Is WinAppDriver dead?

[dquist]

I am getting the strong impression that this project is getting abandoned by Microsoft.

There are hundreds of open issues with no feedback, and the little triaging that takes place generally seems to consist of the issue being closed without resolution, or a suggestion that a community workaround be added to the wiki.

The last pre-release was over 5 months ago with no release activity since then and no roadmap as to what we should expect.

Is Microsoft still investing in this project or should we look at other tools? It used to be that @yodurr and @timotiusmargo were very active with WinAppDriver, but their GitHub activity have gone almost completely inactive. @hassanuz, the program manager, hasn't had any GitHub activity since November January!

What's going on with this project? If Microsoft wants us to take this tool seriously then there needs to be some sort of roadmap or communication with developers. But there's only radio silence.

[Druzle]

Is there anyway of using the selenium page object factory model with Winapp Driver. Ive been struggling for some time to get a pom working ?

[amittal004]

@Druzle I have implemented POM with Winapp driver, let me know if you need help

[ashkaps]

There are some talks about WinApp driver on MS tech community blog but does not look like any promising roadmap is coming along anytime soon.

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/testingspot-blog/winappdriver-and-desktop-ui-test-automation/ba-p/1124543

[ashkaps]

Is there a slack channel where active user of Winapp Driver contribute and share findings / best practices?

[roizentner]

Is there a slack channel where active user of Winapp Driver contribute and share findings / best practices?

This is actually a great idea! Since I couldn't find such, I've create a Slack workspace: https://join.slack.com/t/winappdriverworkspace/shared_invite/zt-fxj4sp93-YJeiSrKXuEeB8v7tT7~Www

[DLightstone]

As ideas go creating one more WinAppDriver correspondence space is pretty silly.

Without the source code for WinAppDriver at best it will degenerate into a menu of workarounds for the bugs of WinAppDriver.

At worst it will be a clone of the GitHub correspondence space. A lot of how do I accomplish task X, with no response

[Wolfe1]

No news but a pull request was merged 4 days ago by @hassanuz ....which just seems to be some support and security readme pages sadly.

[dquist]

That update was made by @DHowett who's a very active developer on WindowsTerminal.

Dustin, could shed some light onto the status of this project? 🙏🙏🙏

[kat-y]

Hi all! I'm joining Microsoft as a new PM on the WinUI team, working on investigating new controls and WinAppDriver. WinAppDriver is very much alive and I'm excited to be working with @DHowett to bring improvements to it!

I'd like to hear what you want to see in WinAppDriver - free to @ or DM me on twitter or file an issue!

[roizentner]

@kat-y great news and welcome! I also invite you to join our Slack workspace (see my previous comment), where some of the more active people have been keeping the conversation going... [Invitation link]

[RoakyWood]

Kat,

Thank Khufu you’re here! We’ve anxiously awaited your arrival!

On Sep 24, 2020, at 10:02 PM, Kat notifications@github.com wrote:



Hi all! I'm joining Microsoft as a new PM on the WinUIhttps://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2FMicrosoft%2Fmicrosoft-ui-xaml&data=02%7C01%7C%7C67f9f23700d441bdc90808d860f70a24%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637365961420067803&sdata=sWN9HKtYxqswsc5YxeFIhmsoEdyuR9nu7SIm8I83gXE%3D&reserved=0 team, working on investigating new controls and WinAppDriver. WinAppDriver is very much alive and I'm excited to be working with @DHowetthttps://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2FDHowett&data=02%7C01%7C%7C67f9f23700d441bdc90808d860f70a24%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637365961420087794&sdata=Nsr2LMXRaTL%2BMBAeih4chKe9RhBojBZZ8JD54q9zg1c%3D&reserved=0 to bring improvements to it!

