Electron App Automation

Automate Electron desktop apps (VS Code, Slack, Discord, Figma, Notion, Spotify, etc.) using agent-browser via Chrome DevTools Protocol.

You say
Install this skill Read the source first Free Written by vercel-labs · unverified publisher
Context cost
1.7k tokensestimated from the bundle, loaded when it triggers
Bundle
1 file · 6.7 kBtext throughout, nothing executable
Licence
Apache-2.0free to use
Last change
no release on file
Servers it uses
Noneruns standalone

What it does

Automate Electron desktop apps (VS Code, Slack, Discord, Figma, Notion, Spotify, etc.) using agent-browser via Chrome DevTools Protocol. Use when the user needs to interact with an Electron app, automate a desktop app, connect to a running app, control a native app, or test an Electron application. Triggers include "automate Slack app", "control VS Code", "interact with Discord app", "test this Electron app", "connect to desktop app", or any task requiring automation of a native Electron application.

Installed, it changes the agent in these ways.

What this skill changes about the agent is not written down here yet. The listing was collected from its source, and the description is in its own SKILL.md.

Workflow

Runs a procedure end to end.

browserautomationfigmanotionslackdiscordagent

The skill itself

This is the whole product. A skill is instructions the model reads, so there is nothing behind the listing you cannot see first — the front matter loads with every session, and the body below it loads when the skill triggers.

