Uploading Files and Media on Real Devices

Real Device

TestMu AI's file upload feature provides a convenient way to enhance your testing scenarios by allowing you to upload various media and non-media files directly to TestMu AI's cloud devices. In this section, we'll guide you through the process of uploading files, highlight the supported file types, and explain how to use the uploadMedia capability while running your test scripts. The same capability works for both App and Browser (web) automation — no separate capability to learn.

Objectives

By the end of this topic, you will be able to:

1. Use Upload File and Media feature in Manual App testing.
2. Use Upload File and Media feature in App Automation.
3. Use Upload File and Media feature in Browser (web) Automation.

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File Storage Paths on Devices

Where an uploaded file lands on the device depends on whether it is an App or Browser session. Everything else about the upload flow is identical.

Category	Platform	App session location	Browser session location	File Type
Media Files	Android	Default gallery app, /sdcard/Pictures / /sdcard/Movies	Downloads (reachable from the browser file picker)	Images, Videos
	iOS	Camera Roll, /private/var/mobile/Media/DCIM/	Photo Library (reachable from the native Photo Library picker)	Images, Videos
Non-Media Files	Android	Default Downloads folder of the device	Downloads (reachable from the browser file picker)	Files
	iOS	App’s directory: Files app → On My iPhone → Your app's directory	Files app → On My iPhone → Chrome (even in Safari)	Files

Supported File Types

TestMu AI supports various file types for upload, ensuring flexibility in your testing scenarios. Below are the supported file types:

• Images: JPG, JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP, HEIC (Maximum size: 10 MB)
• Videos: MP4 (Maximum size: 50 MB)
• Files: XLS, XLSX, DOC, DOCX, PDF, CSV, TXT, GED, GPX (Maximum size: 15 MB)

Upload File and Media feature in App & Browser Automation

This section provides a comprehensive guide on leveraging this feature within automation tests. The steps are identical for app automation and browser (web) automation on real devices. It comprises two fundamental steps:

• Uploading the files and obtaining the media_url.
• Using media_url into your tests using uploadMedia capability.

Step 1 : Uploading the files on TestMu AI Cloud

Using REST API

You can use the following curl command to upload any file media and non-media from your system to the TestMu AI cloud.

curl --user "undefined:undefined" -X POST "https://api.lambdatest.com/mfs/v1.0/media/upload" -F "media_file=@"/Users/macuser/Downloads/image.jpeg"" -F "type=image" -F "custom_id=SampleImage"

Request Parameters

• media_file: This parameter denotes the media file to be uploaded from your local.
• type: This parameter denotes file type out of image,video and doc.
• custom_id: This parameter specifies a custom identifier for the media file.

Below is a sample response demonstrating the return of the media_url parameter value:

{
    "media_url": "lt://MEDIAb48ab11c599944ee9dcd26b3e2978d3c",
    "name": "sample.csv",
    "status": "success",
    "custom_id": "Sample"
}

Using App Automation Interface

You can also utilize TestMu AI's user-friendly UI to upload the files on TestMu AI cloud and get the media_url using the upload button located at the top of the automation dashboard.

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Step 2 : Setting Capability in Your Test Script

Once the files are uploaded to TestMu AI's cloud, seamlessly integrate files into your automation tests via the capability. Set the uploadMedia capability to the media_url parameter returned in the API response.

Java

DesiredCapabilities desiredCapabilities = new DesiredCapabilities();
desiredCapabilities.setCapability("uploadMedia", Arrays.asList("lt://MEDIAfcdb39b9602d474f825d6002416a3969", "lt://MEDIA8d13e569b3e140c18e82b066022518bd"));

JavaScript

DesiredCapabilities desiredCapabilities = new DesiredCapabilities();
desiredCapabilities.setCapability("uploadMedia", ["lt://MEDIAfcdb39b9602d474f825d6002416a3969", "lt://MEDIA8d13e569b3e140c18e82b066022518bd"]);

Python

desired_capabilities = {
"uploadMedia": ["lt://MEDIAf446d4170cd946aa9ec307d10cb679b9", "lt://MEDIA8d13e569b3e140c18e82b066022518bd"]
}

note

• Each automation session permits a maximum of five file uploads.
• The uploadMedia capability is set the same way for app and browser (web) automation.
• In manual testing, iOS app needs to installed first to upload non-media files.
• For non-media files, make sure your iOS app's Info.plist file includes the UIFileSharingEnabled and LSSupportsOpeningDocumentsInPlace keys set to true. This configuration is necessary to enable your app's folder accessibility within the Files app.

Browser automation — differences to note

• iOS documents uploaded in a browser session appear under Chrome in the Files app, even when testing in Safari. This is by design, as only Chrome on iOS exposes a browsable file container. Pick the file via Choose File → On My iPhone → Chrome.
• iOS images and videos appear in the Photo Library and are picked from the native Photo Library picker.
• On Android, all uploaded files land in Downloads, reachable from the browser file picker. Inputs using accept="image/*" may open the photo picker instead; the default file input works across the board.