Deep links

iOS Android

A deep link is a URL that opens a specific screen of an app, such as myapp://settings. Enter one in a QA Session and you land on the screen you want to check instead of tapping your way there from the first screen. There is nothing to turn on.

How to use

1. On a device with the app installed, press the link icon in the toolbar (tooltip Deeplink, accessible name Open a deeplink), or press ⌘ K.
2. Type the URL into the box (Deeplink URL).
3. Press Enter or Open.

When the device opens the URL, a Deeplink opened notice appears. If it fails, the notice shows the error message the device sent back. The box is empty each time it opens.

Platform support

	iOS	Android
Supported	Yes	Yes
How the URL is opened	Asks the simulator to open the URL (simctl openurl)	Sends the emulator a view intent for the URL (am start -a android.intent.action.VIEW)

On both platforms the device picks the app that handles the URL, as it would for a link tapped on a phone.

Limits

• The app that handles the URL must be installed on the device and must have registered its URL scheme. Launch the app first to be sure the install has finished.
• ⌘ K does not fire while the cursor is in another of the dashboard's text fields.

Troubleshooting

• The notice appeared but the screen you wanted did not open. The app is what reads the URL. Check with its developers that it handles that path. On Android, Deeplink opened can also appear when no app on the device registered the URL scheme.
• A no booted device or No booted device error appears. The device is still booting, or the session has dropped. Try again once the progress message on the info card is gone.

Related

• QA Session: everything a session offers, and keyboard shortcuts
• Device controls: launching the app and device buttons