Development tool for the Microsoft Bot Framework. Allows developers to test and debug bots on localhost.
Bot Framework Emulator is a development tool designed for testing and debugging chatbots built with the Microsoft Bot Framework SDK. It enables developers to simulate conversations locally, ensuring bots function as intended before deployment.
Key Features:
Local Testing & Debugging: Test bot functionality directly on localhost to identify and resolve issues.
Multiple Channel Simulation: Supports testing across various communication channels like webchat, Teams, Skype, and more.
Real-Time Logs & Insights: Provides detailed logs for troubleshooting and understanding user interactions.
Integration with Development Tools: Seamlessly integrates with popular IDEs and debugging tools for a cohesive development experience.
Audience & Benefit:
Ideal for developers building conversational AI applications to refine bot behavior, enhance user experiences, and ensure seamless interaction across platforms. It simplifies the iterative testing process, allowing developers to iterate quickly and deliver high-quality bots.
Bot Framework Emulator can be installed via winget, making it easy to integrate into your development workflow.
README
ARCHIVE NOTICE:
Bot Framework Emulator being retired in favor of Agents Playground
We are in the process of archiving the Bot Framework Emulator repository on GitHub. This means that this project will no longer be updated or maintained. Customers using this tool will not be disrupted. However, the tool will no longer be supported through service tickets in the Azure portal and will not receive product updates.
We plan to archive this project no later than end of December of 2025.
The Bot Framework Emulator is a desktop application that allows bot developers to test and debug bots built using the Bot Framework SDK. You can use the Bot Framework Emulator to test bots running either locally on your machine or connect to bots running remotely through a tunnel.
Bot Framework Emulator is being replaced with Agents Playground, this tool is available standalone, or via the Agents Toolkit.
The Bot Framework Emulator is a desktop application that allows bot developers to test and debug bots built using the Bot Framework SDK. You can use the Bot Framework Emulator to test bots running either locally on your machine or connect to bots running remotely through a tunnel.
This repo is part the Microsoft Bot Framework - a comprehensive framework for building enterprise-grade conversational AI experiences.
Nightly builds are generated using the latest code. Therefore, they may not be stable, and most likely lack up to date documentation. These builds are better suited for more experienced users, although everyone is welcome to use them and provide feedback. Nightly builds of the V4 Emulator are available here.
Contributing
This project welcomes contributions and suggestions. Most contributions require you to agree to a
Contributor License Agreement (CLA) declaring that you have the right to, and actually do, grant us
the rights to use your contribution. For details, visit https://cla.microsoft.com.
When you submit a pull request, a CLA-bot will automatically determine whether you need to provide
a CLA and decorate the PR appropriately (e.g., label, comment). Simply follow the instructions
provided by the bot. You will only need to do this once across all repos using our CLA.
Security issues and bugs should be reported privately, via email, to the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) at secure@microsoft.com. You should receive a response within 24 hours. If for some reason you do not, please follow up via email to ensure we received your original message. Further information, including the MSRC PGP key, can be found in the Security TechCenter.
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
