tapflow: Self-hosted iOS & Android Simulator Streaming for Your Team

tapflow is a self-hosted alternative to Appetize and BrowserStack, designed specifically for mobile QA teams. This innovative tool allows teams to run iOS simulators and Android emulators directly in any browser without the need for extensive toolchain setup or device management. With tapflow, all builds, streams, and recordings are retained on your own infrastructure, ensuring complete control over data and privacy.

Key Features

• Seamless Access: Remove barriers between mobile developers and other team members. With tapflow, backend developers, product managers, and designers can access and interact with mobile applications directly from their browsers.
• Efficient Resource Use: Tap into your existing Mac infrastructure without the recurring costs associated with third-party cloud services. Physical device management challenges, such as availability and OS-version coverage, are eliminated.
• Real-time Interaction: Tapflow enables team members to conduct testing in real time. Touch events, swipes, and other inputs are forwarded instantly to simulators and emulators, while screens stream back at approximately 30 frames per second.
• Comprehensive Dashboard: The user-friendly browser dashboard provides visibility into available devices, allowing the entire team to engage in quality assurance processes effectively.
• Session Recordings: Record QA sessions for up to 72 hours, facilitating easy monitoring and feedback sharing.
• Team Management: Empower teams with role-based access controls and the ability to invite users with ease. Personal Access Tokens streamline integration with CI/CD workflows.

How it Works

The architecture of tapflow is straightforward:

Browser (your team)  ←─ WebSocket ─→  Relay Server  ←─ WebSocket (outbound) ─→  Mac Agent
                                    (Linux / Mac)                           (iOS · Android)

1. The Mac Agent connects to the relay server, which operates on Linux or macOS, without the need for complex inbound firewall setups.
2. Team members access the dashboard via their browsers and can select from available devices for testing.
3. Real-time touch events and video streams ensure an intuitive QA process.

Security and Privacy

Designed with a focus on security, tapflow ensures that all app binaries, device streams, and session recordings are stored within your controlled infrastructure, never exposing them to third-party services. The architecture prioritizes internal traffic, enhancing data safety and privacy.

For more information about setting up tapflow, check the full documentation at www.tapflow.dev. Whether aiming for a single developer setup or supporting a larger team, tapflow adapts to your needs while enhancing collaborative testing efforts across mobile applications.