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Validate Mobile App Deep Links in GitHub PRs with Automated Testing

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Created by: WeblineIndia || weblineindia

WeblineIndia

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Last update 3 days ago

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GitHub PR Deep-Link & Routing Validator (ExecuteCommand + GitHub Comment)

🚀 Quick-Start TL;DR

  1. Import the workflow JSON into n8n (Cloud or self-hosted).
  2. Create a GitHub Personal Access Token with repo:public_repo (or repo) scope and add it to n8n credentials.
  3. Open the “CONFIG - Variables” node and tweak:
    • manifestPath – path to your deep-link manifest (AndroidManifest.xml, Info.plist, etc.).
    • scriptPath – helper script that boots the emulator & checks each route.
  4. Enable the workflow. Every push to a PR branch triggers validation and posts a Markdown pass/fail matrix back to the PR.

What It Does

This workflow delivers an automated, CI-friendly smoke-test of every deep link defined in your mobile app. On each push to an open GitHub PR, it:

  1. Clones the PR branch.
  2. Runs a lightweight validation script (provided) that spins up an emulator/simulator, attempts to open each declared URI, and records OK/FAIL.
  3. Generates a Markdown table summarizing the results.
  4. Comments that table in the PR, letting reviewers spot broken schemes at a glance.

Who’s It For

  • Mobile teams maintaining Android or iOS deep-link manifests.
  • CI engineers who need a simple, language-agnostic check they can publish to each PR.
  • OSS maintainers wanting a template-library-ready n8n recipe.

Requirements

Requirement Notes
n8n Cloud / CE Works everywhere; self-hosted users need Docker with Android / Xcode if validating on-runner.
GitHub Personal Access Token Used for posting PR comments.
Emulator-capable runner Local dev hardware or CI image that can run adb / xcrun simctl.

How It Works

  1. GitHub Trigger fires on pull_requestsynchronize (i.e., each push to the PR branch).
  2. Set (CONFIG - Variables) centralises repo URL, manifest path, script path, timeout, and comment mode.
  3. ExecuteCommand clones the repo and calls the validation script.
  4. Function converts CLI CSV output into a Markdown table.
  5. GitHub node posts (or appends) the results as a comment on the PR.

How To Set Up

  1. Auth: In n8n, add a GitHub credential with your PAT named “GitHub Personal Access Token”.
  2. Import: Settings → Import workflow and paste the JSON above.
  3. Edit Config: Double-click CONFIG - Variables and change any default values.
  4. Validation Script: Commit scripts/validate_deeplinks.sh into your repo (see sample below).
  5. Enable the workflow. Push to any PR branch and watch the comment appear.

Sample validate_deeplinks.sh

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -e
while getopts "m:" opt; do
  case $opt in
    m) MANIFEST="$OPTARG" ;;
  esac
done

echo "⇨ Parsing deep links from $MANIFEST"
# rudimentary parser—replace with something smarter for XML/Plist
grep -oE 'http[s]?://[^" ]+' "$MANIFEST" | while read -r uri; do
  if adb shell am start -W -a android.intent.action.VIEW -d "$uri" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    echo "$uri,OK"
  else
    echo "$uri,FAIL"
  fi
done

How To Customise

  • Multiple manifests: duplicate the Execute-Command step or extend the script to accept a list.
  • Replace-latest comment: switch commentMode to replace-latest and update the GitHub node to search for the newest bot comment before editing.
  • Status checks instead of comments: call the GitHub → “Create Commit Status” endpoint.

Add-Ons

Add-On Idea
Multi-platform sweep Loop over Android + iOS manifests and aggregate results.
Slack/Teams alert Push failures into your chat of choice via Incoming-Webhook node.
Parallel device grid Trigger multiple emulators (API 19 → 34) to catch OS-specific issues.

Use Case Examples

  1. Ensure new features don’t break existing URI schemes before merge.
  2. Catch mis-typed hosts/paths introduced by junior devs.
  3. Baseline check on dependency bumps (e.g., upgrading Navigation libraries).
  4. Validate white-label builds that override path segments.
  5. Automated QA gate that blocks merge if any link fails.
    (…and many more!)

Troubleshooting Guide

Issue Possible Cause Solution
Workflow hangs at “Execute – Validate” Emulator image isn’t installed Pre-install SDK & start the emulator in a startup script
PR comment missing Token lacks repo scope Regenerate PAT with proper scopes
All links marked FAIL Manifest path incorrect Update manifestPath in CONFIG
Command node hits timeout Huge manifest / slow CI Increase timeoutSecs in CONFIG

Need a Hand? 🤝

Stuck or want to extend this with multi-platform coverage? WeblineIndia’s automation experts can help.
Drop us a note to fine-tune or scale out your n8n workflows — fast.