SKILL.md6.7 kB · 237 lines
--- name: electron description: Automate Electron desktop apps (VS Code, Slack, Discord, Figma, Notion, Spotify, etc.) using agent-browser via Chrome DevTools Protocol. Use when the user needs to interact with an Electron app, automate a desktop app, connect to a running app, control a native app, or test an Electron application. Triggers include "automate Slack app", "control VS Code", "interact with Discord app", "test this Electron app", "connect to desktop app", or any task requiring automation of a native Electron application. allowed-tools: Bash(agent-browser:*), Bash(npx agent-browser:*) ---
7# Electron App Automation
8
9Automate 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.
10
11## Core Workflow
12
131. **Launch** the Electron app with remote debugging enabled
142. **Connect** agent-browser to the CDP port
153. **Snapshot** to discover interactive elements
164. **Interact** using element refs
175. **Re-snapshot** after navigation or state changes
18
19```bash
20# Launch an Electron app with remote debugging
21open -a "Slack" --args --remote-debugging-port=9222
22
23# Connect agent-browser to the app
24agent-browser connect 9222
25
26# Standard workflow from here
27agent-browser snapshot -i
28agent-browser click @e5
29agent-browser screenshot slack-desktop.png
30```
31
32## Launching Electron Apps with CDP
33
34Every Electron app supports the --remote-debugging-port flag since it's built into Chromium.
35
36### macOS
37
38```bash
39# Slack
40open -a "Slack" --args --remote-debugging-port=9222
41
42# VS Code
43open -a "Visual Studio Code" --args --remote-debugging-port=9223
44
45# Discord
46open -a "Discord" --args --remote-debugging-port=9224
47
48# Figma
49open -a "Figma" --args --remote-debugging-port=9225
50
51# Notion
52open -a "Notion" --args --remote-debugging-port=9226
53
54# Spotify
55open -a "Spotify" --args --remote-debugging-port=9227
56```
57
58### Linux
59
60```bash
61slack --remote-debugging-port=9222
62code --remote-debugging-port=9223
63discord --remote-debugging-port=9224
64```
65
66### Windows
67
68```bash
69"C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\slack\slack.exe" --remote-debugging-port=9222
70"C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code\Code.exe" --remote-debugging-port=9223
71```
72
73**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.
74
75## Connecting
76
77```bash
78# Connect to a specific port
79agent-browser connect 9222
80
81# Or use --cdp on each command
82agent-browser --cdp 9222 snapshot -i
83
84# Auto-discover a running Chromium-based app
85agent-browser --auto-connect snapshot -i
86```
87
88After connect, all subsequent commands target the connected app without needing --cdp.
89
90## Tab Management
91
92Electron apps often have multiple windows or webviews. Use tab commands to list and switch between them:
93
94```bash
95# List all available targets (windows, webviews, etc.)
96agent-browser tab
97
98# Switch to a specific tab by index
99agent-browser tab 2
100
101# Switch by URL pattern
102agent-browser tab --url "*settings*"
103```
104
105## Webview Support
106
107Electron <webview> elements are automatically discovered and can be controlled like regular pages. Webviews appear as separate targets in the tab list with type: "webview":
108
109```bash
110# Connect to running Electron app
111agent-browser connect 9222
112
113# List targets -- webviews appear alongside pages
114agent-browser tab
115# Example output:
116# 0: [page] Slack - Main Window https://app.slack.com/
117# 1: [webview] Embedded Content https://example.com/widget
118
119# Switch to a webview
120agent-browser tab 1
121
122# Interact with the webview normally
123agent-browser snapshot -i
124agent-browser click @e3
125agent-browser screenshot webview.png
126```
127
128**Note:** Webview support works via raw CDP connection.
129
130## Common Patterns
131
132### Inspect and Navigate an App
133
134```bash
135open -a "Slack" --args --remote-debugging-port=9222
136sleep 3 # Wait for app to start
137agent-browser connect 9222
138agent-browser snapshot -i
139# Read the snapshot output to identify UI elements
140agent-browser click @e10 # Navigate to a section
141agent-browser snapshot -i # Re-snapshot after navigation
142```
143
144### Take Screenshots of Desktop Apps
145
146```bash
147agent-browser connect 9222
148agent-browser screenshot app-state.png
149agent-browser screenshot --full full-app.png
150agent-browser screenshot --annotate annotated-app.png
151```
152
153### Extract Data from a Desktop App
154
155```bash
156agent-browser connect 9222
157agent-browser snapshot -i
158agent-browser get text @e5
159agent-browser snapshot --json > app-state.json
160```
161
162### Fill Forms in Desktop Apps
163
164```bash
165agent-browser connect 9222
166agent-browser snapshot -i
167agent-browser fill @e3 "search query"
168agent-browser press Enter
169agent-browser wait 1000
170agent-browser snapshot -i
171```
172
173### Run Multiple Apps Simultaneously
174
175Use named sessions to control multiple Electron apps at the same time:
176
177```bash
178# Connect to Slack
179agent-browser --session slack connect 9222
180
181# Connect to VS Code
182agent-browser --session vscode connect 9223
183
184# Interact with each independently
185agent-browser --session slack snapshot -i
186agent-browser --session vscode snapshot -i
187```
188
189## Color Scheme
190
191The default color scheme when connecting via CDP may be light. To preserve dark mode:
192
193```bash
194agent-browser connect 9222
195agent-browser --color-scheme dark snapshot -i
196```
197
198Or set it globally:
199
200```bash
201AGENT_BROWSER_COLOR_SCHEME=dark agent-browser connect 9222
202```
203
204## Troubleshooting
205
206### "Connection refused" or "Cannot connect"
207
208- Make sure the app was launched with --remote-debugging-port=NNNN
209- If the app was already running, quit and relaunch with the flag
210- Check that the port isn't in use by another process: lsof -i :9222
211
212### App launches but connect fails
213
214- Wait a few seconds after launch before connecting (sleep 3)
215- Some apps take time to initialize their webview
216
217### Elements not appearing in snapshot
218
219- The app may use multiple webviews. Use agent-browser tab to list targets and switch to the right one
220
221### Cannot type in input fields
222
223- Try agent-browser keyboard type "text" to type at the current focus without a selector
224- Some Electron apps use custom input components; use agent-browser keyboard inserttext "text" to bypass key events
225
226## Supported Apps
227
228Any app built on Electron works, including:
229
230- **Communication:** Slack, Discord, Microsoft Teams, Signal, Telegram Desktop
231- **Development:** VS Code, GitHub Desktop, Postman, Insomnia
232- **Design:** Figma, Notion, Obsidian
233- **Media:** Spotify, Tidal
234- **Productivity:** Todoist, Linear, 1Password
235
236If an app is built with Electron, it supports --remote-debugging-port and can be automated with agent-browser.
237
In the file
SKILL.md916 words
Files1
LicenceApache-2.0
Why you can read it

Nothing in a skill executes. The client loads the text and the model follows it, so a skill can be audited the way a runbook is — by reading it.

