Running Tests in Docker Containers

Docker is a container platform provider that enables you to package applications, including all their dependencies, into virtual containers.

Silk4J supports the following scenarios for running tests from Docker containers:

Running tests against a browser in a Docker container. The Open Agent and the test executor are running on your local Windows machine.
Running tests against a browser in a Docker container through an Open Agent that is running in another Docker container. The browser and the Open Agent communicate with each other through a Docker network. The test executor is running on your local Windows machine.
Running tests entirely from Docker containers. The Open Agent, the test executor, and the browser run in three separate Docker containers and communicate with each other through a Docker network.

Silk4J supports running tests for web applications in the following desktop browsers from Docker containers:

Microsoft Edge
Mozilla Firefox
Google Chrome
Apple Safari

Running your Silk4J tests in Docker containers enables you to better integrate your Silk4J tests into your existing CI workflow and provides the following advantages:

You can run your tests on Windows, Linux, and macOS.
You do not have to install Silk4J or any other required software, for example Java, on the machine on which you want to run the tests.
You do not need to update the browser version when using the images provided by Docker.
You can run tests in the background while working on other things.
You can use the command line to run the Docker image and the tests.

Silk4J provides a basic Docker image, named functionaltesting/silktest, which contains the Open Agent and the capabilities to run Silk4J tests. You can download the image from the Docker Hub.

Note: The topics in this section assume familiarity with Docker. If you are new to Docker and you would like to have additional information, refer to the Docker website.