I'd like to hear what you want to see in WinAppDriver - free to @ or DM me on twitterhttps://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fkat_y_tweets&data=02%7C01%7C%7C67f9f23700d441bdc90808d860f70a24%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637365961420097788&sdata=LVX9QUE%2BHxVj1cjr2pUvpm%2FFh%2BZdSP%2B8KMNi3yhXAm0%3D&reserved=0 or file an issuehttps://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fmicrosoft%2FWinAppDriver%2Fissues%2Fnew&data=02%7C01%7C%7C67f9f23700d441bdc90808d860f70a24%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637365961420117789&sdata=Ky%2FqAjts4Pj4TvMvJLman6Vr9hU8y6NUHyJQNtwY4H0%3D&reserved=0!

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[dquist]

Hey Kat, glad to finally get some kind of signal from Microsoft.

I'd like to hear what you want to see in WinAppDriver

Rebuilt trust, for starters. I think a lot of us here invested heavily in WinAppDriver because it was hailed as the next great UI testing tool, and then suddenly activity slowed and it was just radio silence for over a year while issues piled up. How are we to put any trust in this project if its going to be at risk of sudden abandonment again?

Specifically, some kind of product roadmap as to planned features as well as what commitment MS is going to put towards this project. Dustin has done superb work on Windows Terminal, but I'm skeptical that a single PM and lone developer can give this project the kind of attention it needs to be taken seriously.

[Wolfe1]

Hey @kat-y @DHowett

Really glad to see some work being done on this project. I would definitely say start going through the pull requests for some quick wins at least in documentation and example tests. The issues tab needs cleaned up which will be a lot of manual work but in terms of bugs and wanted features a lot of it is out there already.

I think the biggest thing the community wants is for the driver to actually go open source. We want to be able to support the driver while it has Microsoft's interest but have the confidence that we can continue the project if it is left in the dust again.

[pradeipp]

I agree with @dquist, a roadmap up front would help set expectations as well as maybe recommend tweaks depending on the severity of pending issues. Really glad that Microsoft has put some people behind this framework. Way to go team WinAppDriver!

[peterainbow]

Hi all! I'm joining Microsoft as a new PM on the WinUI team, working on investigating new controls and WinAppDriver. WinAppDriver is very much alive and I'm excited to be working with @DHowett to bring improvements to it!

I'd like to hear what you want to see in WinAppDriver - free to @ or DM me on twitter or file an issue!

how about making it open source as with the .net core stuff, even if it had parts that were proprietary, it would make it much easier for us to fix things like the awful performance and difficulties with findings things when they might be children of a app or children of the desktop

[ashkaps]

Really great to hear @kat-y and @DHowett . Much awaited. Agree with @Wolfe1 . There should be numerous issues for enhancements and fixes already logged, although it would be a time consuming effort to sink all of them in. We have really excited people here who are willing to help and contribute. The weight is on making WAD completely opensource where community can own and contribute. What is the stance of MS team?

[DHowett]

Our stance is that we definitely want to do what we can regarding open-source, but that we have a number of dependencies on private components right now that will be troublesome to disentangle. :smile:

[ghost]

Very happy to see that Microsoft has not abandoned the testing community, and would agree with everyone else, open source is the foremost need here to make it a tool we can adopt into our testing toolset with confidence, knowing that it's maintenance is no longer dependent on the whim of the latest MS execs. While there are many core issues that are probably higher priority, I also wish the UI recorder would get some love. With selenium, the browsers offer top notch tooling for exploring the DOM, and experimenting with XPath or CSS Selectors... it'd be nice to have something equally useful for Windows desktop.

[RoakyWood]

I think the benefit for Microsoft is that if Microsoft maintains a good WinApp Recorder and Driver your customers will support and recommend Visual Studio and Azure etc. If not, I wish them luck.

Most of us are senior people with advanced degrees and influence at large corporations, schools and governments, who sit close to the throne and make recommendations on which big $$$ stack to support.

When you have an 18 month ghosting it makes us look very stupid after we made recommendations - but we hung in there with Microsoft, so please don’t let us down.

