FlutterDriver.Connect Requires VM_SERVICE_URL or String? - flutter

Question

My app is the basic counter, with a FlutterDriver for UI Automation. My conundrum is when I attempt to run my test, it tells me that I need to specify a connection or set the VM_SERVICE_URL
ERROR:
DriverError: Could not determine URL to connect to application. Either
the VM_SERVICE_URL environment variable should be set, or an explicit
URL should be provided to the FlutterDriver.connect() method.
I've tried a few things.
Using FlutterDriver.connect();
Setting the VM_SERVICE_URL in Terminal (MacOS)
Setting the Dart Command Line to include VM_SERVICE_URL with a value
The most success I've had is with the code below. By adding enableFlutterDriverExtension to the lib/main.dart, then executing lib/main.dart, I can copy/paste the ws://127.0.0.1 connection into the test/my_test.dart. This allows me to successfully run my tests, but this isn't an ideal process.
Is there a way to pull in the connection string automatically?
Why does Platform.environment['VM_SERVICE_URL'] always return null despite my having set it?
lib/main.dart
void main() {
enableFlutterDriverExtension();
runApp(const MyApp());
}
test/main_app.dart
void main() {
// enableFlutterDriverExtension();
MainApp.main();
MyTest.main();
}
test/my_test.dart
void main() {
FlutterDriver? driver;
dynamic DartVmServiceUrl;
DartVmServiceUrl ??= Platform.environment['VM_SERVICE_URL'];
print('VM_SERVICE_URL:\t${DartVmServiceUrl}');
String vmServURL = 'ws://127.0.0.1:59488/WK8KTNVXXOo=/ws';
setUpAll( () async {
driver = await FlutterDriver.connect(dartVmServiceUrl: vmServURL);
});
tearDownAll( () {
driver?.close();
});
test('Push Button',() async {
var pushMeButton = find.byValueKey('IncrementButton');
await driver!.tap(pushMeButton);
} );
}

Answer 1

you have to move the files in the specific folders you see below, then try to run from terminal with
flutter drive \
--driver=test/my_test.dart \
--target=test_driver/test_driver.dart
in your lib/main.dart you don't need enableFlutterDriverExtension(); because it is already linked to your main() in the test_driver.dart
also your main in test_driver/test_driver.dart should look like this:
import 'package:{here}/main.dart' as app; // insert here your main app
import 'package:flutter_driver/driver_extension.dart';
void main() {
enableFlutterDriverExtension();
app.main();
}
your my_test.dart should look like this:
import 'package:flutter_driver/flutter_driver.dart';
import 'package:test/test.dart';
void main() {
late FlutterDriver driver;
setUpAll(() async {
driver = await FlutterDriver.connect();
});
tearDownAll(() {
driver.close();
});
test('check flutter driver health', () async {
Health health = await driver.checkHealth();
print(health.status);
});
}
give attention to use the correct packages to avoid this error.
Error: Not found: 'dart:ui'
import 'dart:ui';