Axiom Ui Testing

What it does

The Axiom UI Testing skill helps developers create more reliable and robust user interface tests. It focuses on eliminating flaky tests by replacing arbitrary timeouts (like sleep()) with condition-based waiting patterns. A new feature, Recording UI Automation (available in Xcode 26), allows users to record interactions, replay them across different devices and languages, and review video recordings of test runs for debugging purposes. This skill aims to address common issues that lead to unreliable tests, particularly those arising from timing differences between local development environments and continuous integration systems.

When to use it

• When your UI tests pass locally but fail in CI (Continuous Integration).
• When you're using sleep() or Thread.sleep() in your tests and experiencing flakiness.
• After recording a test with Xcode 26’s Recording UI Automation, for reviewing video recordings and debugging failures.
• When tests behave differently on different device sizes (e.g., iPad vs iPhone).
• To improve the overall reliability of your UI testing architecture.

Key capabilities

• Condition-Based Waiting: Provides patterns like waitForExistence and XCTestExpectation to wait for elements or conditions instead of using arbitrary timeouts.
• Video Debugging Workflows: Guides users through analyzing video recordings from Xcode 26's Recording UI Automation to pinpoint test failures.
• Cross-Device Testing Strategies: Explains techniques for writing tests that work consistently across various device sizes.
• Recording UI Automation (Xcode 26): Enables recording, replaying, and reviewing UI interactions for debugging and analysis.
• Accessibility-First Patterns: Promotes using accessibility features to improve test reliability.

Example prompts

• "My tests pass locally but fail in CI. How can I make them more reliable?"
• "How do I replace sleep(2) with a better waiting pattern?"
• "I recorded a UI automation test. How do I review the video and debug failures?"

Tips & gotchas

• Avoid Arbitrary Timeouts: Replace sleep() calls with condition-based waiting techniques like waitForExistence or XCTestExpectation.
• Timing Differences: Be aware that timing issues are a common cause of flaky tests, especially when moving from local development to CI environments.
• Xcode 26 Required: The Recording UI Automation feature requires Xcode 26 or later.