robocorp•Mar 28, 2025
rpaframework
RPA Framework
=============
REQUEST for user input!
We are looking at improving our keyword usage to cover situations where developer might be
struggling to smoothly write task for a Robot. Describe the situation where your implementation speed slows due to the lack of easier syntax.
Comment HERE _
.. contents:: Table of Contents
:local:
:depth: 1
.. include-docs-readme
Introduction
RPA Framework is a collection of open-source libraries and tools for
Robotic Process Automation (RPA), and it is designed to be used with both
Robot Framework and Python. The goal is to offer well-documented and
actively maintained core libraries for Software Robot Developers.
Learn more about RPA at Robocorp Documentation_.
The project is:
100% Open Source
Sponsored by Robocorp_
Optimized for Robocorp Control Room and Developer Tools
Accepting external contributions
.. _Robot Framework: https://robotframework.org
.. _Robot Framework Foundation: https://robotframework.org/foundation/
.. _Python: https://www.python.org/
.. _Robocorp: https://robocorp.com
.. _Robocorp Documentation: https://robocorp.com/docs-robot-framework
.. _Control Room: https://robocorp.com/docs/control-room
.. _Developer Tools: https://robocorp.com/downloads
.. _Installing Python Packages: https://robocorp.com/docs/setup/installing-python-package-dependencies
Links
^^^^^
Homepage: `_
Documentation: _
PyPI: _
Release notes: _
RSS feed: _
.. image:: https://img.shields.io/github/actions/workflow/status/robocorp/rpaframework/main.yaml?style=for-the-badge
:target: https://github.com/robocorp/rpaframework/actions/workflows/main.yaml
:alt: Status
.. image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/dw/rpaframework?style=for-the-badge
:target: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/rpaframework
:alt: rpaframework
.. image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/l/rpaframework.svg?style=for-the-badge&color=brightgreen
:target: http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.html
:alt: License
Packages
.. image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/rpaframework.svg?label=rpaframework&style=for-the-badge
:target: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/rpaframework
:alt: rpaframework latest version
.. image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/rpaframework-assistant.svg?label=rpaframework-assistant&style=for-the-badge
:target: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/rpaframework-assistant
:alt: rpaframework-assistant latest version
.. image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/rpaframework-aws.svg?label=rpaframework-aws&style=for-the-badge
:target: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/rpaframework-aws
:alt: rpaframework-aws latest version
.. image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/rpaframework-core.svg?label=rpaframework-core&style=for-the-badge
:target: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/rpaframework-core
:alt: rpaframework-core latest version
.. image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/rpaframework-google.svg?label=rpaframework-google&style=for-the-badge&color=blue
:target: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/rpaframework-google
:alt: rpaframework-google latest version
.. image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/rpaframework-hubspot.svg?label=rpaframework-hubspot&style=for-the-badge&color=blue
:target: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/rpaframework-hubspot
:alt: rpaframework-hubspot latest version
.. image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/rpaframework-openai.svg?label=rpaframework-openai&style=for-the-badge&color=blue
:target: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/rpaframework-openai
:alt: rpaframework-openai latest version
.. image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/rpaframework-pdf.svg?label=rpaframework-pdf&style=for-the-badge&color=blue
:target: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/rpaframework-pdf
:alt: rpaframework-pdf latest version
.. image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/rpaframework-recognition.svg?label=rpaframework-recognition&style=for-the-badge&color=blue
:target: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/rpaframework-recognition
:alt: rpaframework-recognition latest version
.. image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/rpaframework-windows.svg?label=rpaframework-windows&style=for-the-badge&color=blue
:target: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/rpaframework-windows
:alt: rpaframework-windows latest version
From the above packages, rpaframework-core and rpaframework-recognition are
support packages, which alone do not contain any libraries.
Libraries
The RPA Framework project currently includes the following libraries:
The x in the PACKAGE column means that library is included in the rpaframework package and for example. x,pdf means that RPA.PDF library is provided in both the rpaframework and rpaframework-pdf packages.
