixed upstream
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- Dominant language
- TypeScript
- Stars
- 13
- Forks
- 6
- Avg merge
- 2d 3h
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 33
Description
Context
On the macos-26 runner (iOS 26 / Xcode 26 / iPhone 17), appium:usePreinstalledWDA + prebuiltWDAPath deterministically fails: the preinstalled WebDriverAgent launches but its :8100 server never comes up, so session-create times out (120 s) on all iOS legs — even with the correct WDA 15.1.3, on the original run and a retry. Same class as appium/WebDriverAgent#1147 (real-device variant).
Workaround (shipped in the fix PR)
Disabled usePreinstalledWDA for iOS — appium-xcuitest builds WDA in-session instead. Verified green (6 passed, 6 total, real sessions). Dropped the now-unused WDA pre-build + DerivedData cache steps.
- Net wall-time is ~equal: the in-session build lands inside the ~14-min E2E instead of a separate ~5-min pre-build.
- The prebuilt path was originally added to dodge the in-session-build socket-drop (
UND_ERR_SOCKET); the in-session fallback absorbs it via the longerwdaLaunchTimeout/connectionRetryTimeoutthe config already sets when the WDA dir is unset.
TODO — re-enable when upstream lands
Re-introduce the pre-build + usePreinstalledWDA once the preinstalled-WDA path works on iOS 26 upstream (appium-webdriveragent / appium-xcuitest-driver). It's a speed optimisation, not a correctness need — no rush.
Supersedes
Closes out #545 (WDA version-select fix): with usePreinstalledWDA off, the prebuilt WDA isn't used, so selecting the matching copy is moot. The version-select bug was real but only affects the prebuilt path we're removing.
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Monitor appium-webdriveragent and appium-xcuitest-driver for the iOS 26 preinstalled-WDA fix, then inspect the iOS CI configuration where the WDA pre-build, DerivedData cache, usePreinstalledWDA, and prebuiltWDAPath were removed. Restore that path only after :8100 works upstream, and verify the real-session run reports 6 passed, 6 total.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- ios, typescript
- Domain
- mobile, testing-qa
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 42/100