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IDE Plugin Troubleshooting

Solutions for common issues, plus the current known limitations.

Common issues​

I cannot start a live session on a device​

Live sessions require private (dedicated) devices and Real Device Access API concurrency on your account. If you believe you should have access, ask your organization administrator to review your team membership and access settings, and see Requirements and entitlements.

The Test Authoring panel says the feature is not available​

AI Test Authoring requires the Sauce AI for Test Authoring add-on. If your account was recently entitled, or you switched from an account without the entitlement to one that has it, reload the editor window so the entitled views populate.

SAUCE_APPIUM_URL is empty in my terminal​

  • Injection only applies to terminals opened after you enable the toggle. Close the terminal and open a new one.
  • Confirm the status bar shows Appium: <device name>, not Appium: OFF.
  • Confirm the device session is still running; the variable is tied to the active session.

Session recording fails​

MP4 recording requires FFmpeg on your PATH. Install it and restart your editor:

  • macOS: brew install ffmpeg
  • Linux: sudo apt install ffmpeg (or the equivalent for your distribution)
  • Windows: download from ffmpeg.org and add bin/ to your PATH

PNG screenshots work without FFmpeg.

Sign-in fails​

  • Verify your username and access key against Sauce Labs user settings.
  • Verify you picked the data center region that matches your account. Credentials are validated per region.

The device list is empty​

  • Confirm you are signed in and the correct region is selected; devices are region-specific.
  • The list shows your organization's private devices. If no private devices are assigned to your account or team, the list is empty; ask your organization administrator about private device access.
  • Run Sauce RDC: Refresh Devices.

Known limitations​

  • No multi-touch or pinch gestures in the live session. Single-touch tap, swipe, and drag work.
  • No hardware keyboard input into the device panel. Use the device's on-screen keyboard for text entry.
  • Large recordings can consume significant disk space. There is no built-in size cap yet.
  • New test suites and schedules cannot be created in the IDE. You can save a test case into an existing suite; creating suites and schedules happens in the Sauce Labs Test Authoring UI or through the API.
  • Private mobile devices are not yet available in the authoring device picker. Mobile Real and Mobile Virtual devices are available.

Getting help​

  • Plugin diagnostics: the Output panel's Sauce RDC channel contains the plugin's own logs. Include its contents with any bug report.
  • Sauce Labs support: help.saucelabs.com.
  • Platform-level topics such as app storage, test configuration, and organization management are covered in the rest of the Sauce Labs docs.