uipilot 0.6.0

App-agnostic engine that models a web UI as a graph and compiles flows into Playwright-MCP-executable scripts for agents.

uipilot

App-agnostic engine that models a web UI as a graph and compiles flows into Playwright-MCP-executable scripts for agents.

An agent driving a web UI live pays, per element: snapshot → reason about intent → find the ref → act. uipilot turns that into a lookup. You describe your app's elements, actions, and flows once as structured YAML (a pack); the engine queries that graph and emits a step-by-step Playwright-MCP script with selectors pre-resolved and page snapshots inserted only where the DOM actually changes.

The engine ships no domain vocabulary — no "login", "cart", "tenant". It knows only generic concepts (app, element, action, flow, step, param, capture, capability). Everything project-specific lives in a pack, so porting to a new web app means authoring a new pack, not touching the engine.

The engine executes nothing. Every command emits structured data; the agent owns the browser and runs it. That keeps uipilot safe to point at money-moving flows.

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Install & set up in your project

uv tool install uipilot          # install the CLI globally
cd your-project
uipilot init                     # scaffold a pack + agent instructions here

uipilot init writes a minimal, valid pack skeleton under .uipilot/ (.uipilot/flowmap.config.yaml, .uipilot/data/, .uipilot/capabilities.py) plus a Claude Code skill (.claude/skills/uipilot/SKILL.md) by default. To also write an AGENTS.md section, opt in with --agent agents (the --agent option is repeatable, e.g. uipilot init --agent claude --agent agents). Then just ask your agent to run a flow: it explores the app, fills the pack, and drives it for you. Re-running init refreshes the skill but never clobbers a pack you've started (use --force to overwrite).

Upgrading

After upgrading the CLI, refresh the scaffolded agent instructions in each project — packs are never touched:

uv tool upgrade uipilot
cd your-project
uipilot update                   # refreshes SKILL.md / AGENTS.md block in place

Scaffolded files carry a version stamp, so update reports exactly what moved (e.g. SKILL.md (v0.4.0 → v0.5.0)) and reminds you to re-run validate if the pack was scaffolded by an older version.

Because init scaffolds a .uipilot/ pack in the cwd, every later uipilot … call finds it with no --pack flag (resolution order: $UIPILOT_PACK → a .uipilot/ pack in the cwd → the bundled examples/demo pack).

From source

uv sync                                    # creates .venv, installs from uv.lock
uv run uipilot --pack examples/demo apps

Built with the uv_build backend; dependencies are locked in uv.lock.

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The 60-second tour

# what apps/flows exist?
uipilot --pack examples/demo --format table apps
uipilot --pack examples/demo flows

# compile a flow into an executable Playwright-MCP script
uipilot --pack examples/demo script --flow create_project_with_credential

# find a route through the UI graph
uipilot --pack examples/demo path --from act_cs_view_dashboard --to act_cs_create_credential

# what breaks if I edit this button? (change blast radius)
uipilot --pack examples/demo uses cs_btn_create_project_submit

# is the map self-consistent? (CI gate)
uipilot --pack examples/demo validate

# does the map still match the running app? (read-only live probe)
uipilot --pack examples/demo verify --flow create_project_with_credential

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Pack layout

.uipilot/                     # the pack dir (scaffolded by `uipilot init`)
├── flowmap.config.yaml       # binds apps, tokens, risk taxonomy, capabilities
├── .env                      # (optional, git-ignored) env-bound token/base_url defaults
├── capabilities.py           # (optional) named auth adapters the engine calls by key
└── data/
    ├── <app>.app.yaml        # one per app: app header + elements + actions
    └── flows.yaml            # named multi-app flows (+ shared/API actions)

Environment via .uipilot/.env. Tokens declared { from: env, name: X } and each app's base_url { env: X } resolve X from the process environment, falling back to a KEY=value line in an optional .uipilot/.env — so a project can keep base URLs and login credentials (e.g. APP_EMAIL / APP_PASSWORD wired to tokens a sign-in flow's steps consume) on disk without exporting shell vars. A real shell variable of the same name wins over the file; .env is git-ignored, so real secrets never land in version control.

• Element — a node with a structured selector (default css/testid; XPath via a css xpath=… string; role/label/text available but text-based anchors are opt-in) and a purpose. Never a raw locator string, so it re-emits to a Playwright-MCP element description or a @playwright/test locator.
• Action — the graph proper. A UI action carries a route, an ordered steps recipe, prev/next edges, params, and captures. The route may template {{param}}/{{token}} refs (e.g. /clients/{{client_id}}) so URL-addressable detail pages are reached by navigation, not row-clicking. An API action (transport: api) binds to an existing test-framework factory via call: for fast provisioning or backend cross-checks — it has no prev/next and is excluded from pathfinding.
• Flow — an ordered path of action ids. Entries can be a bare id, a subflow (use:), or an aliased repeat ({action, as, params}). Reuse is layered L1–L4 (shared actions → subflows → aliased invocations → guards).
• Capture — a value one action produces (from: url|element|response|…) that later steps consume as {{captured.x}} / {{alias.x}}, bridging UI and API transports unchanged.

