Microsoft Bot Framework Emulator

The desktop application lets developers run and troubleshoot bots created with the Bot Framework SDK. It can connect to a bot that is executing locally on the developer’s machine or to a remote instance accessed through a tunnel, providing a unified interface for inspecting messages, state, and activity logs.

It is targeted at software engineers building conversational AI solutions who need a way to validate bot behavior before deployment. The tool runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, with Linux requiring the libsecret library for credential handling. Documentation, issue tracking, and community support are available through the project’s GitHub repository and associated wiki.

The emulator is in an archival state and will cease receiving updates after December 2025, with Microsoft recommending the newer Agents Playground as its replacement. Existing installations remain functional but will no longer be supported through Azure service tickets.