Configuration & Server Arguments

Xenon is highly configurable to suit single-node, hub-node, or cloud deployments. You can configure Xenon using:

1. Configuration File (Recommended for production)
2. Runtime API (For dynamic updates)
3. CLI Arguments (Good for quick testing)

---

1. Using Configuration File

We recommend using an Appium configuration file to manage complex settings.

YAML (Recommended)

server:
  keepAliveTimeout: 800
  basePath: /wd/hub
  usePlugins:
    - xenon
  plugin:
    xenon:
      platform: both
      iosDeviceType: both
      androidDeviceType: both
      enableDashboard: true
      maxSessions: 8

JSON

{
  "server": {
    "keepAliveTimeout": 800,
    "basePath": "/wd/hub",
    "usePlugins": ["xenon"],
    "plugin": {
      "xenon": {
        "platform": "both",
        "iosDeviceType": "both",
        "androidDeviceType": "both",
        "enableDashboard": true,
        "maxSessions": 8
      }
    }
  }
}

To run:

appium server --config xenon-config.yaml

---

2. Runtime Configuration (API)

Xenon exposes a REST API to update configuration at runtime. This is useful for adjusting timeouts or concurrency limits without downtime.

Endpoint: PUT /xenon/api/config

Example Request:

curl -X PUT http://localhost:4723/xenon/api/config \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "maxSessions": 12, "newCommandTimeoutSec": 120 }'

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "config": { ... },
  "restartRequired": false,
  "message": "Configuration updated..."
}

Restart Required: Changing these properties via API will NOT take effect until a server restart:

• hub
• platform
• bindHostOrIp
• proxy
• cloud
• iosDeviceType / androidDeviceType

---

3. CLI Arguments Reference

These arguments can be passed via command line flags (e.g., --plugin-xenon-platform=ios).

Configuration Key	CLI Flag	Description	Default	Options
platform	--plugin-xenon-platform	Platform to run tests against	both	both,ios,android
iosDeviceType	--plugin-xenon-ios-device-type	Types of iOS devices to include	both	both,simulated,real
androidDeviceType	--plugin-xenon-android-device-type	Types of Android devices to include	both	both,simulated,real
skipChromeDownload	--plugin-xenon-skip-chrome-download	Skip automatic chromedriver download	true	true, false
hub	--plugin-xenon-hub	HUB IP address (if running as node)	None	http://host:port
maxSessions	--plugin-xenon-max-sessions	Limit concurrent sessions	8	Number
enableDashboard	--plugin-xenon-enable-dashboard	Enable the web dashboard	false	true, false
bootedSimulators	--plugin-xenon-booted-simulators	Use already booted simulators	false	true, false
deviceAvailabilityTimeoutMs	--plugin-device-availability-timeout-ms	Wait time for free device (ms)	300000	Number
newCommandTimeoutSec	--plugin-new-command-timeout-sec	Auto-release session timeout (sec)	60	Number
databaseProvider	--plugin-xenon-database-provider	Database type for state storage	sqlite	sqlite, postgresql
databaseUrl	--plugin-xenon-database-url	Connection string for the database	Local path	Connection URL
aiProvider	--plugin-xenon-ai-provider	AI provider for Xenon	gemini	gemini, openai, anthropic, ollama
aiModel	--plugin-xenon-ai-model	AI model name to use	-	e.g., gpt-4o, llama3
aiBaseUrl	--plugin-xenon-ai-base-url	Custom base URL for AI provider	-	e.g., for Ollama
buildCleanupDays	--plugin-xenon-build-cleanup-days	Retention period in days	30	Number
buildCleanupMaxCount	--plugin-xenon-build-cleanup-max-count	Maximum number of builds to keep	100	Number
buildCleanupSchedule	--plugin-xenon-build-cleanup-schedule	Cron schedule for cleanup	"0 0 * * *"	Cron
deleteBuildAssets	--plugin-xenon-delete-build-assets	Delete videos/screenshots	true	true, false

---

4. Environment Variables

Some advanced features are configured via environment variables.

AI & Diagnostics

Variable	Description	Default
GEMINI_API_KEY or XENON_GEMINI_API_KEY	Google Gemini API key	—
OPENAI_API_KEY or XENON_OPENAI_API_KEY	OpenAI API key	—
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY or XENON_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY	Anthropic API key	—
XENON_AI_PROVIDER	AI provider: gemini, openai, anthropic, ollama	gemini
XENON_AI_MODEL	Universal AI model override (all providers)	Provider default
XENON_GEMINI_MODEL	Gemini-specific model (e.g., gemini-3-flash-preview)	—
XENON_OPENAI_MODEL	OpenAI-specific model (e.g., gpt-4o)	—
XENON_ANTHROPIC_MODEL	Anthropic-specific model	—
XENON_OLLAMA_MODEL	Ollama-specific model (e.g., llava)	—
XENON_AI_BASE_URL	Custom base URL (for self-hosted Ollama)	—

→ See AI Features for full provider documentation.

Database

Variable	Description	Default
DATABASE_URL	PostgreSQL or SQLite connection string	file:~/.cache/xenon/xenon.db
XENON_DB_PROVIDER	Database provider (sqlite or postgresql)	sqlite

→ See Deployment Guide for database setup instructions.

Observability

Variable	Description	Default
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT	OpenTelemetry collector endpoint (e.g., http://jaeger:4318/v1/traces)	—
XENON_OTEL_DEBUG	Log traces to console for debugging	false

Cloud & Proxy

Xenon also supports cloud and proxy configurations. See the Cloud Execution and Deployment Guide for structure.