| 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.
