xa11y

Crates.io PyPI CI License: MIT Docs

A Playwright-style library for driving native desktop apps on macOS, Windows, and Linux. Built for end-to-end tests, computer-use agents, and assistive tools.

Use cases: end-to-end desktop testing, computer-use agents, MCP tools, assistive technology.

Documentation | Rust API | Python API

Quick Example

import xa11y

safari = xa11y.App.by_name("Safari")

# Find elements with CSS-like selectors via locator
for button in safari.locator("button").elements():
    print(button.name)

# Interact with elements via locator (re-resolves every call)
safari.locator("button[name='Submit']").press()

safari.locator("text_field[name^='Search']").set_value("hello world")

Installation

pip install xa11y

Requires Python 3.9+. Pre-built wheels available for Linux, macOS, and Windows.

macOS: Grant your terminal two permissions in System Settings > Privacy & Security:

  1. Accessibility — required for all accessibility API access.
  2. Screen & System Audio Recording (macOS 26+) — required to read window content. Without this, only menu bars are visible.

Restart your terminal after changing permissions.

Linux: AT-SPI2 must be running (default on GNOME/most DEs). No special permissions needed.

Windows: No special permissions needed.

Selector Syntax

Query accessibility trees with CSS-like selectors:

Pattern Meaning
button Elements with role Button
button[name='OK'] Button named exactly "OK"
textfield[name^='Search'] Text field whose name starts with "Search"
textfield[name*='email'] Text field whose name contains "email"
group > button Buttons that are direct children of a group
window button Buttons anywhere inside a window
button:nth(2) The 2nd button match

Supported Actions

Action Description
press Click / activate
focus / blur Move or remove keyboard focus
toggle Toggle a checkbox or switch
expand / collapse Expand or collapse a disclosure
select Select an item
set_value Set a text field's value
type_text Type text into an element
increment / decrement Adjust a slider or stepper
show_menu Open a context menu

Platform Support

Platform Backend
macOS AXUIElement
Linux AT-SPI2 (D-Bus)
Windows UI Automation

Contributing

git clone https://github.com/xa11y/xa11y && cd xa11y
cargo build --workspace
cargo xtask check   # fmt, lint, test, python bindings

See the development docs for architecture and setup.

License

MIT. All dependencies are permissively licensed (MIT, Apache-2.0, BSD, or similar), enforced via cargo-deny.

Project links

Data verified by PyPI on Jul 25, 2026
Data provided by the project maintainers, verified at the time the release was uploaded to PyPI.

Key dates

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  • Released:
Newer release available (0.14.0)

1 maintainer

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Avatar for crowecawcaw from gravatar.com crowecawcaw

GitHub Statistics

Data verified by PyPI on Jul 25, 2026
The GitHub source repository was provided by the project maintainers and verified by PyPI at the time of upload. Stars, forks, and open issues/PRs are derived from that repository and have not been independently verified.

License expression

MIT
View SPDX License List

Requires

Python >=3.9

Tags

accessibility a11y automation screen-reader

Classifiers

Report project as malware

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