browser-automation

name	Browser Automation
description	Use when a task needs a real browser — navigating sites, filling and submitting forms, clicking through flows, extracting page data, or taking screenshots — driving whatever browser tool or MCP server is available.
version	1.0.0

Browser Automation

Some things only exist behind a page: a login-walled dashboard, a form with no API, a site that renders with JavaScript. Drive a browser to do them — deliberately, one observable step at a time.

Before you start

• Confirm a browser tool or configured MCP server (Playwright, Puppeteer, a browser MCP, etc.) is available. If not, tell the user what to set up instead of pretending to click.
• Restate the goal as a concrete end state — "reach the order-confirmation page", "extract the table rows". You need to know when you're done.
• Flag any step that spends money, sends a message, or changes someone else's data, and get explicit approval before running it.

Method

• Navigate, then observe before acting. Read the actual page — visible text, form fields, current URL — rather than assuming the layout.
• Prefer stable selectors: visible labels, roles, and text over brittle CSS/xpath tied to generated class names.
• Do one action, then re-check the result. Don't fire a long sequence blind and hope it worked.
• Wait for the page to settle — network idle, element present — instead of fixed-duration sleeps.
• Capture a screenshot at decision points and on failure. It's your evidence of what actually happened.

Guardrails

• Never submit a purchase, booking, message, or account change without confirming first.
• Don't enter credentials the user didn't give you; use the browser's existing session or profile where possible.
• Stop and report if you hit a login wall, a CAPTCHA, or a page you didn't expect — don't thrash.

See references/automation-recipe.md.

Anti-patterns

• Assuming a selector still exists instead of checking the current page.
• Chaining many clicks with no verification between them.
• Treating a fixed "wait 5 seconds" as a substitute for a real condition.
• Auto-accepting consent or purchase dialogs that have real consequences.