Spy/Record mobile in v10.2.3 Fail to start Appium server in 60 seconds

Bug Report
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1

I have installed KS 10.0.0 and 10.2.3 both my pc and laptop.
When working on my pc with v10.2.3, I can’t start session to capture mobile but in laptop it still working fine.
When start capture phone on pc, the appium log will run and stopped at line:
e[38;5;112m[Appium]e[0m No plugins have been installed. Use the "appium plugin" command to install the one(s) you want to use.

Here is the log when running spy mobile of 2 version on my pc:
log KS10.2.3 (18.6 KB)
log KS10.0.0 (71.8 KB)

Node: 22.17.0
NPM: 10.9.2
Appium: 2.12.1
Uiautomator2: 3.9.0
Xcuitest: 7.34.1

Anyone have solution for this problem?

1 Like
3

step-by-step solution to resolve the Appium server startup issue:

1. Install Appium Drivers Manually

The error No plugins have been installed indicates Appium can’t find required drivers. Manually install them:

bash

# Uninstall existing drivers (if any)
appium driver uninstall uiautomator2
appium driver uninstall xcuitest

# Reinstall with correct versions
appium driver install uiautomator2@3.9.0
appium driver install xcuitest@7.34.1

2. Verify Driver Installation

Check installed drivers with:

bash

appium driver list --installed

Ensure both uiautomator2 and xcuitest appear with correct versions.

3. Set Environment Variables

Add these paths to your system environment variables (adjust paths if needed):

  • ANDROID_HOME: Path to your Android SDK (e.g., C:\Users\<User>\AppData\Local\Android\Sdk)
  • JAVA_HOME: Path to JDK (e.g., C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_202)
  • Add to PATH:

text

%ANDROID_HOME%\platform-tools
%ANDROID_HOME%\tools
%ANDROID_HOME%\build-tools\<version>
%JAVA_HOME%\bin

4. Update Node.js and NPM

Although you have Node.js v22, Appium may work better with the LTS version (v20.x):

  1. Uninstall Node.js v22
  2. Install Node.js LTS from nodejs.org
  3. Update NPM:

bash

npm install -g npm@latest

5. Grant ADB Permissions

USB debugging issues can block Appium:

  1. Enable USB Debugging and USB Installation on your phone
  2. Run:

bash

adb kill-server
adb start-server
adb devices
  1. When phone is connected, allow debugging on the device prompt

6. Check Port Conflicts

Ensure port 4723 is free:

bash

netstat -ano | findstr ":4723"

If occupied, terminate the process or change Appium port in Katalon settings.

7. Katalon Configuration

In Katalon Studio:

  1. Go to Project Settings > Execution > Default Mobile
  2. Set Appium installation type: Local
  3. Specify explicit paths to:
  • appium.cmd (e.g., C:\Users\<User>\AppData\Roaming\nvm\version\appium.cmd)
  • Node.js (e.g., C:\Program Files\nodejs\node.exe)

8. Firewall/Antivirus Exceptions

Allow these through your firewall/antivirus:

  • Node.js (node.exe)
  • Java (java.exe)
  • ADB (adb.exe)
  • Appium process

9. Reinitialize Appium Setup

bash

# Clean global node_modules
npm uninstall -g appium
npm cache clean --force

# Reinstall Appium globally
npm install -g appium@2.12.1

# Verify installation
appium --version

Alternative: Use Katalon’s Bundled Appium

In Katalon:

  1. Go to Project Settings > Execution > Default Mobile
  2. Set Appium installation to: Bundled

Final Verification

Run this command to start Appium manually:

bash

appium --log-level info

Look for these lines in output:

text

[Appium] Appium REST http interface listener started on 0.0.0.0:4723
[Appium] Drivers available: uiautomator2, xcuitest

If the issue persists after these steps, share:

  1. Output of appium driver list --installed
  2. Full Appium logs when starting from command line
  3. Katalon’s mobile execution settings screenshot
1 Like
4

Hi @qaat.hanh,

This issue is likely related to how Appium plugins are handled in Appium 2.x, especially when switching between Katalon Studio versions or across different machines.

The message:

[Appium] No plugins have been installed. Use the "appium plugin" command to install the one(s) you want to use.

…means that Appium 2 is running, but it doesn’t have the necessary drivers or plugins installed/configured. You can try the suggestion from @dineshh and let us know if it solves. Thank you

1 Like
5

New update, I already do all what dineshh suggest but nothing change.

All working good on 10.0.0 but not in 10.2.3. But it only spy and record not working. If I running script it still running smoothly. Only when spy or record it cannot start server session. And there is new problem, I cannot spy record web too not only mobile.

1 Like
6

Hi everyone, I knew what cause errror. It is because new version of Katalon when started will have a popup asking for admin permission.
My PC and laptop both set multi user for different role with permission of window. The user for normal use has lesser permission. So, on laptop that popup always startup. But in pc never show that popup.
Maybe spy or record of web and mobile are in the package that need admin permission. Those function cannot working due to lack of permission.
I need to start Katalon as admin user then it work. In KS 10.0.0 it doesn’t need to asking admin permission like that.

2 Likes
7

But why, I open KS and refuse to give admin permission on my laptop it still working fine. But on pc I must started with admins role for KS can working normally???

1 Like
8

@Elly_Tran hi elly, looks like the problem wasn’t resolved.
When I running by admin role. Spy and record mobile will show error that can’t find appium driver uiautomator2. But appium log stil has.
What should I do?? Installed on the admin role too? But that not the point, I want to use on my normal user like in v10.0.0. If everytime running on admin I need to input admin account to work. That’ll really pissing off.

10

Hi @qaat.hanh,

I have created a ticket for my team to investigate this. Will keep you updated on this. Thank you

1 Like
11

Hi @qaat.hanh,

By default, Appium and Node do not require administrative privileges to run. However, if you are installed in directories that restrict access for standard users—such as system-protected folders—then you may be unable to use them without permissions.

You must resolve this issue by granting the appropriate rights to standard users. You do not need full admin rights, just what’s required to use these applications.

Hope this can help! Thank you

12

@qaat.hanh did you try Elly’s suggestion?

13

Hi everyone, sorry for reply late. So, there are 2 problem.

  1. I can’t granting right like that because that PC is my company PC. Admin won’t allow for granting more permission like that due to security policy of my company office.
  2. The PC’s C disk is not enough space to install on admin role. Only solution is reinstall Win :melting_face:

I even try to reinstall appium through nvm but still not helping. Can’t find out what reason blocked using appium and chrome.

Was it because of new package in the folder \configuration\resources\middle\ ??

14

Hi @qaat.hanh,

Thank you for letting us know your limitation. I will ask for my team’s suggestions and back here soon

15

Hi,

Sorry for my late response. You can try and install appium + uiautomator/xcuitest drivers into specific directories that you are sure you have elevated write/read permissions of instead of the default system one**.** Then, in Katalon Studio go to Preferences => Mobile => Set Appium directory to your custom directory.

If this method doesn’t work, we might not be able to provide further support for this because Katalon cannot bypass priviledges policies set by your system. Thank you

16

Hi Elly,

Thanks for advice, but unfortunately that still doesn’t help. I have reinstalled nvm, node, appium and it drive to other disk that not C. But still cannot running the spy and record mobile.

So I back to the sticky solution I have said lately. Run with admin account (has placed android sdk and installed appium for user admin) then it working normally

1 Like