| name | osascript-ui |
| description | Automate native macOS app UIs via System Events Accessibility API. Use when traversing UI element trees, clicking buttons by label, reading text field values, or listing menu bar items. Does NOT work on Electron apps (Slack, VSCode, Chrome). |
osascript-ui
System Events Accessibility API — UI automation for native AppKit apps.
All scripts are Python with JXA embedded.
Critical Limitation
Only native AppKit apps expose full UI trees. Electron apps (Slack, VSCode, Chrome, Notion) only expose window chrome — not page content.
Menu bars work on ALL apps including Electron — menus are always accessible.
Requires: kTCCServiceAccessibility — System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility
What's Accessible
| Element | AX Role | Read via |
|---|
| Button | AXButton | .title() / .description() |
| Text field | AXTextField | .value() |
| Static text | AXStaticText | .value() |
| Checkbox | AXCheckBox | .value() (0/1) |
| Window | AXWindow | .name() |
| Menu bar | AXMenuBar | .menuBarItems() |
Scripts
Dump the accessibility element tree for a named app (depth-limited):
uv run scripts/ui-tree.py "TextEdit"
uv run scripts/ui-tree.py "Finder" --depth 3
List all menu bar items and submenu items for any running app:
uv run scripts/menu-items.py "Safari"
uv run scripts/menu-items.py "Finder" --menu "File"
Click a UI element by role and label in a named app:
uv run scripts/ui-click.py "TextEdit" AXButton "Save"
uv run scripts/ui-click.py "System Preferences" AXCheckBox "Dark Mode"
Reference
