Run .NET MAUI device tests locally across mobile and desktop platforms with category filtering.
Install
mkdir -p .claude/skills/run-device-tests && curl -L -o skill.zip "https://agentskills.codes/api/skills/download/1018" && unzip -o skill.zip -d .claude/skills/run-device-tests && rm skill.zipInstalls to .claude/skills/run-device-tests
Activation
This is the description your AI agent reads to decide when to run this skill — the better it matches your request, the more reliably it fires.
Build and run .NET MAUI device tests locally with category filtering. Supports iOS, MacCatalyst, Android on macOS; Android, Windows on Windows. Use TestFilter to run specific test categories.Key capabilities
- →Filter tests by specific categories
- →Launch iOS simulators and Android emulators
- →Run tests on Windows or MacCatalyst environments
- →Invoke cross-platform xharness test runner
How it works
Wraps PowerShell and shell scripts that interact with device SDKs to boot emulators/simulators and route tests via the xharness test harness.
Inputs & outputs
When to use run-device-tests
- →Run tests on iOS simulator
- →Execute Android emulator test suites
- →Filter specific test categories
- →Verify cross-platform compatibility
About this skill
Run Device Tests Skill
Build and run .NET MAUI device tests locally on iOS simulators, MacCatalyst, Android emulators, or Windows.
Platform Support
| Host OS | Supported Platforms |
|---|---|
| macOS | ios, maccatalyst, android |
| Windows | android, windows |
Tools Required
This skill uses bash together with pwsh (PowerShell 7+) to run the PowerShell scripts. Requires:
xharness- Global dotnet tool for running tests on iOS/MacCatalyst/Androiddotnet- .NET SDK with platform workloads installed- iOS/MacCatalyst: Xcode with iOS simulators
- Android: Android SDK with emulator
- Windows: Windows SDK
Dependencies
This skill uses shared infrastructure scripts:
.github/scripts/shared/Start-Emulator.ps1- Detects and boots iOS simulators / Android emulators.github/scripts/shared/shared-utils.ps1- Common utility functions
These are automatically loaded by the Run-DeviceTests.ps1 script.
When to Use
- User wants to run device tests locally
- User wants to verify iOS/MacCatalyst/Android/Windows compatibility
- User wants to test on a specific iOS version (e.g., iOS 26)
- User asks "run device tests for Controls/Core/Essentials/Graphics"
- User asks "test on iOS simulator" or "test on Android emulator"
- User asks "run device tests on MacCatalyst"
- User wants to run only specific test categories (e.g., "run Button tests")
Available Test Projects
| Project | Path |
|---|---|
| Controls | src/Controls/tests/DeviceTests/Controls.DeviceTests.csproj |
| Core | src/Core/tests/DeviceTests/Core.DeviceTests.csproj |
| Essentials | src/Essentials/test/DeviceTests/Essentials.DeviceTests.csproj |
| Graphics | src/Graphics/tests/DeviceTests/Graphics.DeviceTests.csproj |
| BlazorWebView | src/BlazorWebView/tests/DeviceTests/MauiBlazorWebView.DeviceTests.csproj |
Scripts
All scripts are in .github/skills/run-device-tests/scripts/
Run Device Tests (Full Workflow)
# Run Controls device tests on iOS simulator (default on macOS)
pwsh .github/skills/run-device-tests/scripts/Run-DeviceTests.ps1 -Project Controls -Platform ios
# Run Core device tests on MacCatalyst
pwsh .github/skills/run-device-tests/scripts/Run-DeviceTests.ps1 -Project Core -Platform maccatalyst
# Run Controls device tests on Android emulator
pwsh .github/skills/run-device-tests/scripts/Run-DeviceTests.ps1 -Project Controls -Platform android
