Server Command-Line Arguments

To start the Appium server, you may either run appium or appium server. The server subcommand is considered to be the default, so if you omit it, Appium will interpret this as your request to run the Appium server.

The invocation of appium (or appium server) can take a number of arguments, which are detailed below.

Note

All of these arguments can be set via a Configuration File instead if you want. Any arguments set on the command line will override any arguments found in a configuration file.

Argument
 Description Type
Default
 Aliases
--address IP address to listen on string 0.0.0.0 -a
--allow-cors Whether the Appium server should allow web browser connections from any host boolean false
--allow-insecure Set which insecure features are allowed to run in this server's sessions. Features are defined on a driver level; see documentation for more details. Note that features defined via --deny-insecure will be disabled, even if also listed here. If string, a path to a text file containing policy or a comma-delimited list. array []
--base-path Base path to use as the prefix for all webdriver routes running on the server string "" -pa
--callback-address Callback IP address (default: same as --address) string -ca
--callback-port Callback port (default: same as --port) (Value must be between 1 and 65535) integer 4723 -cp
--config Path to an Appium configuration JSON file string
--debug-log-spacing Add exaggerated spacing in logs to help with visual inspection boolean false
--default-capabilities Set the default desired capabilities, which will be set on each session unless overridden by received capabilities. If a string, a path to a JSON file containing the capabilities, or raw JSON. object -dc
--deny-insecure Set which insecure features are not allowed to run in this server's sessions. Features are defined on a driver level; see documentation for more details. Features listed here will not be enabled even if also listed in --allow-insecure, and even if --relaxed-security is enabled. If string, a path to a text file containing policy or a comma-delimited list. array []
--driver Driver-specific configuration. Keys should correspond to driver package names object
--drivers-import-chunk-size The maximum amount of drivers that could be imported in parallel on server startup number 3
--keep-alive-timeout Number of seconds the Appium server should apply as both the keep-alive timeout and the connection timeout for all requests. Setting this to 0 disables the timeout. integer 600 -ka
--local-timezone Use local timezone for timestamps boolean false
--log Also send log output to this file string -g
--log-filters One or more log filtering rules array
--log-level Log level (console[:file]) (Value must be one of: info, info:debug, info:info, info:warn, info:error, warn, warn:debug, warn:info, warn:warn, warn:error, error, error:debug, error:info, error:warn, error:error, debug, debug:debug, debug:info, debug:warn, debug:error) string debug
--log-format Log format (Value must be to one of: text, json, pretty_json). If logs are printed as JSON then the text coloring is always disabled. string text
--log-no-colors Do not use color in console output boolean false
--log-timestamp Show timestamps in console output boolean false
--long-stacktrace Add long stack traces to log entries. Recommended for debugging only. boolean false
--no-perms-check Skip various permission checks on the server startup boolean false
--nodeconfig Path to configuration JSON file to register Appium as a node with Selenium Grid 3; otherwise the configuration itself string
--plugin Plugin-specific configuration. Keys should correspond to plugin package names object
--plugins-import-chunk-size The maximum amount of plugins that could be imported in parallel on server startup number 7
--port Port to listen on (Value must be between 1 and 65535) integer 4723 -p
--relaxed-security Disable additional security checks, so it is possible to use some advanced features, provided by drivers supporting this option. Only enable it if all the clients are in the trusted network and it's not the case if a client could potentially break out of the session sandbox. Specific features can be overridden by using --deny-insecure boolean false
--session-override Enables session override (clobbering) boolean false
--ssl-cert-path Absolute path to the .cert file if TLS is used. Must be provided together with --ssl-key-path. See the SSL/TLS/SPDY Support guide for details string
--ssl-key-path Absolute path to the .key file if TLS is used. Must be provided together with --ssl-cert-path. See the SSL/TLS/SPDY Support guide for details string
--strict-caps Cause sessions to fail if desired caps are sent in that Appium does not recognize as valid for the selected device boolean false
--tmp Absolute path to directory Appium can use to manage temp files string Windows: C:\Windows\Temp
Others: /tmp
--trace-dir Absolute path to directory Appium can use to save iOS instrument traces string <tmp>/appium-instruments
--use-drivers A list of drivers to activate. By default, all installed drivers will be activated. array []
--use-plugins A list of plugins to activate. To activate all plugins, the value should be an array with a single item "all". array []
--webhook Also send log output to this http listener string -G

The following arguments are used for information retrieval, after which the server will automatically exit. They are therefore meant for reference or debug purposes.

Argument
 Description Alias
--help Print instructions on using the Appium command-line. This argument can also be used for any Appium subcommands. -h
--show-build-info Print detailed information on the Appium server version
--show-config Print the current Appium server configuration details
--show-debug-info Print information on the current environment: details about the operating system, Node.js, and Appium itself
--version Print the Appium server version -v