# microsoft/BotFramework-Emulator

A desktop application that allows users to locally test and debug chat bots built with the Bot Framework SDK.

Repository: https://github.com/microsoft/BotFramework-Emulator
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/botframework-emulator
Homepage: https://aka.ms/botemulator
Language: TypeScript
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: microsoft-bot-framework, bot-framework-emulator, electron, typescript, react, redux, bot-builder, bot, sdk
Archived: true
Last push: 2025-07-17T16:55:26+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 10/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 32, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3582, "days_push": 412, "days_rel": 701, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 1}
- flags: archived
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1898, forks 768 (observed 2026-08-28T04:05:51.156821+00:00)

## What it is
A cross-platform desktop application (built with Electron, TypeScript, and React) for locally testing and debugging chat bots built with the Microsoft Bot Framework SDK. It can connect to bots running locally or remotely through a tunnel.

## Use cases
- test a bot framework bot locally before deploying
- debug chatbot conversations on my machine
- inspect bot messages and activities during development
- connect to a remote bot through a tunnel for testing
- simulate user conversations with a bot framework sdk bot

## When to choose
- you are developing bots with the Bot Framework SDK and need a local debugging tool
- you need a desktop GUI to inspect bot conversations and activities
- you are on an older Bot Framework project and cannot migrate yet

## When to avoid
- you are starting a new bot or agent project - use Agents Playground or the Agents Toolkit instead
- you need a tool that will receive ongoing support and updates
- you are building bots outside the Microsoft Bot Framework ecosystem

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: abandoned
- function: chatbot, developer-tools, testing, gui
- domain: chatbots, developer-tools, artificial-intelligence, cross-platform
- platform: windows
- tags: bot-framework, bot-emulator, debugging, electron-app, retired, agents-playground, macos, linux, desktop, electron

## Member repositories
- microsoft/BotFramework-Emulator (main) score 10

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:51.156821+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T03:12:46.734671+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/microsoft/BotFramework-Emulator (fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:51.156821+00:00, sha aaf1fc77143b)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.