compare-prices

# Compare Prices Search for a product across retailers in parallel using a hidden window, save pricing data incrementally to disk, and deliver a clean HTML comparison report with direct links to every product page. ## When to Apply Activate when the user asks to compare prices for a product, find the cheapest option, check if a price is good, or shop across multiple stores. ## Workflow ### Phase 1 — Clarify Confirm with the user before searching: - **Product name** — exact model, variant, size, or color if applicable - **Retailer preferences** — any stores to include or exclude - **Region / currency** — defaults to user's locale ### Phase 2 — Set Up & Search | Step | Tool | Detail | |------|------|--------| | Create output directory | `evaluate_script` | Create `compare-<product-slug>/` in your working directory with a `raw/` subfolder | | Open hidden window | `create_hidden_window` | Dedicated workspace — keeps the user's browsing undisturbed | | Open parallel tabs | `new_hidden_page` | Open up to **10 tabs** concurrently, one per retailer/search | **Default search targets** (adjust based on product type and user's region): | Tab | Target | |-----|--------| | 1 | Google Shopping — `https://www.google.com/search?tbm=shop&q=<product>` | | 2 | Amazon — `https://www.amazon.com/s?k=<product>` | | 3 | Walmart — `https://www.walmart.com/search?q=<product>` | | 4 | Best Buy — `https://www.bestbuy.com/site/searchpage.jsp?st=<product>` | | 5 | Target — `https://www.target.com/s?searchTerm=<product>` | | 6 | eBay — `https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=<product>` | | 7–10 | Additional retailers relevant to the product category (Newegg for tech, Home Depot for tools, etc.) | ### Phase 3 — Extract & Save For **each tab**, extract pricing data and save immediately: | Step | Tool | Detail | |------|------|--------| | Navigate | `navigate_page` | Go to the search URL | | Read results | `get_page_content` | Extract the search results page as markdown | | Find best match | `navigate_page` | Click through to the most relevant product listing | | Extract pricing | `get_page_content` | Pull the product page content — price, availability, shipping, seller | | **Save raw data** | `evaluate_script` | Write to `raw/<retailer>.json` with all extracted fields (see format below) | | Close tab | `close_page` | Free the tab after saving | **Never hold all retailer data in memory.** Save each retailer's data to its own file immediately after extraction. #### Raw Data Format (`raw/<retailer>.json`) ```json { "retailer": "Amazon", "product_name": "Product Title as Listed", "product_url": "https://www.amazon.com/dp/...", "price": 299.99, "original_price": 349.99, "currency": "USD", "shipping": "Free", "availability": "In Stock", "seller": "Amazon.com", "condition": "New", "rating": "4.5/5", "notes": "Prime eligible", "extracted_at": "2025-03-11T10:30:00Z" } ``` ### Phase 4 — HTML Report After all retailers are processed, read the saved `raw/*.json` files and generate a self-contained `report.html`: | Requirement | Detail | |-------------|--------| | **Theme** | Light background (`#ffffff`), clean sans-serif typography, generous whitespace | | **Header** | Product name, search date, number of retailers checked | | **Best Deal banner** | Highlighted card at the top showing the lowest total price with a direct link to the product page | | **Comparison table** | All retailers sorted by total price (lowest first) with columns: Retailer, Price, Shipping, Total, Stock, Seller, Rating, Link | | **Product links** | Every retailer name and a "View Deal" button must be a clickable `<a href>` linking to the actual product page URL | | **Price highlights** | Lowest price in green, highest in muted gray. Show discount percentage if original price differs. | | **Self-contained** | All styles in a `<style>` block — no external CSS or JS | | **Responsive** | Readable on desktop and mobile | | **Footer** | "Generated by BrowserOS Compare Prices" with date | Use `evaluate_script` to write `report.html` to the output directory. ### Phase 5 — Open & Notify | Step | Tool | Detail | |------|------|--------| | Close hidden window | `close_window` | Clean up the research workspace | | Open report | `new_page` | Open `file://<path>/report.html` in the user's active window | | Notify user | — | Tell the user the comparison is complete, highlight the best deal, and provide the report path | ## Tool Reference | Category | Tools Used | |----------|-----------| | Window management | `create_hidden_window`, `close_window` | | Tab management | `new_hidden_page`, `close_page`, `new_page` | | Navigation | `navigate_page` | | Content extraction | `get_page_content` | | Data & file I/O | `evaluate_script` | ## Tips - **Always compare total price** (product + shipping), not just the listed price. - **Note the seller** — marketplace third-party sellers may have different return policies than the retailer itself. - Mention membership discounts (Prime, Walmart+) as a note, not as the default price. - If the product has variants (sizes, colors), ensure every retailer is quoting the same variant. - If a retailer blocks scraping or returns no results, skip it and note the gap in the report. - For used/refurbished listings, separate them from new-condition results.