browserstack/local repository overview

⁠Installation

• In-order to pull the repository run the following command. docker pull browserstack/local
• This will pull and build the image.

⁠Running the binary inside container with default command

• Run the docker container using
• docker run -it browserstack/local --key <browserstack local testing access key>
• The default entrypoint runs the binary without any arguments.
• For achieving best local testing experience. You may choose to bind binary services to host.
• docker run -it -p 127.0.0.1:45691:45691 -p 127.0.0.1:45690:45690 -p 127.0.0.1:45454:45454 -p 127.0.0.1:45954:45954 browserstack/local --key <access key>

⁠Running the binary inside container with custom arguments

In order to run binary with custom arguments one can simply run the binary as follows. docker run browserstack/local <arguments>

Eg . Running binary inside container with force local and verbose 3 enabled docker run -it browserstack/local --key=<access key> --verbose 3 --force-local

⁠Running the binary with a default custom set command

• In order to permanently override the default set command simply clone the following repo⁠.
• Edit the appropriate Dockerfile and replace the content in ENTRYPOINT with whatever command or script you wish to execute.
• Optionally you can also set the BS_KEY env variable inside the image itself.
• After editing save the Dockerfile and build the docker image using the following command.
• Building the docker image
• docker build -t <image tagname> <path to dockerfile>
• Now the image should be compatible to run the custom default command specified.

⁠Running tests for a server running on my network.

Since the binary is running inside the docker container, it would try to resolve all the host requests internally. Following methods can be used in order to overcome this limitation.

⁠Method 1

⁠For Linux

• Run the docker container with the following flag –net=host. By setting this flag the container’s network stack is not isolated from the Docker host. ( For additional information refer here⁠).

• Running container with host netwroking docker run --net=host -it browserstack/local <arguments>

⁠For Mac and Windows

• Since Docker runs its container on a virtual machine on Mac and Windows. The method used in linux would only isolate the network interface between the virtual machine and the container. Hence, docker provides a way to access the host network using the url host.docker.internal. (For additional information refer here ( mac⁠ | windows⁠ ).
• Additionally, the test scripts have to be modified to include the above url instead of localhost.
• Eg. If a service is running on port 3000, one can access the service by using host.docker.internal:3000.

⁠Method 2

Run the server on a public interface (eg. 0.0.0.0 ) and use the public address in your test scripts. (Disclaimer : Please do understand the risk of running a service on public interface before following this method ).

⁠FAQ's

• Where can I find the Dockerfiles?

  • The dockerfiles are available at the repository here⁠

• Can I run live and app-live using the binary running inside the container?

  • Yes. For making live and app-live work, you need to bind 45691, 45690 ports with host.
  • Docker run command docker run -it -p 127.0.0.1:45691:45691 -p 127.0.0.1:45690:45690 browserstack/local --key <access key>

• Can I access binary console dashboard from my host?

  • Yes. You need to bind docker 45454, 45954 ports with host.
  • Docker run command docker run -it -p 127.0.0.1:45454:45454 -p 127.0.0.1:45954:45954 browserstack/local --key <access key>