heb-grocery

name

heb-grocery

description

H-E-B grocery automation — catalog management, cart building, order history scraping, and delivery ordering using verified product data and Playwright scripts. Use when user says "grocery order", "H-E-B cart", "add to cart", "grocery list", "buy again", "weekly order", "remove from cart", "cart total", "what do we need from HEB", "build the cart", "grocery run", or wants to manage H-E-B delivery orders.

H-E-B Grocery Automation Skill

This skill enables the agent to manage H-E-B grocery delivery orders end-to-end: maintaining a verified product catalog, building/modifying carts via Playwright browser automation, tracking order history, and handling {{PARENT_1}}'s specific quantity preferences and household rules.

Critical Rules — Read These First

1. Every item MUST have the full H-E-B product name — never use generic names like "milk" or "bread." Always use the exact name from H-E-B (e.g., "H-E-B Reduced Fat 2% Milk, 1 gal"). Generic names cause wrong items to be added.

2. Cart management is BIDIRECTIONAL SYNC — when {{PARENT_1}} says he doesn't need an item this week, REMOVE it from the cart. Don't just skip adding it. The cart is a living document — add what's needed, remove what's not.

3. H-E-B 2-step remove process: Click the removeItemButton on the item → then confirm via the itemConfirmRemove button. Skipping the confirmation leaves the item in the cart.

4. Always check data/scripts/ first before exploring the H-E-B DOM manually. The Playwright scripts contain tested selectors and flows. Exploring the DOM from scratch wastes tokens and risks using stale selectors.

5. Produce items trigger ripeness dialogs — when adding fruits/vegetables (bananas, avocados, limes, etc.), clicking "Add to cart" opens a ripeness selection dialog. The scripts handle this automatically by selecting "No preference."

6. Items can be temporarily unavailable — always check availability. If an item is out of stock, suggest substitutes from past orders (the catalog tracks alternatives).

7. {{PARENT_1}} NEVER shops in-store — delivery only via H-E-B app/website. Credit card is on file under {{PARENT_2}}'s account. Delivery address: {{HOME_ADDRESS}}.

8. Past orders are the source of truth — only add items that have been verified from H-E-B order history. Never add an item that hasn't been confirmed as a real H-E-B product with a valid product ID.

9. Frequency tracking drives weekly orders — weekly items (42) go in every order, biweekly items (23) every other week, monthly items (3) once a month, as-needed items (18) only when {{PARENT_1}} specifically requests them.

10. Rejected items — DO NOT REORDER:

    • La Banderita Keto Flour Tortillas — "disgusting, not edible"
    • Mission Super Soft Flour Tortillas — "disgusting, not edible"
    • If {{PARENT_1}} rejects an item, add it to this list and never suggest it again.

---

Data Architecture

Grocery Catalog — data/grocery/items.json

The catalog is the single source of truth for all H-E-B products. As of April 2026, it contains 86 verified items scraped from actual H-E-B order history and the Buy It Again page.

Schema version: 1.0.0

{
  "schema_version": "1.0.0",
  "last_updated": "ISO-8601 timestamp",
  "source": "HEB order history + Buy It Again",
  "store_default": "HEB",
  "items": [
    {
      "id": "465325",
      "name": "H-E-B Bakery Flour Tortillas",
      "full_name": "H-E-B Bakery Flour Tortillas, 20 ct",
      "store": "HEB",
      "product_id": "465325",
      "url": "https://www.heb.com/product-detail/h-e-b-bakery-flour-tortillas/465325",
      "category": "bakery",
      "price": "5.12",
      "frequency": "weekly"
       
       
       
       
    
  

Field definitions:

Field	Type	Description
id	string	H-E-B product ID (same as product_id)
name	string	Short product name
full_name	string	Full H-E-B product name with size/count — this is the canonical name used for matching
store	string	Always "HEB"
product_id	string	H-E-B's internal product ID from the URL
url	string	Direct product page URL: https://www.heb.com/product-detail/{slug}/{product_id}
category	string	Product category (see breakdown below)
price	string	Last known price
frequency	string	weekly | biweekly | monthly | as-needed
order_history	string[]	Array of ISO dates when ordered
last_ordered	string	Most recent order date
verified	boolean	Whether this item was confirmed from real H-E-B data
notes	string	Special notes (substitution preferences, {{PARENT_1}}'s comments)

Catalog breakdown by frequency:

