Creating an Electron app for web automation without complex setup

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1

I want to develop an Electron application that automates web tasks using user input through a graphical interface. After exploring options, it appears that Phantom or Selenium with Chromedriver might be suitable choices. However, I aim to ensure that users can easily download and use the app without needing any additional configurations, as it seems that both Chromedriver and Phantom require modifying the system PATH. Is there a way to bypass this requirement, or is there a more effective method to achieve my goal? Any insights would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

2

For a hassle-free user setup, consider using Puppeteer with Electron. Puppeteer comes bundled with Chromium, eliminating the need for separate WebDriver installations.

Here's a basic setup:

const { app, BrowserWindow } = require('electron');
const puppeteer = require('puppeteer-core');

let mainWindow;

app.on('ready', async () => {
  mainWindow = new BrowserWindow({ width: 800, height: 600 });
  // Launch Puppeteer with the Electron app executable
  const browser = await puppeteer.launch({
    executablePath: app.getPath('exe'),
    headless: false,
  });
  const page = await browser.newPage();
  // Your automation script here
});

This way, users won't need extra steps for setup. Puppeteer handles the browser automatically.