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 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 Use agent-browser snapshot -i -C to include cursor-interactive elements (divs with onclick handlers) 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.