name	browser-automation
description	Personal browser automation preferences and configuration. Use when the user needs web automation, browser interaction, headed mode, or connecting to Arc browser via CDP. Also use when agent-browser or playwright-cli is about to be used, to ensure correct engine selection and connection settings.

Browser Automation

Preferred Option: agent-browser

Use agent-browser for web automation. Activate the agent-browser skill before the first command.

Engine Selection

Use --engine lightpanda by default. It is ~10x faster and uses ~16x less memory than Chrome.

Fall back to the default Chrome engine when Lightpanda fails or crashes on the target site:

# Default: use Lightpanda
agent-browser --engine lightpanda open <url>

# Fallback: Chrome (omit --engine)
agent-browser open <url>

When authentication or headed mode is needed, connect to the user's Arc browser instead of launching a new Chrome engine. See Headed Mode: Connect to Arc below.

Headed Mode: Connect to Arc

Connect to the user's Arc browser (Chromium-based) via CDP when authentication or headed mode is needed. Arc is preferred over Chrome because:

Chrome M136+ blocks --remote-debugging-port on the default profile (DevToolsActivePort not created)
Arc uses a separate user data directory, so the restriction does not apply
Arc retains the user's extensions (e.g., 1Password) and login state

Steps:

Quit Arc if already running.

Launch Arc with remote debugging enabled:

nohup "/Applications/Arc.app/Contents/MacOS/Arc" --remote-debugging-port=9222 >/tmp/arc.log 2>&1 &

Run agent-browser with --cdp 9222. Close any stale daemon first to avoid cached state:
```
agent-browser close --all
agent-browser --cdp 9222 open <url>
```
Arc may bind to IPv4 (127.0.0.1) or IPv6 ([::1]) depending on the launch — passing just the port number lets agent-browser auto-detect. If you get Invalid CDP target errors, the daemon is holding stale state; run agent-browser close --all and retry.

Alternative Option: playwright-cli

If agent-browser cannot handle the task, use playwright-cli instead. Activate the playwright-cli skill before the first command.

Browser Automation

Preferred Option: agent-browser

Use agent-browser for web automation. Activate the agent-browser skill before the first command.

Engine Selection

Use --engine lightpanda by default. It is ~10x faster and uses ~16x less memory than Chrome.

Fall back to the default Chrome engine when Lightpanda fails or crashes on the target site:

# Default: use Lightpanda agent-browser --engine lightpanda open <url> # Fallback: Chrome (omit --engine) agent-browser open <url>

When authentication or headed mode is needed, connect to the user's Arc browser instead of launching a new Chrome engine. See Headed Mode: Connect to Arc below.

Headed Mode: Connect to Arc

Connect to the user's Arc browser (Chromium-based) via CDP when authentication or headed mode is needed. Arc is preferred over Chrome because:

Chrome M136+ blocks --remote-debugging-port on the default profile (DevToolsActivePort not created)

Arc uses a separate user data directory, so the restriction does not apply

Arc retains the user's extensions (e.g., 1Password) and login state

Steps:

Quit Arc if already running.

Launch Arc with remote debugging enabled:

nohup "/Applications/Arc.app/Contents/MacOS/Arc" --remote-debugging-port=9222 >/tmp/arc.log 2>&1 &

Run agent-browser with --cdp 9222. Close any stale daemon first to avoid cached state:

agent-browser close --all
agent-browser --cdp 9222 open <url>

Arc may bind to IPv4 (127.0.0.1) or IPv6 ([::1]) depending on the launch — passing just the port number lets agent-browser auto-detect. If you get Invalid CDP target errors, the daemon is holding stale state; run agent-browser close --all and retry.

Alternative Option: playwright-cli

If agent-browser cannot handle the task, use playwright-cli instead. Activate the playwright-cli skill before the first command.

browser-automation