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Electron App Automation
Automate any Electron desktop app using agent-browser. Electron apps are built on Chromium and expose a Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP) port that agent-browser can connect to, enabling the same snapshot-interact workflow used for web pages.
Core Workflow
- Launch the Electron app with remote debugging enabled
- Connect agent-browser to the CDP port
- Snapshot to discover interactive elements
- Interact using element refs
- Re-snapshot after navigation or state changes
# Launch an Electron app with remote debugging
open -a "Slack" --args --remote-debugging-port=9222
# Connect agent-browser to the app
agent-browser connect 9222
# Standard workflow from here
agent-browser snapshot -i
agent-browser click @e5
agent-browser screenshot slack-desktop.png
Launching Electron Apps with CDP
Every Electron app supports the --remote-debugging-port flag since it's built into Chromium.
macOS
# Slack
open -a "Slack" --args --remote-debugging-port=9222
# VS Code
open -a "Visual Studio Code" --args --remote-debugging-port=9223
# Discord
open -a "Discord" --args --remote-debugging-port=9224
# Figma
open -a "Figma" --args --remote-debugging-port=9225
# Notion
open -a "Notion" --args --remote-debugging-port=9226
# Spotify
open -a "Spotify" --args --remote-debugging-port=9227
Linux
slack --remote-debugging-port=9222
code --remote-debugging-port=9223
discord --remote-debugging-port=9224
Windows
"C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\slack\slack.exe" --remote-debugging-port=9222
"C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code\Code.exe" --remote-debugging-port=9223
Important: If the app is already running, quit it first, then relaunch with the flag. The --remote-debugging-port flag must be present at launch time.
Connecting
# Connect to a specific port
agent-browser connect 9222
# Or use --cdp on each command
agent-browser --cdp 9222 snapshot -i
# Auto-discover a running Chromium-based app
agent-browser --auto-connect snapshot -i
After connect, all subsequent commands target the connected app without needing --cdp.
Tab Management
Electron apps often have multiple windows or webviews. Use tab commands to list and switch between them:
# List all available targets (windows, webviews, etc.)
agent-browser tab
# Switch to a specific tab by index
agent-browser tab 2
# Switch by URL pattern
agent-browser tab --url "*settings*"
Webview Support
Electron <webview> elements are automatically discovered and can be controlled like regular pages. Webviews appear as separate targets in the tab list with type: "webview":
# Connect to running Electron app
agent-browser connect 9222
# List targets -- webviews appear alongside pages
agent-browser tab
# Example output:
# 0: [page] Slack - Main Window https://app.slack.com/
# 1: [webview] Embedded Content https://example.com/widget
# Switch to a webview
agent-browser tab 1
# Interact with the webview normally
agent-browser snapshot -i
agent-browser click @e3
agent-browser screenshot webview.png
Note: Webview support works via raw CDP connection.
Common Patterns
Inspect and Navigate an App
open -a "Slack" --args --remote-debugging-port=9222
sleep 3 # Wait for app to start
agent-browser connect 9222
agent-browser snapshot -i
# Read the snapshot output to identify UI elements
agent-browser click @e10 # Navigate to a section
agent-browser snapshot -i # Re-snapshot after navigation
Take Screenshots of Desktop Apps
agent-browser connect 9222
agent-browser screenshot app-state.png
agent-browser screenshot --full full-app.png
agent-browser screenshot --annotate annotated-app.png
Extract Data from a Desktop App
agent-browser connect 9222
agent-browser snapshot -i
agent-browser get text @e5
agent-browser snapshot --json > app-state.json
Fill Forms in Desktop Apps
agent-browser connect 9222
agent-browser snapshot -i
agent-browser fill @e3 "search query"
agent-browser press Enter
agent-browser wait 1000
agent-browser snapshot -i
Run Multiple Apps Simultaneously
Use named sessions to control multiple Electron apps at the same time:
# Connect to Slack
agent-browser --session slack connect 9222
# Connect to VS Code
agent-browser --session vscode connect 9223
# Interact with each independently
agent-browser --session slack snapshot -i
agent-browser --session vscode snapshot -i
Color Scheme
The default color scheme when connecting via CDP may be light. To preserve dark mode:
agent-browser connect 9222
agent-browser --color-scheme dark snapshot -i
Or set it globally:
AGENT_BROWSER_COLOR_SCHEME=dark agent-browser connect 9222
Troubleshooting
"Connection refused" or "Cannot connect"
- Make sure the app was launched with
--remote-debugging-port=NNNN
- If the app was already running, quit and relaunch with the flag
- Check that the port isn't in use by another process:
lsof -i :9222
App launches but connect fails
- Wait a few seconds after launch before connecting (
sleep 3)
- Some apps take time to initialize their webview
Elements not appearing in snapshot
- The app may use multiple webviews. Use
agent-browser tab to list targets and switch to the right one
Cannot type in input fields
- Try
agent-browser keyboard type "text" to type at the current focus without a selector
- Some Electron apps use custom input components; use
agent-browser keyboard inserttext "text" to bypass key events
Supported Apps
Any app built on Electron works, including:
- Communication: Slack, Discord, Microsoft Teams, Signal, Telegram Desktop
- Development: VS Code, GitHub Desktop, Postman, Insomnia
- Design: Figma, Notion, Obsidian
- Media: Spotify, Tidal
- Productivity: Todoist, Linear, 1Password
If an app is built with Electron, it supports --remote-debugging-port and can be automated with agent-browser.
Weekly Installs
10.7K
Repository
vercel-labs/age…-browser
GitHub Stars
24.9K
First Seen
Mar 1, 2026
Security Audits
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