| name | opencli |
| description | Use when the user wants to use websites, browser login sessions, Electron apps, or external CLIs through a local OpenCLI setup, especially when setup guidance, readiness checks, and safe task execution are needed. |
OpenCLI
Overview
Use this skill to help the user work through a local opencli installation from inside NextClaw.
This skill is intentionally decoupled:
- The skill owns explanation, onboarding, readiness checks, workflow choice, and risk handling.
opencli owns actual execution.
From the user's point of view, the experience should feel complete:
- install or update
opencli if needed,
- guide the user through browser or app setup,
- verify readiness,
- then run the real task.
Do not pretend the environment is ready when it is not.
What This Skill Covers
- public read-only commands,
- browser tasks that reuse the user's Chrome login session,
- Electron or desktop app adapters that
opencli already supports,
- passthrough to external CLIs through
opencli,
- first-use setup and troubleshooting.
What This Skill Does Not Cover
- inventing commands that do not appear in
opencli list,
- claiming support for a site or app that
opencli does not actually expose,
- silently bypassing missing setup,
- silently triggering destructive or write actions,
- treating third-party runtime behavior as native NextClaw behavior.
First-Use Workflow
When the user asks for an opencli-powered task, follow this order.
1. Classify the task
Classify the task into one of these:
- public read task,
- browser session task,
- desktop app task,
- external CLI passthrough task.
If the task does not fit any supported opencli shape, say so clearly.
2. Check whether opencli exists
Run:
command -v opencli
If missing, explain that opencli must be installed locally first.
Recommended install:
npm install -g @jackwener/opencli
After installation, continue with readiness checks instead of jumping straight into the user task.
3. Run readiness check
Run:
opencli doctor
Use this as the main readiness gate.
If doctor fails, do not proceed to the real task yet. Diagnose the failure first.
4. Apply task-specific prerequisites
For browser session tasks:
- Chrome must be running.
- The user must already be logged into the target website in Chrome.
- The OpenCLI Browser Bridge extension must be installed and enabled.
For desktop app tasks:
- The target app must already be installed.
- The target app should be open before execution when appropriate.
- Do not assume desktop adapters are universally cross-platform; verify command availability first.
For external CLI passthrough tasks:
- Verify the target command exists before assuming passthrough is ready.
- Example:
command -v gh
opencli documentation says some passthrough commands may attempt auto-install of missing CLIs.
- Do not rely on that behavior silently.
- If the underlying CLI is missing, explain it and ask for explicit user confirmation before any install path.
5. Discover supported commands
When support is uncertain, run:
opencli list
Prefer:
opencli list -f yaml
when structured inspection is easier.
Only use commands that can be confirmed from the installed opencli command list.
Safe Execution Rules
- Prefer read-only commands before write commands.
- For writes, posting, deleting, following, publishing, or account-affecting actions, ask for explicit confirmation first.
- If the task is exploratory, start with a lightweight read command or status command before a more invasive action.
- If the user asks for an unsupported site or command, say it is unsupported instead of improvising.
- If
opencli doctor or command output indicates missing login, missing extension, or missing app state, stop and guide the user.
- Do not bury setup details. Explain the missing prerequisite directly.
Browser Setup Guidance
When browser setup is missing, guide the user through this exact idea:
- Install the latest OpenCLI browser extension from the upstream releases page.
- Open
chrome://extensions.
- Turn on Developer mode.
- Load the unpacked extension or the unzipped release bundle.
- Make sure Chrome stays running.
- Log into the target site in Chrome.
- Re-run:
opencli doctor
Do not claim browser commands are safe to run before these checks pass.
Privacy And Trust Guidance
When a user is sensitive to privacy or account risk, explain these points clearly:
opencli reuses the user's existing Chrome login state.
- Its browser bridge communicates through a local daemon on
localhost.
- The extension requests browser permissions such as debugger, tabs, cookies, activeTab, and alarms.
- The skill should surface this clearly before high-trust tasks.
Do not frame this as "no-risk magic". Frame it as a local tool with explicit browser permissions and explicit account reuse.
Recommended Command Patterns
Use patterns like these:
opencli list
opencli doctor
opencli hackernews top --limit 5
opencli reddit search "AI"
opencli youtube transcript "<url>"
opencli bilibili hot --limit 5
opencli gh pr list --limit 5
If the user wants a specific command and you are unsure whether it exists, check opencli list first.
Troubleshooting
opencli not found
- Explain that the local CLI is not installed.
- Guide the user through installation.
- Re-check with
command -v opencli.
doctor reports extension or daemon problems
- Do not continue to the real task.
- Guide the user through extension setup and rerun
opencli doctor.
Browser command returns empty data or unauthorized behavior
- Explain that the most likely cause is missing or expired Chrome login state.
- Ask the user to log into the target site in Chrome and try again.
Desktop command fails
- Confirm the target app is actually supported.
- Confirm the app is open.
- Confirm the command exists in
opencli list.
External CLI passthrough may install another CLI
- Explain that this may modify the local machine.
- Ask for explicit confirmation before proceeding.
Success Criteria
The skill is working correctly when:
- the user understands what
opencli is being used for,
- missing setup is identified before task execution,
- readiness is checked with
opencli doctor,
- the user is guided through any required setup,
- supported commands are confirmed via
opencli list when needed,
- and the final task runs only after the environment is truly ready.