tauri-webdriver

Open-source macOS WebDriver for Tauri apps.

Enables automated end-to-end testing of Tauri desktop applications on macOS, where no native WKWebView WebDriver exists.

The Problem

Tauri apps use WKWebView on macOS. Unlike Linux (WebKitWebDriver) and Windows (Edge WebDriver), Apple does not provide a WebDriver implementation for WKWebView. This means Tauri developers cannot run automated e2e tests on macOS using standard WebDriver tools like WebDriverIO or Selenium.

This is a blocker for any Tauri app with platform-specific code (e.g., deep links, native menus, file associations) that must be tested on every platform.

The Solution

tauri-webdriver provides two crates that together bridge the gap:

1. tauri-plugin-webdriver-automation -- A Tauri plugin that runs inside your app (debug builds only). It starts a local HTTP server that can interact with your app's webview: find elements, click buttons, read text, manage windows, and execute JavaScript.

2. tauri-webdriver-automation (CLI binary: tauri-wd) -- A standalone CLI binary that implements the W3C WebDriver protocol. It launches your Tauri app, connects to the plugin's HTTP server, and translates standard WebDriver commands into plugin API calls. WebDriverIO, Selenium, or any W3C-compatible client can connect to it.

WebDriverIO/Selenium                 tauri-wd CLI                Your Tauri App
  (test runner)        ──HTTP──>    (W3C WebDriver)   ──HTTP──>  (plugin server)
                        :4444                                     :{dynamic port}

Who Is This For?

• Tauri app developers who need automated e2e tests on macOS
• CI/CD pipelines that run tests across macOS, Linux, and Windows
• Anyone with platform-specific Tauri code that must be verified on macOS (deep links, native APIs, system integrations)

Quick Start

1. Add the plugin to your Tauri app

cd src-tauri
cargo add tauri-plugin-webdriver-automation

Register it in your app (debug builds only):

let mut builder = tauri::Builder::default();
#[cfg(debug_assertions)]
{
    builder = builder.plugin(tauri_plugin_webdriver_automation::init());
}

2. Install the CLI

cargo install tauri-webdriver-automation

3. Configure WebDriverIO

// wdio.conf.mjs
export const config = {
    port: 4444,
    capabilities: [{
        'tauri:options': {
            binary: './src-tauri/target/debug/my-app',
        }
    }],
    // ... your test config
};

4. Run tests

# Terminal 1: Start the WebDriver server
tauri-wd --port 4444

# Terminal 2: Run your tests
npx wdio run wdio.conf.mjs

Supported W3C WebDriver Operations

All operations follow the W3C WebDriver specification. See the full technical specification for detailed request/response formats and plugin API documentation.

Sessions

Navigation

Windows

Elements

Shadow DOM

Frames

Script Execution

Screenshots

Cookies

Actions

MCP Integration

tauri-webdriver works with mcp-tauri-automation to enable AI-driven automation of Tauri apps via the Model Context Protocol. This lets AI agents (like Claude Code) launch, inspect, interact with, and screenshot your Tauri app.

# 1. Start tauri-wd
tauri-wd --port 4444

# 2. Configure mcp-tauri-automation in your MCP client
# The MCP server connects to tauri-wd on port 4444
# and exposes tools like launch_app, click_element, capture_screenshot, etc.

Note: This project recommends the danielraffel/mcp-tauri-automation fork which includes additional tools (execute_script, get_page_title, get_page_url, multi-strategy selectors, configurable screenshot timeouts, wait_for_navigation). PRs have been submitted upstream to Radek44/mcp-tauri-automation.

Architecture

See the full technical specification (SPEC.md) for:

• Plugin HTTP API (all endpoints, request/response formats)
• CLI W3C WebDriver endpoint mapping
• JavaScript bridge internals (element identity, shadow DOM cache, frame context)
• Session creation flow
• Element state management
• Error handling

License

MIT OR Apache-2.0 (dual-licensed, same as Tauri)