rf-platynui

PlatynUI Library Skill (new_core / BareMetal)

Quick Reference

PlatynUI is cross-platform native desktop UI automation for Robot Framework. It normalizes Windows UIA, Linux AT-SPI2 (and planned macOS AX) into one desktop UI model that you query with XPath-2.0-style selectors.

⚠️ Preview / pre-release. This skill targets the new_core rewrite. The only usable keyword library today is PlatynUI.BareMetal; the high-level PlatynUI library is a not-yet-implemented placeholder. Keywords, CLI output, and behavior may change.

Installation

Get the version with the right pin — this is the #1 mistake:

# ✅ new_core (PlatynUI.BareMetal, documented keywords) — pin OR use --pre:
pip install robotframework-PlatynUI==0.12.0.dev330
pip install --pre robotframework-PlatynUI          # latest pre-release

# ❌ WRONG — installs old 0.9.2 (a different library, NO BareMetal):
pip install robotframework-PlatynUI                # no --pre, no pin → 0.9.2

• A plain pip install robotframework-PlatynUI resolves the old stable 0.9.2, whose surface is a different, near-undocumented PlatynUI library with no BareMetal. You only get new_core by opting into the pre-release (--pre) or pinning an exact dev version.
• The wheel is prebuilt — it bundles the compiled platynui-native runtime (_native.abi3.so). No Rust toolchain and no git checkout required. Python 3.12+ only.
• Optional CLI / inspector tools (for locator development — see below):

  uv tool install --prerelease allow platynui-cli
  uv tool install --prerelease allow platynui-inspector
  

• Linux additionally needs a running AT-SPI2 accessibility bus and (recommended) an X11 session — see references/platform-setup.md.

Library Import

*** Settings ***
Library    PlatynUI.BareMetal

Import arguments (all keyword-only, all optional):

Argument	Default	Purpose
auto_activate	True	Bring the target element's window to the foreground before pointer/keyboard actions. Override per-call with activate=.
use_mock	False	Use the Rust mock provider (deterministic, no desktop). Note: the published wheel is built without mock support and raises ProviderError; needs a --features mock-provider source build.
keyboard_profile / pointer_profile / pointer_settings	None	Tune input timing/motion realism. Accept a native object or a plain &{dict} (e.g. press_delay_ms, acceleration_profile, motion).