feat: add the Wincore driver and options by mykola-mokhnach · Pull Request #2475 · appium/java-client

mykola-mokhnach · 2026-10-12T06:04:29Z

The Windows driver is deprecated and not supported since Appium 4. This adds a separate driver, options and screen recording options for its successor, appium-wincore-driver, and documents the Windows driver deprecation in the Javadoc and README.

What's added (`io.appium.java_client.wincore`)

AutomationName.WINCORE (Wincore).
WincoreDriver: same constructors, launchApp/closeApp and pullFile/pushFile as WindowsDriver.
- Implements SupportsContextSwitching for WebView contexts.
- pullFolder throws UnsupportedOperationException, as the driver has no such command.
- The no-arg startRecordingScreen() delegates to the options overload, since the driver returns no value.
- pullFile/pushFile require the wincore:modify_fs insecure feature on the server.
WincoreOptions (platform Windows, automation name Wincore). It reuses the existing windows.options interfaces for appArguments, appTopLevelWindow, appWorkingDir and prerun/postrun, and adds Wincore-specific interfaces for the other capabilities the driver reads:
- ms:waitForAppLaunch, serialized the way the driver detects units: whole seconds up to 120 are sent as seconds, anything else as milliseconds;
- shouldCloseApp, ms:forcequit, isolatedScriptExecution;
- smoothPointerMove, delayBeforeClick, delayAfterClick;
- webviewEnabled, webviewDevtoolsPort;
- chromedriver/edgedriver executable path and CDN URL, ffmpegExecutablePath;
- logFile, perfMetrics.
WincoreStart/StopScreenRecordingOptions. The start options send videoFps, whereas the Windows ones send fps.

Deliberately left out

systemPort and ms:experimental-webdriver: the driver ignores them (stdin/stdout IPC, no experimental switch).
appEnvironment: listed in the driver README, but nothing in the driver reads it.

Not changed

WindowsDriver, WindowsOptions and AutomationName.WINDOWS are only documented as deprecated, not annotated with @Deprecated yet. This is open for discussion in the review.

Tests

Options building, the wait-for-launch unit boundaries, and HTTP-level tests for file transfer, launchApp/closeApp, contexts and screen recording. No real-app E2E was run.

cc @y-schwab

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

The Windows driver is deprecated and not supported since Appium 4. Add WincoreDriver, WincoreOptions and Wincore screen recording options for its successor, appium-wincore-driver, and document the Windows driver deprecation. The Wincore recording options send videoFps, whereas the Windows ones send fps. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

valfirst · 2026-10-12T11:05:27Z

    String MAC2 = "Mac2";
-    /** The automation name of the <a href="https://github.com/appium/appium-windows-driver">Windows driver</a>. */
+    /** The automation name of the <a href="https://github.com/appium/appium-windows-driver">Windows driver</a>, deprecated and not supported since Appium 4. */
    String WINDOWS = "Windows";


Suggested change

String WINDOWS = "Windows";

@Deprecated

String WINDOWS = "Windows";

I deliberately was avoiding marking this driver as deprecated before we release Appium4 from beta. However, the wincore driver already works just fine for v3.

@valfirst would you prefer to mark that stuff as deprecated now in the same PR?

Deprecation doesn't block anything, it's just a notification. I would mark the old stuff as deprecated.

valfirst · 2026-10-12T11:05:51Z

+ * <p>Note: appium-windows-driver is deprecated and not supported since Appium 4, use appium-wincore-driver instead,
+ * see {@link io.appium.java_client.wincore.options.WincoreOptions}.</p>
 */
 public class WindowsOptions extends BaseOptions<WindowsOptions> implements


Suggested change

public class WindowsOptions extends BaseOptions<WindowsOptions> implements

@Deprecated

public class WindowsOptions extends BaseOptions<WindowsOptions> implements

valfirst · 2026-10-12T11:06:08Z

+ * <p>Note: the Windows driver is deprecated and not supported since Appium 4,
+ * use {@link io.appium.java_client.wincore.WincoreDriver} instead.</p>
 */
 public class WindowsDriver extends AppiumDriver implements


Suggested change

public class WindowsDriver extends AppiumDriver implements

@Deprecated

public class WindowsDriver extends AppiumDriver implements

KazuCocoa

Compared this change with appium-wincore-driver 3.1.2 (main at a5bac78). The 15 existing options/HTTP command tests pass locally; the inline comments cover three additional compatibility cases. Recording was checked with a mock HTTP response, and launch-wait conversion was checked against the server implementation; no real-app E2E was run.