# Run Controls device tests on Windows (default on Windows)
pwsh .github/skills/run-device-tests/scripts/Run-DeviceTests.ps1 -Project Controls -Platform windows
# Run on specific iOS version
pwsh .github/skills/run-device-tests/scripts/Run-DeviceTests.ps1 -Project Core -Platform ios -iOSVersion 26
# Run with test filter
pwsh .github/skills/run-device-tests/scripts/Run-DeviceTests.ps1 -Project Controls -Platform ios -TestFilter "Category=Button"
# Run other test projects
pwsh .github/skills/run-device-tests/scripts/Run-DeviceTests.ps1 -Project Essentials -Platform android
pwsh .github/skills/run-device-tests/scripts/Run-DeviceTests.ps1 -Project Graphics -Platform maccatalyst
pwsh .github/skills/run-device-tests/scripts/Run-DeviceTests.ps1 -Project BlazorWebView -Platform ios
Build Only (No Test Run)
pwsh .github/skills/run-device-tests/scripts/Run-DeviceTests.ps1 -Project Controls -Platform ios -BuildOnly
List Available Simulators/Emulators
# iOS simulators
xcrun simctl list devices available
# Android emulators
emulator -list-avds
Workflow
- Run tests:
scripts/Run-DeviceTests.ps1 -Project <name> -Platform <platform>automatically detects/boots device, builds, and runs tests - Check results: Look at the console output or
artifacts/log/directory for detailed test results
Output
- Build artifacts:
artifacts/bin/<Project>.DeviceTests/<Configuration>/<tfm>/<rid>/ - Test logs:
artifacts/log/ - Test results summary is printed to console
Prerequisites
xharnessglobal tool:dotnet tool install --global Microsoft.DotNet.XHarness.CLI- .NET SDK with platform workloads
- iOS/MacCatalyst: Xcode with simulators installed
- Android: Android SDK with emulator configured
- Windows: Windows SDK
- For iOS 26: macOS Tahoe (26) with Xcode 26
Examples
# Quick test run for Controls on iOS (default on macOS)
pwsh .github/skills/run-device-tests/scripts/Run-DeviceTests.ps1 -Project Controls -Platform ios
# Test on MacCatalyst
pwsh .github/skills/run-device-tests/scripts/Run-DeviceTests.ps1 -Project Controls -Platform maccatalyst
# Test on Android emulator (works on both macOS and Windows)
pwsh .github/skills/run-device-tests/scripts/Run-DeviceTests.ps1 -Project Controls -Platform android
# Test on Windows (default on Windows)
pwsh .github/skills/run-device-tests/scripts/Run-DeviceTests.ps1 -Project Controls -Platform windows
# Test on iOS 26 specifically
pwsh .github/skills/run-device-tests/scripts/Run-DeviceTests.ps1 -Project Controls -Platform ios -iOSVersion 26
# Run only Button category tests on iOS
pwsh .github/skills/run-device-tests/scripts/Run-DeviceTests.ps1 -Project Controls -Platform ios -TestFilter "Category=Button"
# Build for Android without running tests
pwsh .github/skills/run-device-tests/scripts/Run-DeviceTests.ps1 -Project Core -Platform android -BuildOnly
Notes
- The script automatically detects and boots an iOS simulator / Android emulator using the shared Start-Emulator.ps1 infrastructure
- Default iOS simulator is iPhone Xs with iOS 18.5 (same as UI tests)
- Default Android emulator priority: API 30 Nexus > API 30 > Nexus > First available
- MacCatalyst runs directly on the Mac (no simulator needed)
- Windows tests run directly on the local machine
- Simulator/emulator selection and boot logic is handled by
.github/scripts/shared/Start-Emulator.ps1 - xharness manages test execution and reporting for iOS/MacCatalyst/Android
- Windows runs the built device-test app directly and reads its xUnit XML results, matching
eng/devices/windows.cake
Test Filtering
The -TestFilter parameter allows running specific test categories instead of all tests. This is useful for quick iteration during development.
