---
id: "21510477-f8be-41d0-97ec-fb6eec78d165"
name: "Star Element Discovery"
micro_summary: "Locates Gmail star controls by aria-label and requires scrolling them into view before measuring click coordinates."
status: "resolved"
see_also: []
scope: "How to find star buttons in Gmail. They use aria-label=\"Not starred\" / \"Starred\". Always at x≈370. Y varies by thread position. Requires scrollIntoView before getBoundingClientRect for off-screen rows."
warnings: "Always call scrollIntoView() before getBoundingClientRect(). Negative Y means off-screen above viewport — clicking there will miss."
---
## Selector

Star buttons are `<span class="aXw T-KT" aria-label="Not starred">` (or `aria-label="Starred"` after clicking).

Find them:
```javascript
document.querySelectorAll("*").filter(el => el.getAttribute("aria-label") === "Not starred")
```

## Position Pattern

- X is always ~370 (left column, star column)
- Y varies by thread position in the inbox
- After starring, the element's aria-label changes to "Starred" and it disappears from the "Not starred" query

## Key Detail

Use `getBoundingClientRect()` AFTER `scrollIntoView()`. Negative Y from `getBoundingClientRect()` means the element is above the viewport — scroll it into view first.

```python
js('document.querySelector(\'[aria-label="Not starred"]\').scrollIntoView({block: "center"})')
time.sleep(0.3)  # wait for scroll
# now getBoundingClientRect gives viewport-relative coords
```