RoakyWood

On Sep 26, 2020, at 7:08 PM, Steve notifications@github.com wrote:



Very happy to see that Microsoft has not abandoned the testing community, and would agree with everyone else, open source is the foremost need here to make it a tool we can adopt into our testing toolset with confidence, knowing that it's maintenance is no longer dependent on the whim of the latest MS execs. While there are many core issues that are probably higher priority, I also wish the UI recorder would get some love. With selenium, the browsers offer top notch tooling for exploring the DOM, and experimenting with XPath or CSS Selectors... it'd be nice to have something equally useful for Windows desktop.

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[andrisi]

https://cuketest.gitbooks.io/leanrunner-user-guide-en/content/ - this is a somewhat strange but similar tool from that looks like an advanced Win App Driver, various language integrations... perhaps worth haveing a look, for the Microsoft team too, for motivation. It has the equivalent of Accessability Insight with a way to cache components so it shall be faster, which is a problem with WAD.

[ptrthomas]

self-promo here ! considering the recent announcement that WAD development is paused. this is a plug for an open-source tool called "Karate Robot".

this install guide can get you up and running in a few minutes to evaluate: https://github.com/intuit/karate/wiki/Karate-Robot-Windows-Install-Guide

[DHowett]

That announcement is the opposite of “WinAppDriver is paused.”

[ptrthomas]

@DHowett my bad, thanks for clarifying. I have linked to it in my comment 👍

EDIT many months later: NARRATOR: It was paused

[onolox]

https://cuketest.gitbooks.io/leanrunner-user-guide-en/content/ - this is a somewhat strange but similar tool from that looks like an advanced Win App Driver, various language integrations... perhaps worth haveing a look, for the Microsoft team too, for motivation. It has the equivalent of Accessability Insight with a way to cache components so it shall be faster, which is a problem with WAD.

I will never trust chinese closed source app on windows.

[jorialand]

Still wondering if WinAppDriver is dead in 2024... 👎

And concerned about how can be the MS's reference tool for testing Windows Apps deprecated/abandoned! 😮

[RoakyWood]

Playwright works on WinApps. Apparently it is the new improved Microsoft CodedUI that works on both Web and Applications.

Anyone correct me if I’m wrong.

On Jun 17, 2024, at 10:17 AM, Horia Ghionoiu Martínez @.***> wrote:



Still wondering if WinAppDriver is dead in 2024... 👎

And concerned about how can be the MS's reference tool for testing Windows Apps deprecated/abandoned! 😮

— Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHubhttps://github.com/microsoft/WinAppDriver/issues/1103#issuecomment-2173546930, or unsubscribehttps://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AMGA7LO3WDBLEOP5GSWCR5DZH3VWXAVCNFSM6AAAAABJODKAP6VHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZDCNZTGU2DMOJTGA. You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: @.***>

[DLightstone]

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/test/use-ui-automation-to-test-your-code?view=vs-2022It is intended for web applications -------- Original message --------From: Roaky Wood @.> Date: 6/17/24 10:30 AM (GMT-05:00) To: microsoft/WinAppDriver @.> Cc: DLightstone @.>, Mention @.> Subject: Re: [microsoft/WinAppDriver] Is WinAppDriver dead? (#1103) Playwright works on WinApps. Apparently it is the new improved Microsoft CodedUI that works on both Web and Applications.

Anyone correct me if I’m wrong.

On Jun 17, 2024, at 10:17 AM, Horia Ghionoiu Martínez @.***> wrote:



Still wondering if WinAppDriver is dead in 2024... 👎

And concerned about how can be the MS's reference tool for testing Windows Apps deprecated/abandoned! 😮

—

Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHubhttps://github.com/microsoft/WinAppDriver/issues/1103#issuecomment-2173546930, or unsubscribehttps://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AMGA7LO3WDBLEOP5GSWCR5DZH3VWXAVCNFSM6AAAAABJODKAP6VHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZDCNZTGU2DMOJTGA.