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| LIBRARY NAME | DESCRIPTION | PACKAGE |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Archive_ | Archiving TAR and ZIP files | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Assistant_ | Display information to a user and request input. | assistant |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Browser.Selenium_ | Control browsers and automate the web | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Browser.Playwright_ | Newer way to control browsers | special (more below) |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Calendar_ | For date and time manipulations | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Cloud.AWS_ | Use Amazon AWS services | x,aws |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Cloud.Azure_ | Use Microsoft Azure services | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Cloud.Google_ | Use Google Cloud services | google |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Crypto_ | Common hashing and encryption operations | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Database_ | Interact with databases | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Desktop_ | Cross-platform desktop automation | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Desktop.Clipboard_ | Interact with the system clipboard | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Desktop.OperatingSystem_ | Read OS information and manipulate processes | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| DocumentAI_ | Intelligent Document Processing wrapper | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| DocumentAI.Base64AI_ | Intelligent Document Processing service | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| DocumentAI.Nanonets_ | Intelligent Document Processing service | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Email.Exchange_ | E-Mail operations (Exchange protocol) | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Email.ImapSmtp_ | E-Mail operations (IMAP & SMTP) | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Excel.Application_ | Control the Excel desktop application | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Excel.Files_ | Manipulate Excel files directly | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| FileSystem_ | Read and manipulate files and paths | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| FTP_ | Interact with FTP servers | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| HTTP_ | Interact directly with web APIs | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Hubspot_ | Access HubSpot CRM data objects | hubspot |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Images_ | Manipulate images | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| JavaAccessBridge_ | Control Java applications | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| JSON_ | Manipulate JSON objects | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| MFA_ | Authenticate using one-time passwords (OTP) & OAuth2 | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Notifier_ | Notify messages using different services | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| OpenAI_ | Artificial Intelligence service | openai |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Outlook.Application_ | Control the Outlook desktop application | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| PDF_ | Read and create PDF documents | x,pdf |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Robocorp.Process_ | Use the Robocorp Process API | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Robocorp.WorkItems_ | Use the Robocorp Work Items API | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Robocorp.Vault_ | Use the Robocorp Secrets API | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Robocorp.Storage_ | Use the Robocorp Asset Storage API | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Salesforce_ | Salesforce operations | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| SAP_ | Control SAP GUI desktop client | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Smartsheet_ | Access Smartsheet sheets | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Tables_ | Manipulate, sort, and filter tabular data | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Tasks_ | Control task execution | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Twitter_ | Twitter API interface | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Windows_ | Alternative library for Windows automation | x,windows |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
| Word.Application_ | Control the Word desktop application | x |
+----------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
.. _Archive: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/archive/
.. _Assistant: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/assistant/
.. Browser.Playwright: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/browserplaywright/
.. Browser.Selenium: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/browserselenium/
.. _Calendar: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/calendar/
.. Cloud.AWS: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/cloudaws/
.. Cloud.Azure: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/cloudazure/
.. Cloud.Google: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/cloudgoogle/
.. _Crypto: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/crypto/
.. _Database: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/database/
.. _Desktop: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/desktop/
.. Desktop.Clipboard: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/desktopclipboard/
.. Desktop.Operatingsystem: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/desktopoperatingsystem/
.. _DocumentAI: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/documentai
.. DocumentAI.Base64AI: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/documentaibase64ai/
.. DocumentAI.Nanonets: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/documentainanonets/
.. Email.Exchange: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/emailexchange/
.. Email.ImapSmtp: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/emailimapsmtp/
.. Excel.Application: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/excelapplication/
.. Excel.Files: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/excelfiles/
.. _FileSystem: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/filesystem/
.. _FTP: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/ftp/
.. _HTTP: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/http/
.. _Hubspot: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/hubspot/
.. _Images: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/images/
.. _JavaAccessBridge: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/javaaccessbridge/
.. _JSON: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/json/
.. _MFA: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/mfa/
.. _Notifier: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/notifier/
.. _OpenAI: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/openai/
.. Outlook.Application: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/outlookapplication/
.. _PDF: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/pdf/
.. Robocorp.Process: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/robocorpprocess/
.. Robocorp.WorkItems: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/robocorpworkitems/
.. Robocorp.Vault: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/robocorpvault/
.. Robocorp.Storage: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/robocorpstorage/
.. _Salesforce: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/salesforce/
.. _SAP: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/sap/
.. _Smartsheet: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/smartsheet/
.. _Tables: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/tables/
.. _Tasks: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/tasks/
.. _Twitter: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/twitter/
.. _Windows: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/windows/
.. Word.Application: https://rpaframework.org/libraries/wordapplication/
Installation of RPA.Browser.Playwright
The RPA.Browser.Playwright at the moment requires special installation, because
of the package size and the post install step it needs to be fully installed.