Frequency	Count	Description
weekly	42	Core staples — included in every order
biweekly	23	Every-other-week items
as-needed	18	Only when {{PARENT_1}} requests
monthly	3	Once-a-month restocks

Catalog breakdown by category:

Category	Count
produce	20
dairy	17
bakery	8
household	8
frozen	7
meat	7
pantry	6
snacks	5
beverages	4
supplements	2
pharmacy	1
personal_care	1

Add-Item Workflow

When {{PARENT_1}} wants to add a new item to the catalog:

1. Search H-E-B website for the product (use heb-search-product.js)
2. Show {{PARENT_1}} the top 3 results with full names, sizes, and prices
3. {{PARENT_1}} confirms which one (or says none are right)
4. Persist the confirmed item to data/grocery/items.json with:
   - Full H-E-B product name (from the search result)
   - Product ID (from the URL)
   - URL, price, category
   - Frequency (ask {{PARENT_1}})
   - verified: true
5. The item is now available for future cart builds

Never add an item to the catalog without {{PARENT_1}}'s explicit confirmation.

---

Playwright Scripts — data/scripts/

All scripts are designed for Playwright MCP's browser_run_code tool. They must be loaded via the filename parameter or their function body pasted directly.

Prerequisite: Must be signed in to heb.com ({{PARENT_2}}'s account) with an active session. The delivery address ({{HOME_ADDRESS}}) must be set.

heb-add-to-cart.js

Add a single product by product ID or URL. Handles produce ripeness dialogs automatically.

Input:  { productId: "318627" } or { productUrl: "https://..." }
Output: { success: boolean, cartCount: number, cartTotal: string, error?: string }

Key behaviors:

• Navigates directly to the product page
• Clicks the "Add to cart" button (data-testid="add-to-cart-button")
• Detects and handles ripeness dialogs for produce (selects "No preference")
• Detects "Temporarily unavailable" / "Out of stock" states
• Returns updated cart count and total from the header badge

heb-buy-again.js

Bulk-add items from the Buy It Again page by name matching.

Input:  { productNames: ["Coca-Cola Zero", "Bob Evans Liquid Egg", ...] }
Output: { added: string[], skipped: string[], cartCount: number, cartTotal: string }

Key behaviors:

• Navigates to https://www.heb.com/my-account/your-orders/buy-it-again
• Scrolls to load all lazy-loaded sections
• Matches product names case-insensitively against "Add to cart , {name}" buttons
• Handles produce items with generic "Add to cart" buttons via ripeness dialog
• Reports which items were added and which were skipped (not found / out of stock)

heb-cart-total.js

Read the current cart contents, item count, and estimated total.

Input:  (none)
Output: { items: [{name, quantity, price}], itemCount: number, subtotal: string, estimatedTotal: string }

Key behaviors:

• Navigates to https://www.heb.com/cart
• Parses each cart item: name, quantity, price
• Reads the Order Summary section for subtotal and estimated total
• Warning: Suggested items carousel appears ABOVE cart items — don't confuse them with actual cart contents
• Quick method: Read the header badge link on any page: "Go to Cart page. {N} items in your cart. ${total}"

heb-search-product.js

Search H-E-B by keyword and return top results.

Input:  { query: "keto bread" }
Output: { results: [{name, size, price, productId, url}] }

Key behaviors:

• Uses the search bar (input[type="search"]) or navigates to https://www.heb.com/search/?q={query}
• Parses product cards from the results grid
• For exact products, prefer direct URL navigation: https://www.heb.com/product-detail/{slug}/{product_id}
• H-E-B search is fuzzy — always cross-reference product_id against the catalog

heb-order-history.js

Scrape order details or the Buy It Again catalog.

Input:  { mode: "buy-it-again" } or { mode: "orders", limit: 5 }
Output: { items: [{name, productId, url, price, category}] }

Key behaviors:

• Buy It Again mode (https://www.heb.com/my-account/your-orders/buy-it-again): Best source for building the catalog — deduplicates across all orders, organized by category
• Order History mode (https://www.heb.com/my-account/your-orders): Shows individual orders with dates, totals, and item lists
• Product IDs are extracted from product link URLs: /product-detail/{slug}/{product_id}

heb-cart-automation.js

Full cart automation using the verified catalog. This is the primary script for weekly orders.

