Appium Concepts :(Part-2)-How to Push/Pull Files during runtime(Complete Details)

.pushFile(base64Data),.pullFile(act)

Get a step-by-step walkthrough in the video below!

InAppium, the pushFile command is used to transfer a base64data from your test machine to a device (Android o iOS).

This can be helpful for scenarios like uploading a file to test file input fields, media players, or importing data.

Appium Built-In Method : — .pushFile()

.pushFile(remotePath, base64data)

• Purpose: Upload a file to the device
• Use case: Push raw Base64 data directly.
• remotePath: Destination path on the device (e.g., /sdcard/Download/file.txt)
• base64data: You must encode the file content to Base64 first.

Example: Java (Appium Java Client)

//Push the file from local machine to test device
  
  File file=new File(System.getProperty("user.dir")+"/3fingers.png");
  byte[] fileContent=Files.readAllBytes(file.toPath());
  byte[] base64String=Base64.getEncoder().encode(fileContent);  
  
  driver.pushFile("/sdcard/download/pushed_3fingers.png", base64String);
  System.out.println("Pushed the file from loacl machine to test device");

Appium Built-In Method : — .pullFile()

.pullFile(remotePath)

• Purpose: Download a file from the device
• remotePath: Source path on the device (e.g., /sdcard/Download/file.txt)
• Returns a Base64-encoded string of the file content.
• You must decode it to get the original file.

Example: Java (Appium Java Client)

//Pull the file from test device to our local machine
  
  byte[] pulledbase64=driver.pullFile("/sdcard/download/pushed_3fingers.png");
  Files.write(Paths.get("pulled_3fingers.png"), pulledbase64);
  System.out.println("File pulled from the test device & saved as 'pulled_3fingers.png'");

Summary:

“Complete Code: Optimized and Ready to Use”:

package com.appiumguide.appiumconcepts;


import org.testng.annotations.AfterTest;
import org.testng.annotations.BeforeTest;
import org.testng.annotations.Test;

import io.appium.java_client.android.AndroidDriver;
import io.appium.java_client.android.options.UiAutomator2Options;

import java.io.File;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.net.*;
import java.nio.file.Files;
import java.nio.file.Paths;
import java.time.Duration;
import java.util.Base64;

/**
 * Script Details - Appium Concepts : Part-2 : How to Push/Pull Files during runtime(Complete Details) using methods .pushFile(base64Data) & .pullFile(act)
 * 
 * appium-java-client version: Latest
 * 
 * @author 'Ramesh Kodumuru' for AppiumGuide [appiumguide@gmail.com]
 */

public class PushPullFiles_Part2 {
 
 private AndroidDriver driver;
      
 @BeforeTest
 public void setup() throws MalformedURLException {
  UiAutomator2Options cap=new UiAutomator2Options();
  cap.setPlatformName("android");
  cap.setAutomationName("uiautomator2");
  cap.setDeviceName("Pixel8");  
     
  driver = new AndroidDriver(new URL("http://127.0.0.1:4723"), cap);
  driver.manage().timeouts().implicitlyWait(Duration.ofSeconds(100));
  
 }
 
 @Test
 public void test() throws InterruptedException, IOException {
 
  //Push the file from local machine to test device
  
  File file=new File(System.getProperty("user.dir")+"/3fingers.png");
  byte[] fileContent=Files.readAllBytes(file.toPath());
  byte[] base64String=Base64.getEncoder().encode(fileContent);
  
  
  driver.pushFile("/sdcard/download/pushed_3fingers.png", base64String);
  System.out.println("Pushed the file from loacl machine to test device");
  
  Thread.sleep(5000);
  
  //Pull the file from test device to our local machine
  
  byte[] pulledbase64=driver.pullFile("/sdcard/download/pushed_3fingers.png");
  Files.write(Paths.get("pulled_3fingers.png"), pulledbase64);
  System.out.println("File pulled from the test device & saved as 'pulled_3fingers.png'");

 }
   
  
 @AfterTest
 public void teardown() {
  
  if(driver!=null) {
   driver.quit();
   System.out.println("Test Completed");
  }
  
 }

}

GitHub Link: