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Configuration

React Native Harness can be configured through a configuration object that defines various aspects of your testing setup.

The most basic configuration would, assuming you support both iOS and Android platforms, look like this:

rn-harness.config.mjs

import {
  androidPlatform,
  androidEmulator,
} from '@react-native-harness/platform-android';
import {
  applePlatform,
  appleSimulator,
} from '@react-native-harness/platform-apple';

const config = {
  entryPoint: './index.js',
  appRegistryComponentName: 'App',

  runners: [
    androidPlatform({
      name: 'android',
      device: androidEmulator('Pixel_8_API_35'),
      bundleId: 'com.yourapp',
    }),
    applePlatform({
      name: 'ios',
      device: appleSimulator('iPhone 16 Pro', '18.0'),
      bundleId: 'com.yourapp',
    }),
  ],
};

export default config;

Entry Point and App Component

React Native Harness needs to know how to locate and integrate with your React Native app.

entryPoint

The path to your React Native app's entry point file.

{
  entryPoint: './src/main.tsx',
}

appRegistryComponentName

The name of the component registered with React Native's AppRegistry.

// In your app's entry point
import { AppRegistry } from 'react-native';
import App from './App';

AppRegistry.registerComponent('MyApp', () => App);
// In your rn-harness.config.mjs
{
  appRegistryComponentName: 'MyApp',
}

All Configuration Options

{
  // Required: Entry point file for your React Native app
  entryPoint: string;

  // Required: Name of the component registered with AppRegistry
  appRegistryComponentName: string;

  // Required: Array of test runners (at least one required)
  runners: Array<TestRunnerConfig>;

  // Optional: Default runner to use when none specified
  defaultRunner?: string;

  // Optional: Bridge timeout in milliseconds (default: 60000)
  bridgeTimeout?: number;

  // Optional: Reset environment between test files (default: true)
  resetEnvironmentBetweenTestFiles?: boolean;
}

Test Runners

A test runner defines how tests are executed on a specific platform. React Native Harness uses platform-specific packages to create runners with type-safe configurations.

Android Runner

Install the Android platform package:

npm install @react-native-harness/platform-android

Usage:

import {
  androidPlatform,
  androidEmulator,
  physicalAndroidDevice,
} from '@react-native-harness/platform-android';

// Emulator configuration
androidPlatform({
  name: 'android-emulator',
  device: androidEmulator('Pixel_8_API_35'),
  bundleId: 'com.myapp.debug',
});

// Physical device configuration
androidPlatform({
  name: 'android-device',
  device: physicalAndroidDevice('Motorola', 'Moto G72'),
  bundleId: 'com.myapp.debug',
});

Apple (iOS) Runner

Install the Apple platform package:

npm install @react-native-harness/platform-apple

Usage:

import {
  applePlatform,
  appleSimulator,
  applePhysicalDevice,
} from '@react-native-harness/platform-apple';

// Simulator configuration
applePlatform({
  name: 'ios-simulator',
  device: appleSimulator('iPhone 16 Pro', '18.0'),
  bundleId: 'com.myapp',
});

// Physical device configuration
applePlatform({
  name: 'ios-device',
  device: applePhysicalDevice('iPhone (Your Name)'),
  bundleId: 'com.myapp',
});

Vega Runner

Install the Vega platform package:

npm install @react-native-harness/platform-vega

Usage:

import {
  vegaPlatform,
  vegaEmulator,
} from '@react-native-harness/platform-vega';

vegaPlatform({
  name: 'vega',
  device: vegaEmulator('VegaTV_1'),
  bundleId: 'com.myapp',
});

Default Runner

When you have multiple runners configured, you can specify which one to use by default when no runner is explicitly specified in the CLI command.

import {
  androidPlatform,
  androidEmulator,
} from '@react-native-harness/platform-android';
import {
  applePlatform,
  appleSimulator,
} from '@react-native-harness/platform-apple';

const config = {
  runners: [
    androidPlatform({
      name: 'android',
      device: androidEmulator('Pixel_8_API_35'),
      bundleId: 'com.myapp',
    }),
    applePlatform({
      name: 'ios',
      device: appleSimulator('iPhone 16 Pro', '18.0'),
      bundleId: 'com.myapp',
    }),
  ],
  defaultRunner: 'android', // Will use Android runner by default
};

If no defaultRunner is specified, you must explicitly provide the --harnessRunner flag when running tests:

# With default runner set (uses the runner specified in defaultRunner)
react-native-harness

# Without default runner (explicit runner required)
react-native-harness --harnessRunner android
react-native-harness --harnessRunner ios

Bridge Timeout

The bridge timeout controls how long React Native Harness waits for communication between the test runner and the React Native app. This is particularly important for slower devices or complex test setups.

{
  bridgeTimeout: 120000,  // 2 minutes in milliseconds
}

Default: 60000 (60 seconds) Minimum: 1000 (1 second)

Increase this value if you experience timeout errors, especially on:

  • Slower devices or simulators
  • Complex test suites with heavy setup

Environment-Specific Configurations

You can create different configurations for different environments:

rn-harness.config.mjs

import {
  androidPlatform,
  androidEmulator,
} from '@react-native-harness/platform-android';

const isDevelopment = process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development';
const isCI = process.env.CI === 'true';

const config = {
  runners: isDevelopment
    ? [
        // Development runners with local simulators
        androidPlatform({
          name: 'android',
          device: androidEmulator('Pixel_8_API_35'),
          bundleId: 'com.myapp.debug',
        }),
      ]
    : [
        // CI runners with headless or cloud devices
        androidPlatform({
          name: 'android',
          device: androidEmulator('emulator-5554'),
          bundleId: 'com.myapp.debug',
        }),
      ],

  bridgeTimeout: isCI ? 180000 : 60000, // Longer timeout in CI
};

export default config;

Finding Device and Simulator IDs

Android Emulators

List available Android emulators:

emulator -list-avds

iOS Simulators

List available iOS simulators:

xcrun simctl list devices

The device ID is the name shown in the simulator list (e.g., "iPhone 16 Pro", "iPad Air").

System Version Required

React Native Harness requires the iOS version to be specified when using appleSimulator() because there can be multiple simulators with the same device name but different iOS versions (e.g., "iPhone 16 Pro" with iOS 17.0 and "iPhone 16 Pro" with iOS 18.0). The system version ensures Harness targets the correct simulator.

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