What it costs in context

Skills are not billed by the call. They are paid for in context: every token the instructions occupy is a token your code, your diff and your conversation cannot use. Here is what this one takes and when it takes it.

≈150
always loaded
The name and description, so the model knows the skill exists and when to reach for it.
1,525
on trigger
The instruction body, read only when the skill fires.
0.84%
of a 200k window
Ten skills this size would take about 8% of the window before you open a file.
050k100k150k200k context window

1.7k tokens, estimated from the bundle at four bytes to the token, held for the rest of the session once it triggers. Middling. Fine to keep on in a project where you use it weekly, worth unloading in one where you never do.

Servers bill, skills cost

A server charges by the month. A skill charges once per session, in context, and then keeps charging it for as long as the session lives.

Before and after

The same question, put to the same model twice: once as it comes, and once with these instructions loaded.

No worked example has been published for this skill yet.

Adoption
Installsnone yet
Ratingno reviews yet

The procedure it runs

The procedure has not been published here. It is in the skill’s own SKILL.md, which its author has not sent to the marketplace yet.

Prose, not code

These steps are written for a model to follow, not executed by a runtime. It can still be told to skip one, and it will say so when it does.

Servers it uses

None. This skill calls no MCP servers at all.

Everything it needs is in the instructions, so it works in a project with nothing connected — the model reads the file and changes how it works with what it can already reach.

It writes no files and reaches no network. All it changes is how the model reasons and writes.

What it asks for
Writes filesno
Network accessno

Read from the allowed-tools line of this skill’s own SKILL.md. A skill grants no permissions of its own — it can only ask for tools your client already has.

What it will not do

Every skill is narrow, and the useful ones say where they stop. These are the jobs this one is the wrong tool for.

What this skill is not for has not been published here. Nothing is implied by that: it is a section the author has not filled in.

What is in the bundle

1 file, 6.7 kB on disk. A bundle is text throughout: the instructions the model reads, plus the templates it fills in.

  • SKILL.md6.7 kB
What is not in it

No dependencies and nothing executable: a skill is text the agent reads, so the bundle is 1 file you can review in full before installing. The Apache-2.0 licence covers the templates and examples as well as the instructions.

Install

Installing copies the bundle into your project. Nothing runs at install time — the files sit on disk until the model reads them.

# Electron App Automation · 1.7k tokens when loaded npx mcprush@latest skill add vercel-labs/electron-app-automation

Writes to .claude/skills/electron-app-automation/ in the current project. Add --global to put it in your home directory instead, for every project.

Which clients pick it up on their own

A skill is a folder of text. A client with a skills folder reads it without being told; everywhere else the same text works, it is just handed to the model rather than found.

Claude Code.claude/skills/
Claude Desktop
ChatGPT
Cursor.cursor/skills/
VS Code.github/skills/
Codex CLI.agents/skills/
Gemini CLI.gemini/skills/
Grok.grok/skills/
Zed.agents/skills/
Windsurf.windsurf/skills/
Agent SDK.claude/skills/
HTTP / API
This release
Versionnot versioned
Publishedno release date on file
PriceFree
Referencevercel-labs/electron-app-automation

Versions

Its author publishes no version number, so there is nothing here to pin to: what you install is the folder as it stands today. Instructions change more often than APIs do — a skill can be rewritten entirely without anything it depends on moving.

v
  • No earlier releases have been published to the marketplace.
Pinning

Nothing to pin to: this skill carries no version number of its own. What you install is what the folder holds on the day you install it.

Reviews

no reviews yet · no installs yet

Nobody has reviewed this skill yet. The rating is the mean of the reviews written here, so there is none until somebody writes the first.

Who can post

Only accounts that have had the skill installed for fourteen days, so a review is written after living with it rather than after reading it. Publishers may reply once.

Publisher
Servers0