- Override the no-arg startRecordingScreen to avoid an NPE on the empty response. - Implement SupportsContextSwitching so WebView contexts and browser detection work. - Serialize ms:waitForAppLaunch in the unit the driver expects: values up to 120 are seconds, greater values are milliseconds. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

KazuCocoa

Two non-blocking documentation suggestions for Wincore setup.

KazuCocoa · 2026-10-12T20:55:46Z

+        SupportsWaitForAppLaunchOption<WincoreOptions>,
+        SupportsMsExperimentalWebDriverOption<WincoreOptions>,
+        SupportsMsForceQuitOption<WincoreOptions>,
+        SupportsSystemPortOption<WincoreOptions>,


Non-blocking documentation nit: could we clarify that systemPort has no effect for Wincore? The inherited Windows option describes configuring a server listener (default 4724), whereas Wincore explicitly ignores this capability because it uses stdin/stdout IPC. A Wincore-specific note would avoid misleading users migrating their session/port configuration.

Done: WincoreOptions now documents that systemPort has no effect for Wincore (stdin/stdout IPC) and is kept only for compatibility with Windows driver configs.

Agreed, removed systemPort from WincoreOptions since the driver ignores it.

KazuCocoa · 2026-10-12T20:56:03Z

+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Pulls a file from the remote system. The Wincore driver has no `mobile:` extension for it.


Non-blocking documentation nit: could the JavaDoc for both pullFile() and pushFile() mention that the Appium server must enable wincore:modify_fs, e.g. --allow-insecure=wincore:modify_fs? Both server handlers require this feature, so otherwise correctly formed calls are rejected. The command serialization here looks correct; this is just to make the setup requirement clear to users.

Done: the pullFile() and pushFile() Javadoc now says the server must enable wincore:modify_fs, e.g. --allow-insecure=wincore:modify_fs.

KazuCocoa

lgtm

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

…oreOptions Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

mykola-mokhnach requested review from KazuCocoa and eglitise October 12, 2026 06:04

mykola-mokhnach requested review from SrinivasanTarget, saikrishna321 and valfirst as code owners October 12, 2026 06:04

valfirst requested changes Oct 12, 2026

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KazuCocoa reviewed Oct 12, 2026

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Comment thread src/main/java/io/appium/java_client/wincore/WincoreDriver.java

Comment thread src/main/java/io/appium/java_client/wincore/WincoreDriver.java

Comment thread src/main/java/io/appium/java_client/wincore/options/WincoreOptions.java Outdated

KazuCocoa reviewed Oct 12, 2026

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KazuCocoa approved these changes Oct 12, 2026

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mykola-mokhnach and others added 3 commits October 12, 2026 23:51

docs: document Wincore systemPort and modify_fs requirements

0e5f64c

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

refactor: drop the ignored systemPort option from WincoreOptions

1c89834

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

refactor: drop the ignored ms:experimental-webdriver option from Winc…

2342a8d

…oreOptions Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

	String WINDOWS = "Windows";
	@Deprecated
	String WINDOWS = "Windows";

	public class WindowsOptions extends BaseOptions<WindowsOptions> implements
	@Deprecated
	public class WindowsOptions extends BaseOptions<WindowsOptions> implements

	public class WindowsDriver extends AppiumDriver implements
	@Deprecated
	public class WindowsDriver extends AppiumDriver implements

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mykola-mokhnach commented Oct 12, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

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mykola-mokhnach commented Oct 12, 2026 •

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What's added (`io.appium.java_client.wincore`)