See examples/demo/ for a complete two-app pack exercising every feature.

Docs: src/uipilot/templates/skill.md — the agent guide, shipped and installed by uipilot init; the single source of truth for the core loop, execution contract, safety, and the full pack authoring schema (config, app/element/action/flow field reference, selector conversion, step ops) · docs/USE_CASES.md — business use cases at a glance.

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Commands

Command	Purpose
apps	List apps, base URLs, auth entry flows
actions	List/filter actions (--app --risk --grep --section --transport)
elements	List/filter elements + resolved selectors
show action <id> / show element <id>	Full detail, selectors resolved inline
uses <id>	Reverse index — change blast radius before you edit
flows / flow <name> [--params]	List / show named flows (--params: aggregated param manifest only)
path --from <a> --to <b>	BFS a route through the flow graph
script …	Emit an executable Playwright-MCP script (see below)
validate	Lint the model statically (CI gate)
verify …	Emit a read-only probe to detect live UI drift
emit --format pw-pom|pw-test	Generate Python POM classes / a pw-test spec
capabilities [--check]	List (and import-check) the pack's auth adapters
init [dir] [--agent claude|agents] [--force]	Scaffold a pack + Claude skill (add --agent agents for AGENTS.md)
update [dir] [--agent claude|agents]	Refresh scaffolded agent instructions to the installed version (pack untouched)
import-md <file> --out <dir>	One-time: seed a pack from a retired Markdown map

script

uipilot script (--flow <name> | --from <a> --to <b> | --actions a,b,c)
               [--params file.json] [--set key=value ...]
               [--skip-auth] [--batch] [--refuse-destructive]
               [--format playwright-mcp|steps|json|pw-test|human]

• --format human emits a plain-English preview (numbered steps, params, risk, teardown) for a person to review before an agent runs a risky flow.

• Param resolution: --set > --params > model defaults. Defaults expand pack tokens ({{prefix}}, {{seq}}). Unresolved required params are emitted as {{placeholder}} and listed under params_required.

• Secrets (type: secret) never appear in the header echo — only in the one step that consumes them.

• --refuse-destructive refuses to emit if any action on the path carries a risk in the pack's risk.gated set. The header always surfaces risk_max.

• --batch collapses consecutive form fills into one browser_fill_form.

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validate vs verify

• validate (offline, CI-gating) — internal consistency only: dangling refs, broken edges, undeclared params, capture collisions, unreachable nodes, unbound API calls, coverage bypass. Answers "is the map self-consistent?"
• verify (live) — emits a read-only probe (navigate + snapshot + assert-each-element-resolves; no mutating clicks) the agent runs against the app. Answers "does the map still match the running UI?" --drive walks a full flow but refuses risk.gated steps unless --allow-gated.

Lint codes: E_DANGLING_ELEMENT, E_BROKEN_EDGE, E_SELECTOR_AMBIGUOUS, E_PARAM_UNDECLARED, E_SUBFLOW_CYCLE, E_CAPTURE_COLLISION, E_API_CALL_UNBOUND, W_NO_STEPS, W_UNREACHABLE, W_NO_CAPTURE, W_DUPLICATE_RECIPE, W_UI_COVERAGE_BYPASS, W_UNMET_REQUIRES.

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Development

uv sync          # installs the project + the dev dependency group
uv run pytest -q

Architecture

The package is split into four layers under src/uipilot/, with dependencies pointing strictly inward (presentation → application → {domain, infrastructure} → domain):

domain/          pure model + business rules (no I/O, no frameworks)
  model            entities: App, Element, Action, Flow, Step, Param, Capture, Selector, Pack
  templating       RuntimeContext + {{token}} resolution
  flows            subflow expansion (single source of truth)
  graph            BFS pathfinding + reachability
  validation       the static linter (E_/W_ codes)
  compiler         flow → CompiledScript
  verification     read-only drift-probe builder
  usage            reverse index
infrastructure/  I/O and external concerns
  pack_loader      YAML → domain model
  capabilities     dynamic import of pack auth adapters
  markdown_importer  one-shot MD → seed YAML
application/     use-case orchestration
  service          open_pack + compile/validate/verify/route/uses/… wiring
presentation/    the CLI and output renderers
  cli              Typer entrypoint (talks only to application)
  renderers        json / playwright-mcp / steps / pw-test / pw-pom

The domain layer imports nothing outside the standard library, so the business rules are testable with no YAML, filesystem, or CLI in the loop.

License

MIT.