One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that supports compatibility testing of functionality provided through an Application Programming Interface (API) on a computing device. During operation, the system loads a client testing module on the computing device. The system also loads a remote testing module on a server. Once the client testing module and the remote testing module have been loaded, the system identifies a communication protocol that is available between the computing device and the server, and configures a communication-protocol-specific portion of the client testing module to communicate with the remote testing module through the available communication protocol. The system then compatibility tests the functionality provided through the API on the computing device. During this compatibility testing, certain portions of the test execute within the client testing module while other portions of the test execute within the remote testing module. Hence, the client testing module and the remote testing module work together in a distributed manner to compatibility test the computing device.