For automating mobile applications, there is specific software that needs to be downloaded. The following is a list of all the steps needed to set up the Appium server on your machine:

1. Download the Java Development Kit (JDK) (http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/jdk8-downloads-2133151.html).
2. Set the Java environment variable path so that Java commands can be executed from anywhere on the system.
3. Download the Android SDK/ADB (https://developer.android.com/studio/).
4. Utilize the Android SDK packages from SDK Manager in the downloaded Android SDK folder
5. Set the Android Environment variables so that commands can be executed anywhere on the system.
6. Download and configure nodejs (https://nodejs.org/en/download/). Take the LTS for whichever OS is applicable.
7. Download the Microsoft .net framework (https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/download/details.aspx?id=30653).
8. Download the Appium server (http://appium.io/).