Input:  catalogItems: [{ hebProductName: "H-E-B Reduced Fat 2% Milk, 1 gal", quantity: 1 }, ...]
Output: { added: string[], failed: string[], alreadyInCart: string[], cartTotal: string }

Key behaviors:

• Uses catalog item full_name for exact name-verified matching
• Searches Buy It Again first (faster, higher match rate)
• Falls back to regular search if not found in Buy It Again
• NEVER adds the first random result — always verifies the product name matches
• Normalizes names for fuzzy matching (strips size/weight suffixes)
• Handles quantity adjustments

Key H-E-B DOM selectors (as of April 2026):

Element	Selector
Add to cart button	button[data-testid="add-to-cart-button"] or button with text "Add to cart , {product name}"
Remove item button	removeItemButton (data-testid)
Confirm remove	itemConfirmRemove (data-testid)
Cart badge (any page)	link "Go to Cart page. {N} items in your cart. ${total}"
Search input	input[type="search"] or placeholder="Search H E B.com"
Ripeness dialog	Dialog "Choose ripeness for {product name}" → button[data-testid="preference-quantity-trigger"]
Buy It Again search	#buy-it-again-search
Disabled button	[disabled] attribute = out of stock

---

Cart Rebuild Workflow

This is the standard workflow for building a weekly grocery order:

Step 1: Load the Catalog

Read data/grocery/items.json
Filter items by frequency = "weekly" (42 items for a standard weekly order)
For biweekly items: check if this is the "on" week (based on last_ordered date)

Step 2: Get {{PARENT_1}}'s Input

Send itemized list of what's planned for this order
Ask: "Anything you already have or don't need this week?"
Ask: "Any additions or special quantities?"

Step 3: Build the "Already Have" Exclusion List

{{PARENT_1}} will say things like "I already have tortillas and milk"
Remove those items from the order list

Step 4: Add Items via Playwright

Use heb-cart-automation.js with the filtered item list
Pass specific quantities for items {{PARENT_1}} specified (see Quantities section below)
Monitor for failures/unavailable items

Step 5: Remove Items {{PARENT_1}} Doesn't Need

If {{PARENT_1}} says "remove the chips" — use the 2-step remove:
1. Navigate to cart page
2. Find the item
3. Click removeItemButton
4. Click itemConfirmRemove
THIS IS CRITICAL — don't just skip items, actively remove them if already in cart

Step 6: Send Cart Summary

Use heb-cart-total.js to read the final cart
Send {{PARENT_1}} an itemized summary:
- Item name × quantity — $price
- Subtotal
- Estimated total

Step 7: Iterate

{{PARENT_1}} may request changes:
- "Add 2 more blueberries"
- "Remove the orange juice"
- "Switch to the large eggs"
Handle each change, then re-send the updated summary
Repeat until {{PARENT_1}} approves

---

{{PARENT_1}}'s Custom Quantities

These are {{PARENT_1}}'s specified quantities for items that deviate from the default of 1. Always use these unless {{PARENT_1}} says otherwise for a specific order:

Item	Quantity	Notes
Limes	4	Individual limes, not bags
Chicken thighs (2lb stacks)	4	Boneless skinless, 2 lb packs
Chips (various)	2	Usually Tostitos Scoops + one other
Bob Evans Liquid Egg Whites	2-3	32 oz cartons
Blueberries large (18 oz)	4	Fresh, large container
Blueberries small (9.8 oz)	4	If in stock — sometimes unavailable
Splenda	2-3	Boxes
Mac & cheese (for HJ)	4	{{CHILD_1_NAME}}'s staple
Chicken meatballs (for HJ)	2	{{CHILD_1_NAME}}'s staple
Protein pancakes	2	Kodiak or similar

Default quantity is 1 for all other items unless {{PARENT_1}} specifies otherwise at order time.

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Item Availability Handling

When an item is temporarily unavailable or out of stock:

1. Report it immediately — "⚠️ {item name} is currently unavailable on H-E-B"
2. Check the catalog for alternatives — look at items in the same category with as-needed or biweekly frequency
3. Suggest substitutes from past orders — "You've ordered {alternative} before — want me to add that instead?"
4. Never silently skip — {{PARENT_1}} needs to know what's missing so he can decide

---

Rejected Items List

These items have been explicitly rejected by {{PARENT_1}} and must NEVER be reordered or suggested:

Item	Reason	Date Rejected
La Banderita Keto Flour Tortillas	"disgusting, not edible, do not reorder"	Apr 2026
Mission Super Soft Flour Tortillas	"disgusting, not edible, do not reorder"	Apr 2026

If {{PARENT_1}} rejects a new item, add it to this table and to a rejected_items field in the catalog.