Filter Syntax
| Format | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
Category=X | Run only category X | Category=Button |
SkipCategories=X,Y,Z | Skip categories X, Y, Z | SkipCategories=Shell,CollectionView |
Examples
# Run only Button tests on iOS
pwsh .github/skills/run-device-tests/scripts/Run-DeviceTests.ps1 -Project Controls -Platform ios -TestFilter "Category=Button"
# Run only Button tests on Android
pwsh .github/skills/run-device-tests/scripts/Run-DeviceTests.ps1 -Project Controls -Platform android -TestFilter "Category=Button"
# Skip heavy test categories
pwsh .github/skills/run-device-tests/scripts/Run-DeviceTests.ps1 -Project Controls -Platform ios -TestFilter "SkipCategories=Shell,CollectionView,HybridWebView"
How Test Filtering Works
Test filtering is implemented in src/Core/tests/DeviceTests.Shared/DeviceTestSharedHelpers.cs:
| Platform | How Filter is Passed | How Filter is Read |
|---|---|---|
| iOS/MacCatalyst | --set-env=TestFilter=... | NSProcessInfo.ProcessInfo.Environment["TestFilter"] |
| Android | --arg TestFilter=... | MauiTestInstrumentation.Current.Arguments.GetString("TestFilter") |
| Windows Controls | App argument selects discovered category index | ControlsHeadlessTestRunner category loop |
Available Test Categories
Common categories in Controls.DeviceTests:
Button,Label,Entry,Editor- Individual control testsCollectionView,ListView,CarouselView- Collection controls (heavy)Shell,Navigation,TabbedPage- Navigation tests (heavy)Layout,FlexLayout- Layout testsMemory- Memory leak testsAccessibility- Accessibility testsGesture- Gesture recognition tests
To see all categories, check src/Controls/tests/DeviceTests/TestCategory.cs.
Troubleshooting
Xcode Version Mismatch
If you see errors about Xcode version mismatch (e.g., "Xcode 26.2 installed but 26.0 required"):
# Use -SkipXcodeVersionCheck to bypass validation
pwsh .github/skills/run-device-tests/scripts/Run-DeviceTests.ps1 -Project Controls -Platform ios -SkipXcodeVersionCheck
MacCatalyst App Bundle Not Found
MacCatalyst apps use display names (e.g., "Controls Tests.app") not assembly names. The script handles this automatically by searching for .app bundles in the output directory.
Android Package Name Issues
Android package names must be lowercase (e.g., com.microsoft.maui.controls.devicetests). The script has a mapping of project names to correct package names.
Test Filter Not Working
-
Ensure full rebuild: The test filter code must be compiled into the app. Delete artifacts and rebuild:
rm -rf artifacts/bin/<Project>.DeviceTests pwsh .github/skills/run-device-tests/scripts/Run-DeviceTests.ps1 -Project Controls -Platform android -TestFilter "Category=Button" -
Check the console output: Look for
TestFilter: Category=Buttonin the test output to confirm filter was applied. -
Verify category exists: Ensure the category name matches exactly (case-sensitive).
XHarness Device Detection
The script automatically handles XHarness device targeting for iOS and Android:
iOS
- Simulator Boot: Start-Emulator.ps1 detects and boots appropriate iOS simulator
- UDID Extraction: Script extracts simulator UDID from Start-Emulator.ps1 output
- iOS Version Detection: Script queries
xcrun simctlto get iOS version from booted simulator - XHarness Targeting: Passes both
--target ios-simulator-64_VERSIONand--device UDIDto xharness for explicit targeting
MacCatalyst
- Runs directly on the Mac, no device tar
Content truncated.
When not to use it
- →Non-.NET MAUI projects
- →Environments without native platform SDKs installed
Prerequisites
Limitations
- →Host hardware requirements (e.g., Xcode only on macOS)
- →High resource consumption of multiple simulators
How it compares
It provides a unified command line for disparate mobile/desktop environments, removing the need for platform-specific CLI command knowledge.
Compared to similar skills
run-device-tests side by side with the closest alternatives in the catalog.
| Skill | Installs | Updated | Safety | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| run-device-tests (this skill) | 3 | 2mo | Review | Advanced |
| dotnet-maui-testing | 0 | 5mo | Review | Intermediate |
| platform-detection | 0 | 1mo | No flags | Beginner |
| tunit | 0 | 3mo | Review | Intermediate |
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