Minimum required conda.yaml to install Playwright:
.. code-block:: yaml
channels:
conda-forge
dependencies:
python=3.10.14
nodejs=22.9.0
pip=24.0
pip:
robotframework-browser==18.8.1
rpaframework==28.6.3
rccPostInstall:
rfbrowser init
Installation
Learn about installing Python packages at Installing Python Packages_.
Default installation method with Robocorp Developer Tools_ using conda.yaml:
.. code-block:: yaml
channels:
conda-forge
dependencies:
python=3.10.14
pip=24.0
pip:
rpaframework==28.6.3
To install all extra packages (including Playwright dependencies), you can use:
.. code-block:: yaml
channels:
conda-forge
dependencies:
python=3.10.14
tesseract=5.4.1
nodejs=22.9.0
pip=24.0
pip:
robotframework-browser==18.8.1
rpaframework==28.6.3
rpaframework-aws==5.3.3
rpaframework-google==9.0.2
rpaframework-recognition==5.2.5
rccPostInstall:
rfbrowser init
Separate installation of AWS, PDF and Windows libraries without the main
rpaframework:
.. code-block:: yaml
channels:
conda-forge
dependencies:
python=3.10.14
pip=24.0
pip:
rpaframework-aws==5.3.3 included in the rpaframework as an extra
rpaframework-pdf==7.3.3 included in the rpaframework by default
rpaframework-windows==7.5.2 included in the rpaframework by default
Installation method with pip using Python venv_:
.. code-block:: shell
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install rpaframework
.. note:: Python 3.8 or higher is required
Example
After installation the libraries can be directly imported inside
Robot Framework_:
.. code:: robotframework
Settings
Library RPA.Browser.Selenium
Tasks
Login as user
Open available browser https://example.com
Input text id:user-name ${USERNAME}
Input text id:password ${PASSWORD}
The libraries are also available inside Python_:
.. code:: python
from RPA.Browser.Selenium import Selenium
lib = Selenium()
lib.openavailablebrowser("https://example.com")
lib.input_text("id:user-name", username)
lib.input_text("id:password", password)
Support and contact
rpaframework.org _ for library documentation
Robocorp Documentation_ for guides and tutorials
#rpaframework channel in Robot Framework Slack_ if you
have open questions or want to contribute
Communicate with your fellow Software Robot Developers and Robocorp experts
at Robocorp Developers Slack_
.. _Robot Framework Slack: https://robotframework-slack-invite.herokuapp.com/
.. _Robocorp Developers Slack: https://robocorp-developers.slack.com
Contributing
Found a bug? Missing a critical feature? Interested in contributing?
Head over to the Contribution guide _
to see where to get started.
Development
Repository development is Python_ based and requires at minimum
Python version 3.8+ installed on the development machine. The default Python version used in the
Robocorp Robot template is 3.10.14 so it is a good choice for the version to install. Not recommended
versions are 3.7.6 and 3.8.1, because they have issues with some of the dependencies related to rpaframework.
At the time the newer Python versions starting from 3.12 are also not recommended, because some of
the dependencies might cause issues.
Repository development tooling is based on poetry and invoke. Poetry is the
underlying tool used for compiling, building and running the package. Invoke is used
for scripting purposes, for example for linting, testing and publishing tasks.
Before writing any code, please read and acknowledge our extensive Dev Guide_.
