| name | browser-automation |
| description | Programmatic web automation using Playwright Python — data extraction, form filling, multi-step workflows, auth session management, screenshot/PDF capture, and anti-detection patterns. Use for scripted automation tasks, not interactive MCP-based browser control. |
| version | 1.0.0 |
| model | sonnet |
| invoked_by | both |
| user_invocable | true |
| tools | ["Read","Write","Bash","Glob","Grep"] |
| args | <url> [--extract] [--fill-form] [--screenshot] [--pdf] [--auth-state <path>] [--headless] |
| agents | ["developer","qa","researcher"] |
| category | Automation |
| tags | ["playwright","browser","automation","scraping","data-extraction","forms","screenshots","pdf","auth"] |
| best_practices | ["Use storage state to persist authenticated sessions across runs","Prefer role-based locators (get_by_role, get_by_label) over CSS selectors","Always use context managers (with sync_playwright() as p) for resource cleanup","Set realistic user-agent and viewport to avoid bot detection","Use page.wait_for_selector() instead of time.sleep() for dynamic content"] |
| error_handling | graceful |
| streaming | supported |
| verified | true |
| lastVerifiedAt | 2026-03-13 |
| source | builtin |
| trust_score | 100 |
| provenance_sha | a1970631f58f8bdd |
Browser Automation Skill
Setup
pip install playwright && playwright install chromium
pip install playwright-stealth
Skill Comparison
| Skill | Use Case |
|---|
browser-automation | Scripted automation, data pipelines, form bots |
webapp-testing | QA assertions, visual regression, test suites |
chrome-browser | Interactive MCP DevTools control |
Iron Law
NEVER USE time.sleep() — use page.wait_for_selector() or wait_for_load_state()
Core Patterns
Navigation and Extraction
with sync_playwright() as p:
context = p.chromium.launch(headless=True).new_context(
user_agent="Mozilla/5.0 ...", viewport={"width": 1280, "height": 720})
page = context.new_page()
page.goto(url); page.wait_for_load_state("networkidle")
items = [i.inner_text() for i in page.get_by_role("listitem").all()]
Form Filling
page.get_by_label("Email").fill("user@example.com")
page.get_by_label("Password").fill("secret")
with page.expect_navigation():
page.get_by_role("button", name="Submit").click()
Screenshot and PDF
page.screenshot(path="full.png", full_page=True)
page.pdf(path="page.pdf", format="A4", print_background=True)
Auth Session Management
context.storage_state(path="auth-state.json")
context = browser.new_context(storage_state="auth-state.json")
Anti-Detection
browser = p.chromium.launch(args=["--disable-blink-features=AutomationControlled"])
context = browser.new_context(user_agent="...", locale="en-US", timezone_id="America/New_York")
page.add_init_script("Object.defineProperty(navigator, 'webdriver', {get: () => undefined})")
Agent Usage
- Save extracted data to
.claude/context/tmp/ as structured JSON
- Save screenshots/PDFs to
.claude/context/artifacts/
- Never commit
auth-state.json — add to .gitignore
Anti-Patterns
| Anti-Pattern | Correct Approach |
|---|
time.sleep() for waits | page.wait_for_selector() / wait_for_load_state() |
| CSS selectors for forms | get_by_label(), get_by_role() |
| Re-login each run | context.storage_state() persistence |
| Committing auth state | Add auth-state.json to .gitignore |
Memory Protocol (MANDATORY)
Before starting: Read .claude/context/memory/learnings.md
After completing:
- New extraction pattern ->
.claude/context/memory/learnings.md
- Bot detection encountered ->
.claude/context/memory/issues.md
ASSUME INTERRUPTION: If it's not in memory, it didn't happen.