---

H-E-B Website Key URLs

Page	URL
Home	https://www.heb.com
Cart	https://www.heb.com/cart
Buy It Again	https://www.heb.com/my-account/your-orders/buy-it-again
Order History	https://www.heb.com/my-account/your-orders
Search	https://www.heb.com/search/?q={query}
Product Page	https://www.heb.com/product-detail/{slug}/{product_id}

Authentication: {{PARENT_2}}'s account must be signed in. Session cookies are managed by Playwright's browser context. If auth expires, the agent will see a login page — notify {{PARENT_1}} to re-authenticate.

---

Error Handling

Situation	Action
Not signed in	Notify {{PARENT_1}} — "H-E-B session expired, need to re-login"
Item unavailable	Report to {{PARENT_1}}, suggest substitute from catalog
Ripeness dialog appears	Select "No preference" automatically
Cart page shows wrong address	Alert {{PARENT_1}} — delivery address must be {{HOME_ADDRESS}}
Playwright timeout	Retry once with longer timeout. If persistent, script may need selector update.
Price changed significantly	Note the new price, alert {{PARENT_1}} if >20% increase
Unknown item requested	Search H-E-B, show top 3 results, get {{PARENT_1}}'s confirmation before adding to catalog
Script selector broken	Check if H-E-B updated their DOM. Update the script in data/scripts/.

---

Agent Instructions

When managing grocery orders:

1. Load the catalog first — read data/grocery/items.json to know what's available
2. Check scripts exist — verify data/scripts/heb-*.js files are present before attempting automation
3. Use the correct script for each task:
   • Building a full order → heb-cart-automation.js
   • Adding a single item → heb-add-to-cart.js
   • Quick adds from past orders → heb-buy-again.js
   • Reading the cart → heb-cart-total.js
   • Finding new products → heb-search-product.js
   • Building/updating catalog → heb-order-history.js
4. Apply {{PARENT_1}}'s custom quantities — see the Quantities table above
5. Bidirectional sync — add AND remove as needed
6. Always confirm before checkout — send the full cart summary and wait for {{PARENT_1}}'s "looks good"
7. Update the catalog after each order:
   • Update last_ordered dates for ordered items
   • Add any new items {{PARENT_1}} confirmed
   • Update prices if they changed
   • Add rejected items to the rejected list

Communication Style for Grocery Orders

• Be itemized — always list items with quantities and prices
• Group by category — produce, dairy, meat, etc.
• Flag issues inline — "⚠️ Blueberries 9.8oz unavailable" right next to the item
• Show the total prominently — {{PARENT_1}} wants to see the damage
• Keep it scannable — {{PARENT_1}} reviews on his phone via Telegram

Example Telegram Cart Summary

🛒 H-E-B Weekly Order — Ready for Review

🥬 Produce (8 items)
• Limes × 4 — $0.50 ea
• Hass Avocados × 3 — $1.25 ea
• Blueberries 18oz × 4 — $5.48 ea
• ⚠️ Blueberries 9.8oz — UNAVAILABLE

🥩 Meat (3 items)
• Chicken Thighs 2lb × 4 — $8.36 ea
• Ground Turkey 93/7 × 1 — $5.69

🧀 Dairy (5 items)
• Egg Whites 32oz × 3 — $4.97 ea
• 2% Milk 1 gal × 1 — $3.81

... (grouped by category)

💰 Estimated Total: $287.42 (52 items)

Need changes? Just tell me what to add/remove.

---

Maintenance & Catalog Updates

After Each Order

1. Update last_ordered for all items that were in the order
2. Update order_history arrays with the order date
3. Update prices if any changed
4. Note any items that were unavailable

Periodically (Monthly)

1. Scrape Buy It Again page to discover new items {{PARENT_1}} has ordered
2. Cross-reference with catalog — add any missing items (with {{PARENT_1}}'s confirmation)
3. Review as-needed items — any that haven't been ordered in 3+ months may be candidates for removal
4. Update prices across the catalog

When H-E-B Changes Their Website

1. Test each script manually — run with a single item to verify selectors still work
2. Update selectors in the scripts if needed
3. Document the changes in the script header comments
4. The most fragile selectors are: cart badge text, remove button test IDs, ripeness dialog structure