As you near completion of your app development project, testing becomes an essential step to ensure its quality and functionality. Swift app development requires a comprehensive approach to app testing, and that's where the Developer Mode app comes in. This innovative tool enables you to install, debug, and test webOS TV apps on your TV faster than ever before.

To get started with the Developer Mode app, make sure you have the following prerequisites ready:

  • A webOS TV connected to a network
  • A PC connected to the same network and installed with the webOS CLI
  • An LG Developer site account

Before diving into the world of developer mode, sign in to your LG Developer site account. If you don't have one yet, create an account by clicking on the "Sign In" button at the top right corner of this page.

Installing the Developer Mode App

To install the Developer Mode app, follow these steps:

  1. Turn on your webOS TV and ensure it's connected to a network.
  2. Sign in with your LG Developer site account.
  3. Search for the "Developer Mode" app in the LG Content Store.
  4. Click the Install button to download and install the app.

Enabling Developer Mode

Once you've installed the app, you can enable Developer Mode on your TV:

  1. Run the Developer Mode app from the webOS TV Launcher.
  2. Enter your email-based ID and password of the LG Developer site account.
  3. Click the Dev Mode Status button to enable Developer Mode. The TV will reboot.

Connecting Your TV and PC

Now that you have enabled Developer Mode, it's time to connect your TV and PC:

Using the CLI

To add your target TV device using the CLI, follow these steps:

  1. Run the webOS CLI.
  2. Execute the ares-setup-device command and select "add".
  3. Input the information about your TV, including its name, IP address, port number, and user name.

Using webOS Studio

Alternatively, you can use webOS Studio to connect your TV device:

  1. Run VS Code and open webOS Studio installed.
  2. Select "webOS: Set Up Device" from the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) and select "Add Device".
  3. Enter your device name, IP address, port number, and user name for the connection.

Extending Developer Mode Time

When you enable Developer Mode, it's available for a limited time. To extend the remaining session time, connect your TV to a network and click the EXTEND button. If the session time runs out, you cannot extend it further.

Clearing Cache Data of Apps

The Developer Mode app also provides a feature to clear cache data of all apps:

  1. Click the ON button on the Clear Cache Data field.
  2. Reboot your TV.

With these steps, you're now ready to install and launch your app on your real TV. To learn more about how to do this, see "Install the web app" and "Launch the web app".