Autotab
Dev tools
browser automation
SHOW HN2023
How HN took it
11 positive, 33 neutral or asking, 0 mixed, 10 critical, out of 54 comments about the project. Thread score +0.02.
Idea: 5 for, 3 againstExecution: 0 for, 5 againstPrivacy: 1 for, 1 againstDesign: 1 for, 1 againstDocs: 1 for, 0 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Useful for automating repetitive browser tasks
From 2 comments
This is amazing!! I've found myself writing selenium scripts to automate tasks for my dad's job (things such as getting a name from a spreadsheet, putting that name in a…
pedrolins on HNCongrats on the launch! This definitely seems useful for some stuff I've been doing, like filling out a CRM spreadsheet with the right user data.
dbmikus on HN
Good use of the sidepanel API and polished demo
From 1 comment
This is a great use of the sidepanel API. Really like the idea and how you implemented it. The Firefox equivalent to that API isn’t identical to Chrome’s, and I believe that…
jsf01 on HN
Objections
Requires logging into Google to use
From 2 comments
> This will launch a Chrome session controlled by Selenium and then log you in to Google Why is logging into Google a requirement?
btbuildem on HNwhy does it require logging into google to use?
Tokumei-no-hito on HN
Only supports macOS at launch
From 1 comment
macOS only? Wanted to try this on Windows
boromi on HN
Sending page inputs to an LLM raises privacy concerns
From 2 comments
How comfortable should I feel about having this record the input of potentially sensitive information if it's going to send those inputs off to an LLM? One way I can see around…
matt3D on HNHopefully you're still monitoring this page: Do the HTML contents of the page get sent to your server for processing? What guarantees are there over privacy? One of the uses I…
mthoms on HN
Requests
Support for Playwright output
From 1 comment
I'd love if it could output Playwright code as well. I haven't tried it but if this works well it's a great concept!
derac on HN
Firefox or Safari support
From 1 comment
This is amazing. I will try to have it automate my system of agents web app in a meaningful way (turtles all the way down.) Shameless plug:…
jondwillis on HN
Support for two-factor authentication logins
From 1 comment
Hey, it looks very neat. I was wondering if Autotab currently supports logging into websites that require 2FA. (Your readme mentions Google only.)
dr_kiszonka on HN
Questions
How does it avoid AI hallucinating selectors?
From 1 comment
Selenium project creator here... Very cool! I totally expect testing to be one of the killer apps for AI. And this is an easy way to get there. How do you ensure the AI isn't…
hugs on HN
How is it different from Chrome Recorder, UI.Vision, or Playwright codegen?
From 3 comments
How is this different from the "Recorder" feature available in Chrome (Dev Tools > Recorder)? It can record a user-journey and print out a puppeteer script.
typosaur on HNWhat distinguishes this from UI.Vision's (https://ui.vision/) session recorder?
xnx on HNHow is this different from Playwright? There, You can record your steps and get a python script?
shantnutiwari on HN
Alternatives named
Chrome DevTools Recorder
From 1 comment
How is this different from the "Recorder" feature available in Chrome (Dev Tools > Recorder)? It can record a user-journey and print out a puppeteer script.
typosaur on HN
Playwright code generator
From 1 comment
Related: https://playwright.dev/ has a built-in code generator. In *my opinion*, it's also more pleasant to work with than Selenium.
pid-1 on HN
UI.Vision
From 1 comment
What distinguishes this from UI.Vision's (https://ui.vision/) session recorder?
xnx on HN
Katalon Recorder
From 1 comment
Nice work! What are some differences between this project and Katalon Recorder? Katalon Recorder is also a chrome extension, allows recording of actions, and export to Python.
clay09 on HN
Helium
From 1 comment
I don't get why people still use XPaths, CSS selectors or HTML IDs to identify elements, even when they are "recorded". Please please please just use my…
mherrmann on HN