Automate typing

What I mean by automating typing

Automating typing means a bot enters text into a page for you. It clicks into a field, types the value, moves to the next field with Tab or a click, and repeats. The value can be fixed, or it can come from your data, a name from one column, an email from another. That is the difference between typing once and typing a thousand rows without lifting a finger.

Typing is about the data behind it

Pressing keys is the easy part. What makes automated typing worth it is where the text comes from. Pull it from a Google Sheet, an Excel file, or a webhook, and the same form fills with a different row every time. Map each column to a field once, then loop. A name lands in the name field, an order number in the order field, a note in the note field, row after row.

Without data behind it, typing is just a macro that types the same thing. With data, it clears a backlog. So the first question is not how to type, it is where the values live and how each one maps to a field.

Who this is for

This is for anyone who keys the same data into the browser all day. Entering orders, updating records, copying values from a spreadsheet into a web app one field at a time. And for anyone holding a list that has to go into a form, field by field, row by row. No-coders and coders both, since you can build it without code and drop into code when you want.

How I'd approach it

Start with the data. Get your values into a Google Sheet or Excel with one column per field. Then map them, point each typing step at a field and pull its value from the matching column. Run one row and read it back to check every value landed in the right place. Then loop the rest.

Data first, map second, test one, then run. That order keeps it honest. I would lay out the first draft with Build with description.

Automate typing from a description

Describe the fields and where each value comes from in the Chrome extension and it builds the steps for you. Give it a few short lines, check what it made, and run it. Explore no-code.

Automate typing in code

Build with code. If you would rather script it yourself, this is the path. Explore code

import { chromium } from "playwright";

const browser = await chromium.connectOverCDP(
  `wss://cdp-lb.axiom.ai/?token=${process.env.AXIOM_API_KEY}`
);

try {
  const context = browser.contexts()[0];
  const page = context.pages()[0] ?? await context.newPage();

  // Each row would come from your Google Sheet
  const rows = [
    { name: "Ada Lovelace", email: "ada@example.com", note: "VIP" },
    { name: "Alan Turing",  email: "alan@example.com", note: "Follow up" },
  ];

  for (const row of rows) {
    await page.goto("https://example.com/new");

    // Set the value straight into each field
    await page.fill("#name", row.name);
    await page.fill("#email", row.email);

    // Some fields only register text typed key by key
    await page.locator("#note").pressSequentially(row.note, { delay: 20 });

    await page.click("button[type=submit]");
    await page.waitForSelector(".saved");
  }
} finally {
  await browser.close();
}

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Build with a Claude skill

Build no-code or code bots with a skill.

Add the Claude skill and describe the fields and your data. It builds the bot for you, no-code or code, mapping each column to a field and typing every row.

Install the skillLearn more

What can you automate?

Most text fields. A couple of cases worth knowing first.

What I'd watch out for

Typing looks simple until a field refuses the text. Here is what I would watch for.

Fields that ignore set text

Some fields, often React or custom widgets, ignore text that is set in one go and only react to real keystrokes. If a value does not stick, type it key by key, or click the field first so it is focused.

Autocomplete and dropdowns

A field that filters as you type needs a pause, then a click on the option. Typing the full value and moving on often leaves nothing selected. Type, wait for the list, then pick.

Clear before you type

Typing into a field that already holds text appends or jams the values together. Clear the field first, then type the new value.

Tabbing between fields

Moving with Tab is faster than clicking each field, but only if the page tabs in the order you expect. Check the tab order once, or click each field to be safe.