Setting Up Robot Framework for Test Automation on Windows: A Step-by-Step Guide

person Vishnu Hari | Published: Mon Sep 2023

Robot Framework is a user-friendly and versatile test automation framework that simplifies the process of automating tests for software applications. What sets Robot Framework apart is its plain-text syntax, making it easy for both technical and non-technical team members to collaborate on testing efforts. With a rich ecosystem of libraries and support for various platforms and technologies, Robot Framework empowers testers to create efficient and maintainable test cases. Whether you're a seasoned tester or just getting started with automation, Robot Framework can significantly boost your testing productivity and help ensure the quality of your software.

For our setup, we'll use Visual Studio Code as our IDE, but feel free to choose any IDE you prefer. You can download Visual Studio Code from the link provided below.

https://code.visualstudio.com

Also, make sure to include the Robot Framework Language Server and Python extensions in Visual Studio Code. Simply go to the extensions tab in the left-side menu and search for them to easily add these valuable tools.

Don't forget to install Python, which you can easily get by clicking on the link below.

https://www.python.org/downloads

Next, it's as simple as installing the required libraries using pip, a Python package installer. Just execute the following pip commands one after the other to get the libraries installed.

pip install robotframework

pip install robotframework-seleniumlibrary

pip install robotframework-requests

pip install robotframework-appiumlibrary

pip install robotframework-pabot

Before we start, ensure you've downloaded the Chrome Driver and updated it in the Python 'Scripts' folder. You can download the Chrome Driver from the following URL.

https://chromedriver.chromium.org/download

Now, head over to your Python installation directory, locate the 'Scripts' folder, and simply paste the 'chromedriver.exe' file there.

Now, simply open Visual Studio Code and choose a folder where you'd like to save your project.