关于复用Test APK相关Targets文件在CI中运行Xamarin Android单元测试的问询

Short Answer #

Yes, you can absolutely reuse those targets, and the best way to do this without manual file management is to leverage official NuGet packages that wrap this functionality. Your initial hunch about those .targets files being useful is spot-on—they’re designed to handle the heavy lifting of running Xamarin Android tests on devices/emulators.

Step-by-Step Solution #

1. Ditch manual .targets downloads: Use the official NuGet package #

The Xamarin.Android.NUnit.TestRunner NuGet package is built specifically for this scenario, and it automatically imports the necessary test-running targets (including logic aligned with the .targets files you mentioned) into your project. This avoids the hassle of manually downloading and maintaining those files.

If you tried a generic NUnit tutorial before, that’s likely where you hit a wall—regular NUnit isn’t optimized for Xamarin Android’s device/emulator workflow. Install this package into your Xamarin Android unit test project, and it will handle the target imports behind the scenes.

2. Configure your test project #

Once the package is installed, check your test project’s .csproj file—you’ll see an auto-generated import like this:

<Import Project="..\packages\Xamarin.Android.NUnit.TestRunner.x.x.x\build\Xamarin.Android.NUnit.TestRunner.targets" />

This is essentially wrapping the same logic as TestApks.targets and RunApkTests.targets, but managed via NuGet for easy updates.

You can customize test run parameters directly in your .csproj or via MSBuild command-line arguments, like:

• Specifying a device ID: /p:AndroidDeviceId=emulator-5554
• Pointing to your test APK: /p:TestApkPath=bin/Release/com.yourcompany.yourtestapp.apk
• Enabling test result reporting: /p:EnableTestReport=true

3. Integrate with your CI pipeline #

To run tests in CI, add a step that:

1. Builds your test APK (using msbuild or dotnet build with the appropriate configuration).
2. Executes the test run via MSBuild, targeting the RunTests target:

   msbuild YourTestProject.csproj /t:RunTests /p:Configuration=Release /p:AndroidDeviceId=your_ci_device_id
   

3. Collects the generated test results (usually a TestResult.xml file in your project’s output directory) and feeds them into your CI platform’s test reporting feature (e.g., GitHub Actions test reporting, Azure DevOps Test Plans).

4. If you really need direct access to those specific .targets files #

If for some reason you need to reference tests/RunApkTests.targets and build-tools/scripts/TestApks.targets directly (instead of using the NuGet wrapper), you can:

• Package them into a custom local NuGet package (using a .nuspec file) that imports the targets automatically.
• Host this custom package in a private NuGet feed (or use a local folder feed) for your team to consume.
  This way, you still get NuGet’s versioning and dependency management benefits without manual file copies.

Troubleshooting your earlier NUnit tutorial failure #

The generic NUnit tutorial likely didn’t account for Xamarin Android’s need to run tests on a physical device or emulator, and the lack of a specialized test runner to bridge the gap between NUnit and Android. The Xamarin.Android.NUnit.TestRunner package solves this by handling the APK deployment, test execution on the device, and result collection—all the stuff those .targets files do under the hood.

内容的提问来源于stack exchange，提问作者user2631640