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Run npx skillmds@latest add tanishqkancharla/external-electron-apps in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

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Is External Electron Apps free to use?

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Who published External Electron Apps?

tanishqkancharla (@tanishqkancharla) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

External Electron Apps by tanishqkancharla

Name: External Electron Apps
Author: tanishqkancharla

External Electron Apps

Automate user-installed Electron desktop apps (Slack, Discord, VS Code, Notion, Figma, Spotify, etc.) via CDP using this repo's `.bin/playwright` CLI. Use when the task is to control a local desktop app on the user's machine, not this repo's own Electron app. Triggers: "desktop Slack app", "connect to Electron app", "remote-debugging-port", "CDP desktop app", "automate VS Code desktop app".

File contents

External Electron App Automation

Use this skill for external Electron desktop apps running on the user's machine. Do not default to this for this repository's own Electron app unless the user explicitly asks.

Core workflow

Quit the app if it is already running.
Relaunch the app with --remote-debugging-port=<port>.
Connect with .bin/playwright connect http://127.0.0.1:<port> --session <session>.
Verify targets with .bin/playwright list --session <session>.
Run interactions with .bin/playwright exec "<code>" --session <session>.
Capture evidence with .bin/playwright snapshot --session <session>.

Launch examples

macOS

open -a "Slack" --args --remote-debugging-port=9222
open -a "Visual Studio Code" --args --remote-debugging-port=9223
open -a "Discord" --args --remote-debugging-port=9224

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

Session pattern

Use one session per app:

.bin/playwright connect http://127.0.0.1:9222 --session slack-desktop
.bin/playwright list --session slack-desktop
.bin/playwright exec "return await page.title()" --session slack-desktop
.bin/playwright snapshot --session slack-desktop

Interaction examples

.bin/playwright exec "await page.locator('button:has-text(\"Search\")').click()" --session slack-desktop
.bin/playwright exec "await page.keyboard.type('incident-123')" --session slack-desktop
.bin/playwright exec "await page.keyboard.press('Enter')" --session slack-desktop

When selectors are unstable, inspect first:

.bin/playwright snapshot --session slack-desktop
.bin/playwright exec "return await page.content()" --session slack-desktop

Troubleshooting

If connection fails, make sure the app was launched with --remote-debugging-port and relaunch it.
Prefer 127.0.0.1 over localhost in CDP URLs.
If no pages are listed right after launch, wait 2-5 seconds and retry list.
If a session is stale, run connect again with the same --session.

Use .bin/playwright close --session <session> only when you want to close that controlled browser/app session.

---name: external-electron-appsdescription: Automate user-installed Electron desktop apps (Slack, Discord, VS Code, Notion, Figma, Spotify, etc.) via CDP using this repo's `.bin/playwright` CLI. Use when the task is to control a local desktop app on the user's machine, not this repo's own Electron app. Triggers: "desktop Slack app", "connect to Electron app", "remote-debugging-port", "CDP desktop app", "automate VS Code desktop app".---# External Electron App AutomationUse this skill for external Electron desktop apps running on the user's machine.Do not default to this for this repository's own Electron app unless the user explicitly asks.## Core workflow1. Quit the app if it is already running.2. Relaunch the app with `--remote-debugging-port=<port>`.3. Connect with `.bin/playwright connect http://127.0.0.1:<port> --session <session>`.4. Verify targets with `.bin/playwright list --session <session>`.5. Run interactions with `.bin/playwright exec "<code>" --session <session>`.6. Capture evidence with `.bin/playwright snapshot --session <session>`.## Launch examples### macOS```bashopen -a "Slack" --args --remote-debugging-port=9222open -a "Visual Studio Code" --args --remote-debugging-port=9223open -a "Discord" --args --remote-debugging-port=9224```### Linux```bashslack --remote-debugging-port=9222code --remote-debugging-port=9223discord --remote-debugging-port=9224```### Windows```bash"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```## Session patternUse one session per app:```bash.bin/playwright connect http://127.0.0.1:9222 --session slack-desktop.bin/playwright list --session slack-desktop.bin/playwright exec "return await page.title()" --session slack-desktop.bin/playwright snapshot --session slack-desktop```## Interaction examples```bash.bin/playwright exec "await page.locator('button:has-text(\"Search\")').click()" --session slack-desktop.bin/playwright exec "await page.keyboard.type('incident-123')" --session slack-desktop.bin/playwright exec "await page.keyboard.press('Enter')" --session slack-desktop```When selectors are unstable, inspect first:```bash.bin/playwright snapshot --session slack-desktop.bin/playwright exec "return await page.content()" --session slack-desktop```## Troubleshooting- If connection fails, make sure the app was launched with `--remote-debugging-port` and relaunch it.- Prefer `127.0.0.1` over `localhost` in CDP URLs.- If no pages are listed right after launch, wait 2-5 seconds and retry `list`.- If a session is stale, run `connect` again with the same `--session`.Use `.bin/playwright close --session <session>` only when you want to close that controlled browser/app session.

Frequently asked questions