UIA Inspector: Build AutoHotkey v2 UI Automation Code Without AI
Hover over any button in any Windows program, press F1, and UIA Inspector shows you everything UI Automation knows about it.
Then it writes the AutoHotkey v2 code, lets you test it live, and copies it to your clipboard. No AI, no API key, nothing leaves your PC.
❓ Which UIA inspector do I need?
We get this question a lot. These are two separate tools. Neither one replaces the other, and most people only need one.
- UIA Inspector (this page, no AI): you build the code step by step with anchors, a uniqueness check, Guide Mode, and live tracking. Works fully offline.
- UIA Tree Inspector (AI-assisted): grab an element and let AI (Claude, GPT, Gemini and more) write the code for you. Needs your own OpenRouter API key for the AI part.
Like doing it yourself and knowing exactly what every line does? Stay here. Want AI to do the heavy lifting? Grab the other one. 😊
🚀 NEW UIA Library & Inspector Tool – 3x Smaller, 10x Better!
Updated on 2026/04/29 (UIA Version: 2.1.0, UIA Browser Version: 1.1.0)
Hover, Press F1, Test, Copy
Have you ever spent an hour guessing at control names, class names, and magic strings? I sure have.
The old loop was “guess, run, crash, tweak, run, crash.” Here’s the new one:
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Hover | Move the mouse over any button, edit box, menu, or list item, in any app. |
| 2. Capture | Press F1. A green box lights up the element and all four info panels fill in. |
| 3. Add Step | Pick an action (Click, SetValue, Toggle, etc.), click Add element, and one line of code appears. |
| 4. Test & Copy | Hit Test to run it against the live app. Hit Copy to paste it into your script. |
Features Inspect.exe Doesn’t Have
Microsoft’s Inspect.exe shows you properties and stops there. UIA Inspector is built for the person who has to actually write the script.
- Anchor Variables: five buttons called “OK”? Name the parent panel once and every search scopes to it. Rename the anchor and every step using it updates.
- Path Uniqueness Indicator: green means your selector hits exactly one element. Red means it’s ambiguous. You know before you add the step.
- Double-Click to Fire Patterns: every action the control supports (Invoke, Toggle, Value, ExpandCollapse, Select, Scroll) shows up as a leaf. Double-click it and it fires on the live app.
- Live Tracking (F2): the inspector follows your mouse and re-inspects 10 times a second. Great for hover-only popups.
- Guide Mode: a blue box highlights the next thing to click. First-timers don’t get lost.
- Deep Scan vs Fast Scan: fast by default, or flip a checkbox to see every element in the raw tree.
- Admin Apps: press F1 on Task Manager or Registry Editor and it offers to relaunch elevated. The title bar turns red so you know which mode you’re in.
Works With Win32, WPF, Electron, Chrome and More
Win32, .NET, WPF, WinUI, Electron, Chrome, Edge, Office, Teams, Slack, and even that accounting program from the ’90s. If Windows UI Automation can see it, UIA Inspector can automate it.
Chromium browsers hide their accessibility tree by default. UIA Inspector wakes it up the first time you capture, so you don’t have to think about it.
What the Generated AutoHotkey v2 Code Looks Like
Clean, readable code. The kind you’d write by hand if you already knew every AutomationId in the app:
#Include lib\UIA.ahk
winEl := UIA.ElementFromHandle("Settings ahk_exe SystemSettings.exe")
settingsPanel := winEl.FindFirst({AutomationId: "SystemSettings_Display_Brightness"})
settingsPanel.FindFirst({Type: "Slider"}).SetValue(50)
Sleep 50
settingsPanel.FindFirst({Type: "Button", Name: "Apply"}).Invoke()
No pixel coordinates. No Send macros that break when someone resizes a window. Just UI Automation calls against stable properties, the kind of script that still works six months later.
Who Uses It
- RPA developers tired of brittle screen-scraping tools.
- QA testers who need UI test scripts they can maintain.
- Data-entry teams moving information between apps that don’t talk to each other.
- Accessibility engineers checking that controls expose the right UIA properties.
- AutoHotkey hobbyists who want to automate their desktop without reading 400 pages of UIA spec.
You don’t need to understand UI Automation internals. You point, it writes the code, you automate. ⚡
What’s in the Download
- UIA Inspector v2.5.0: both the .ahk source and a compiled .exe (no dependencies).
- Four-panel window: Window Info, Properties, Anchor Points, Patterns.
- Full UIA tree view with filter, deep/fast scan, and keyboard navigation.
- Scintilla-powered, syntax-highlighted script editor with undo.
- Configurable hotkeys in a built-in Preferences window.
- Guide Mode, Mouse Tips, and a pop-up hotkey cheat sheet.
- An illustrated User Guide (HTML + PDF).
The bottom line
Every hour spent guessing at control names is an hour you could have spent automating. UIA Inspector turns that hour into four keystrokes: F1, Add, Test, Copy.
Backed by our 100% moneyback guarantee.
Rather have AI write the code? Check out UIA Tree Inspector (AI-assisted).
