Appium not detected for Android Emulator Testing

[daeri757]

hello everyone i want to ask about the appium that cannot detected in katalon studio, i have tried to install the appium using this command :

npm install -g appium

i install the appium driver for android emulator too in this link : Execute mobile tests with Appium 2.x | Katalon Docs.

but after i install all of the requirements and set the configuration in the Window → Katalon Studio preferences and trying to running the sample test in katalon studio, i am facing an issue that my appium is cannot read by the katalon studio, i have tried to run the ‘where appium’ command and here is the result :

C:\Users\username>where appium
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\npm\appium
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\npm\appium.cmd

and i am trying to copy the path but it’s not working and the katalon studio said " Value must be an existing directory" which is strange to me because when i checked the appium folder is not exist but the path is appeared when i run the “where appium” command

so instead of using this path :
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\npm\appium

i modify the path like this :
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\npm

after that i tried to run the sample test in katalon studio, and i am facing an error like this :

=============== ROOT CAUSE =====================
Caused by: java.io.IOException: Unable to detect Appium version. There is no package.json file found.

here is the detail of my node js version, appium version, and appium driver version :

C:\Users\username>node -v
v20.14.0

C:\Users\username>appium -v
2.17.1

C:\Users\username>appium driver install uiautomator2@2.45.1
√ Checking if ‘appium-uiautomator2-driver’ is compatible
√ Installing ‘uiautomator2@2.45.1’
i Driver uiautomator2@2.45.1 successfully installed

• automationName: UiAutomator2
• platformNames: [“Android”]

can anyone help me to find the solutoin of this problem ?

thank you

[Elly_Tran]

Hi @daeri757,

Thank you for sharing this detailed. It looks like Katalon Studio is unable to detect Appium because of how it’s installed and referenced in your system. When you install Appium via npm install -g appium, it usually gets installed in:

C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\npm

But since Katalon Studio needs an actual Appium installation folder (not just a path to an executable), the npm directory won’t work.

Can you please try to check:

• Where Appium is actually installed by running:

npm root -g

This should give you something like:

C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules

• Then check if appium is inside this directory:

C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\appium

If it’s not there, try reinstalling Appium properly using:

npm uninstall -g appium
npm install -g appium@latest

Then confirm the location with:

where appium

Or another way is to manually set the Appium Directory in Katalon Studio by doing the following in Katalon Studio:

1. Go to: Window → Katalon Studio Preferences
2. Navigate to: Katalon → Mobile
3. Set the Appium directory to:

   C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\appium
   

Make sure this directory actually exists!

Another scenario is that the error message says: "Unable to detect Appium version. There is no package.json file found."
This means Katalon Studio is looking for package.json, which should be in your Appium installation directory. Please try to check if package.json exists

Let see how it works and follow up more on this. Thank you

[dineshh]

Alternative: Use Appium 2.x with Workaround

If you must use Appium 2.17.1:

1. Install Appium’s appium Package (Creates package.json in global node_modules):

bash

npm install -g appium@2.17.1 --save-exact

2. Symlink Appium Directory:

• From C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\appium, create a shortcut to:

C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\appium\node_modules\@appium

• Point Katalon’s Appium Directory to this symlink.

Troubleshooting Checklist

Error	Fix
No package.json found	Downgrade to Appium 1.x or use the symlink workaround.
Value must be an existing directory	Point to node_modules\appium folder, not npm or appium.cmd.
Android driver issues	Use appium driver install uiautomator2 and set automationName: UiAutomator2.

Why This Works

• Appium 1.x retains the legacy directory structure Katalon expects.
• Symlinking resolves Appium 2.x’s modular architecture mismatch.

Final Configuration

// Mobile Test Script Example
import com.kmalon.katalon.mobile.keyword.MobileBuiltinKeywords as Mobile

Mobile.startApplication('android-app-path', [
   'platformName'    : 'Android',
   'automationName'  : 'UiAutomator2',
   'platformVersion' : '14',
   'deviceName'      : 'emulator-5554'
])

Result: Katalon will now detect Appium and execute mobile tests.
If issues persist, switch to the Appium Server GUI (download from appium.io) and configure Katalon to use the GUI’s server endpoint (e.g., http://localhost:4723)