google-search

name	google-search
description	Google search via real Chrome browser (chromux). Use when the user asks to "search Google", "구글 검색", "구글에서 찾아줘", "find articles about", "search the web for", or needs web search results with full page content. Also trigger when: searching a specific site ("search dev.to for..."), finding recent articles/posts about a topic, extracting content from search results, or when WebSearch results are insufficient and real browser rendering is needed. Prefer this over WebSearch when the user wants site-specific search, time-filtered results, or full article body/comments extraction.
validate_prompt	Must return search results with URLs or explicit 'no results found' message. Must NOT hallucinate URLs.

Google Search (chromux)

Search Google and optionally extract full page content using a real Chrome browser via chromux. Unlike WebSearch, this uses an actual Chrome instance — same results a human would see, with JavaScript-rendered content and no bot detection.

When to Use

• User asks to search Google or the web for something
• Need site: operator to search within a specific domain
• Need time-filtered results (past day/week/month/year)
• Need full article body and comments, not just snippets
• WebSearch gives poor results and real browser search would help

Prerequisites

Requires chromux CLI installed. Launch headless Chrome before use:

chromux launch default --headless 2>/dev/null || true

This starts Chrome without a visible window. Skips if already running.

Usage

node ${baseDir}/vendor/web-search.mjs "<query>" [options]

Options

Flag	Description	Default
--site <domain>	Add site: filter (e.g. dev.to, stackoverflow.com)	none
--time <d|w|m|y>	Time filter: day, week, month, year	none (all time)
--count <N>	Max results	10
--no-enrich	Skip page visits, return Google snippets only (faster)	enrichment on
--comments <N>	Max comments to extract per page	5
--body <N>	Max body chars to extract per page	500
--json	Output raw JSON instead of text	text
--check	Verify chromux is available	-

Examples

Basic search:

node ${baseDir}/vendor/web-search.mjs "react server components best practices" --count 5

Site-specific search:

node ${baseDir}/vendor/web-search.mjs "authentication patterns" --site stackoverflow.com --count 10

Quick search (snippets only, no page visits):

node ${baseDir}/vendor/web-search.mjs "bun vs deno 2024" --no-enrich --count 10

Time-filtered search:

node ${baseDir}/vendor/web-search.mjs "openai o3 release" --time w --count 5

Full content extraction with JSON output:

node ${baseDir}/vendor/web-search.mjs "claude code tips" --site dev.to --comments 5 --body 1000 --json

Output Format

Text mode (default)

[1] Article Title Here
    URL: https://example.com/article
    Author: John Doe
    Tags: javascript, react
    Body: First 500 chars of article body...
    Comments (3):
      1. commenter1: Comment text here...
      2. commenter2: Another comment...

[2] Another Article
    URL: https://example.com/other
    ...

JSON mode (--json)

Returns an array of objects:

[
  {
    "title": "Article Title",
    "url": "https://example.com/article",
    "snippet": "Google search snippet",
    "author": "John Doe",
    "tags": ["javascript", "react"],
    "body": "Full article body text...",
    "comments": [
      {"author": "commenter1", "text": "Comment text..."}
    ]
  }
]

Fields like author, tags, body, comments are only present when enrichment is enabled. The enrichment extracts content using site-specific JS extractors for Dev.to and Lobsters, with a generic fallback for other sites.

Performance Notes

• No enrichment (--no-enrich): ~3-5 seconds (Google search only)
• With enrichment: ~2-3 seconds per result page (sequential visits)
• For 10 results with enrichment: ~25-35 seconds total
• Use --no-enrich when you only need URLs and snippets
• Use --count to limit results when enrichment is on

Error Handling

Situation	Behavior
chromux not installed	--check returns available: false
Google CAPTCHA	Returns 0 results, retry later
Page load timeout during enrichment	Skips that URL, continues with others
No results found	Returns empty array/output

Fallback

If chromux is unavailable, fall back to the built-in WebSearch tool.

Skill Differentiator

Aspect	/google-search	/reference-seek	/tech-decision	/deep-research
Purpose	Real-time web search with full page content	Find reusable code patterns and repos	A vs B decision analysis with recommendation	Multi-agent deep investigation with cited report
Output	Search result list (URLs + snippets/body)	Categorized references with code excerpts	Conclusion-first decision report	Comprehensive research report with confidence assessment
Depth	Shallow -- returns raw search results	Medium -- quality-filtered repos + code dive	Medium-Deep -- multi-source comparison	Deep -- parallel agents + cross-validation
When to use	Need quick search results or specific URLs	Need implementation examples to learn from	Need to choose between alternatives	Need thorough investigation of a broad topic
Tools	chromux (real Chrome browser)	gh API, context7, WebSearch, Explore agent	WebSearch, WebFetch, community sources	WebSearch, WebFetch, chromux, Gemini CLI, subagents