One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that automatically generates addressing queries for objects rendered on a graphical user interface (GUI). During operation, the system receives a request for GUI object-addressing query for an application to be tested. The system first identifies the application context, and retrieves a rule document describing GUI object-addressing query rules according to the identified application context. Next, the system parses the rule document to generate an applicable query rule set for the application. Based on the applicable query rule set, the system generates a set of query candidates and determines a unique query for each GUI object.