.. _Dev Guide: https://github.com/robocorp/rpaframework/blob/master/docs/source/contributing/development.md
First steps to start developing:
initial poetry configuration
.. code:: shell
poetry config virtualenvs.path null
poetry config virtualenvs.in-project true
poetry config repositories.devpi "https://devpi.robocorp.cloud/ci/test"
git clone the repository
#. create a new Git branch or switch to correct branch or stay in master branch
some branch naming conventions feature/name-of-feature, hotfix/name-of-the-issue, release/number-of-release
#. poetry install which install package with its dependencies into the .venv directory of the package, for example packages/main/.venv
#. if testing against Robocorp Robot which is using devdata/env.json
set environment variables
or poetry build and use resulting .whl file (in the dist/ directory) in the Robot conda.yaml
or poetry build and push resulting .whl file (in the dist/ directory) into a repository and use raw url
to include it in the Robot conda.yaml
another possibility for Robocorp internal development is to use Robocorp devpi instance, by poetry publish --ci
and point conda.yaml to use rpaframework version in devpi
#. poetry run python -m robot
common ROBOT_ARGS from Robocorp Robot template: --report NONE --outputdir output --logtitle "Task log"
#. poetry run python
#. invoke lint to make sure that code formatting is according to rpaframework repository guidelines.
It is possible and likely that Github action will fail the if developer has not linted the code changes. Code
formatting is based on black and flake8 and those are run with the invoke lint.
#. the library documentation can be created in the repository root (so called "meta" package level). The documentation is
built by the docgen tools using the locally installed version of the project, local changes for the main package
will be reflected each time you generate the docs, but if you want to see local changes for optional packages, you must
utilize invoke install-local --package using the appropriate package name (e.g., rpaframework-aws). This
will reinstall that package as a local editable version instead of from PyPI. Multiple such packages can be added by
repeating the use of the --package option. In order to reset this, use invoke install --reset.
poetry update and/or invoke install-local --package
make docs
open docs/build/html/index.html with the browser to view the changes or execute make local and navigate to
localhost:8000 to view docs as a live local webpage.
.. code-block:: toml
Before
[tool.poetry.dependencies]
python = "^3.8"
rpaframework = { path = "packages/main", extras = ["cv", "playwright", "aws"] }
rpaframework-google = "^4.0.0"
rpaframework-windows = "^4.0.0"
After
[tool.poetry.dependencies]
python = "^3.8"
rpaframework = { path = "packages/main", extras = ["cv", "playwright"] }
rpaframework-aws = { path = "packages/aws" }
rpaframework-google = "^4.0.0"
rpaframework-windows = "^4.0.0"
#. invoke test (this will run both Python unittests and robotframework tests defined in the packages tests/ directory)
to run specific Python test: poetry run pytest path/to/test.py::test_function
to run specific Robotframework test: inv testrobot -r -t
#. git commit changes
#. git push changes to remote
#. create pull request from the branch describing changes included in the description
#. update docs/source/releasenotes.rst with changes (commit and push)
Packaging and publishing are done after changes have been merged into master branch.
All the following steps should be done within master branch.
#. git pull latest changes into master branch
#. in the package directory containing changes execute invoke lint and invoke test
#. update pyproject.toml with new version according to semantic versioning
#. update docs/source/releasenotes.rst with changes
#. in the repository root (so called "meta" package level) run command poetry update
#. git commit changed poetry.lock files (on meta and target package level), releasenotes.rst
and pyproject.toml with message "PACKAGE. version x.y.z"
#. git push
#. invoke publish after Github action on master branch is all green
Some recommended tools for development
Visual Studio Code_ as a code editor with following extensions:
Sema4.ai_
Robot Framework Language Server_
GitLens_
Python extension_
GitHub Desktop_ will make version management less prone to errors
.. _poetry: https://python-poetry.org
.. _invoke: https://www.pyinvoke.org
.. _Visual Studio Code: https://code.visualstudio.com
.. _GitHub Desktop: https://desktop.github.com
.. _Sema4.ai: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=sema4ai.sema4ai
.. _Robot Framework Language Server: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=robocorp.robotframework-lsp
.. _GitLens: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=eamodio.gitlens
.. _Python extension: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-python.python
.. _black: https://pypi.org/project/black/
.. _flake8: https://pypi.org/project/flake8/
.. _venv: https://docs.python.org/3/library/venv.html
License
This project is open-source and licensed under the terms of the
Apache License 2.0 `_.