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[RoakyWood]

You seem to be correct.

They claim that Appium can be used in conjunction with what’s left of Winapp Driver.

Also FlaUI seems to be currently maintained.

Maybe they want to force us to pay big bucks for proprietary testing tools.

WinApp Driver was nice too bad they let it get dry rot.

From: DLightstone @.> Sent: Monday, June 17, 2024 11:21 AM To: microsoft/WinAppDriver @.> Cc: Roaky Wood @.>; Comment @.> Subject: Re: [microsoft/WinAppDriver] Is WinAppDriver dead? (#1103)

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/test/use-ui-automation-to-test-your-code?view=vs-2022It is intended for web applications -------- Original message --------From: Roaky Wood @.<mailto:@.>> Date: 6/17/24 10:30 AM (GMT-05:00) To: microsoft/WinAppDriver @.<mailto:@.>> Cc: DLightstone @.<mailto:@.>>, Mention @.<mailto:@.>> Subject: Re: [microsoft/WinAppDriver] Is WinAppDriver dead? (#1103) Playwright works on WinApps. Apparently it is the new improved Microsoft CodedUI that works on both Web and Applications.

Anyone correct me if I’m wrong.

On Jun 17, 2024, at 10:17 AM, Horia Ghionoiu Martínez @.<mailto:@.>> wrote:



Still wondering if WinAppDriver is dead in 2024... 👎

And concerned about how can be the MS's reference tool for testing Windows Apps deprecated/abandoned! 😮

—

Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHubhttps://github.com/microsoft/WinAppDriver/issues/1103#issuecomment-2173546930, or unsubscribehttps://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AMGA7LO3WDBLEOP5GSWCR5DZH3VWXAVCNFSM6AAAAABJODKAP6VHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZDCNZTGU2DMOJTGA.

You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: @.<mailto:@.>>

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[DLightstone]

My opinion is that it was created as a moat in an effort to prevent the web test folks from encroaching -------- Original message --------From: Roaky Wood @.> Date: 6/17/24 11:36 AM (GMT-05:00) To: microsoft/WinAppDriver @.> Cc: DLightstone @.>, Mention @.> Subject: Re: [microsoft/WinAppDriver] Is WinAppDriver dead? (#1103) You seem to be correct.

They claim that Appium can be used in conjunction with what’s left of Winapp Driver.

Also FlaUI seems to be currently maintained.

Maybe they want to force us to pay big bucks for proprietary testing tools.

WinApp Driver was nice too bad they let it get dry rot.

From: DLightstone @.***>

Sent: Monday, June 17, 2024 11:21 AM

To: microsoft/WinAppDriver @.***>

Cc: Roaky Wood @.>; Comment @.>

Subject: Re: [microsoft/WinAppDriver] Is WinAppDriver dead? (#1103)

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/test/use-ui-automation-to-test-your-code?view=vs-2022It is intended for web applications

-------- Original message --------From: Roaky Wood @.<mailto:@.>> Date: 6/17/24 10:30 AM (GMT-05:00) To: microsoft/WinAppDriver @.<mailto:@.>> Cc: DLightstone @.<mailto:@.>>, Mention @.<mailto:@.>> Subject: Re: [microsoft/WinAppDriver] Is WinAppDriver dead? (#1103)

Playwright works on WinApps. Apparently it is the new improved Microsoft CodedUI that works on both Web and Applications.

Anyone correct me if I’m wrong.

On Jun 17, 2024, at 10:17 AM, Horia Ghionoiu Martínez @.<mailto:@.>> wrote:



Still wondering if WinAppDriver is dead in 2024... 👎

And concerned about how can be the MS's reference tool for testing Windows Apps deprecated/abandoned! 😮

—

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You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: @.<mailto:@.>>

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