ui

name	ui
description	Automate a running Tinker plugin window with tinker ui (snapshot/click/fill). Prefer this over agent-browser when a plugin has no MCP tools. Use when the user asks to click, fill, or snapshot a plugin UI, or when MCP tools are unavailable.
allowed-tools	Bash(tinker:*)

Tinker UI automation

Drive a running plugin window with the same protocol as playwright-cli: aria snapshots, ephemeral eN refs, click/fill/… — no agent-browser install.

The plugin must already be open (tinker open <plugin>). The first tinker ui call auto-starts per-plugin CDP inspect if needed.

Prefer tinker call when the plugin is tagged [mcp]. Prefer debug (open --inspect + agent-browser) only for raw CDP / DevTools. Full decision table: mcp skill → When MCP is not available.

The UI loop

tinker open <plugin>
tinker ui <plugin> snapshot --inline
# pick a ref (eN) from the snapshot
tinker ui <plugin> click e12
tinker ui <plugin> fill e5 "hello"
tinker ui <plugin> snapshot --inline   # refs invalidate after DOM changes

Prefer snapshot --inline so the agent reads YAML from stdout. After any DOM change, snapshot again before reusing refs.

Snapshot / find

tinker ui <plugin> snapshot --inline
tinker ui <plugin> snapshot                 # auto-save under the plugin UI temp dir
tinker ui <plugin> snapshot --depth=4
tinker ui <plugin> snapshot e34             # subtree at a ref
tinker ui <plugin> snapshot "#main"
tinker ui <plugin> snapshot --boxes
tinker ui <plugin> find "Save"
tinker ui <plugin> find --regex "/sign (in|up)/i"

File outputs (snapshot --filename, screenshot --filename) must stay under the plugin UI temp root (e.g. $TMPDIR/tinker-<plugin>/ on macOS). Paths outside that directory are rejected.

Targeting

Prefer refs from the latest snapshot. CSS or Playwright locators also work:

tinker ui <plugin> click "#main > button.submit"
tinker ui <plugin> click "getByRole('button', { name: 'Submit' })"

Core actions

tinker ui <plugin> click <ref>
tinker ui <plugin> dblclick <ref>
tinker ui <plugin> fill <ref> <text>           # prefer this to change a field
tinker ui <plugin> fill <ref> <text> --submit
tinker ui <plugin> type <text>                 # focused element only
tinker ui <plugin> press <key>
tinker ui <plugin> hover <ref>
tinker ui <plugin> select <ref> <value>
tinker ui <plugin> check <ref>
tinker ui <plugin> uncheck <ref>
tinker ui <plugin> screenshot [--full-page] [--hires]
tinker ui <plugin> screenshot e5
tinker ui <plugin> eval "document.title"
tinker ui <plugin> eval "el => el.textContent" e5
tinker ui <plugin> video-start /abs/path/out.webm
tinker ui <plugin> video-stop

fill vs type: use fill <ref> … for a specific input; use type only when focus is already correct.

video-start records the plugin window and overlays a mouse pointer that follows click/hover. Pass --cursor=none to record without the pointer.

Less common: drag, drop, upload, dialog-accept / dialog-dismiss, keydown / keyup, mousemove / mousewheel, reload, resize, highlight, generate-locator, run-code.

Debug helpers

tinker ui <plugin> console
tinker ui <plugin> requests
tinker ui <plugin> request 5

Unknown actions print the full supported set. Flags: --flag, --flag=value, or --flag value.

tinker ui occupies the plugin inspect WebSocket; agent-browser on the same plugin will disconnect it (and vice versa). Confirm the plugin id with tinker list --short / tinker list <plugin> first.

Troubleshooting

Plugin is not running — tinker open <plugin> first.

Ref not found / locator timeout — Snapshot again; use a fresh ref.

File access denied / outside allowed roots — Write under the plugin UI temp dir ($TMPDIR/tinker-<plugin>/), or omit --filename.

CDP / connect errors — Close and reopen the plugin, retry tinker ui. Don't attach agent-browser to the same plugin while ui is in use.