ai-web-dev

name	ai-web-dev
description	Browse websites and inspect web UIs during development. Guides you to the right browser tool (WebFetch, agent-browser, playwright-cli) based on what you need.
argument-hint	[url or task description]

Browse or inspect a web page for development purposes: $ARGUMENTS

Decision-tree skill for web development tasks. Picks the lightest tool that fits.

Usage Examples

• /ai-web-dev https://localhost:3000 - Check what the local dev server shows
• /ai-web-dev screenshot https://example.com - Take a screenshot
• /ai-web-dev debug network on https://api.example.com - Inspect network requests
• /ai-web-dev what does our landing page look like - Visual check

1. Decide What You Need

Analyze $ARGUMENTS and classify the task:

Need	Tool	Why
Read page content / docs	WebFetch	Zero setup, minimal context
Search the web for info	WebSearch	Built-in, no browser needed
See what a page looks like	agent-browser screenshot	Annotated screenshots with element labels
Inspect/interact with DOM	agent-browser snapshot	Compact refs (@e1, @e2), lowest context
Click, fill forms, navigate	agent-browser	Ref-based interaction, efficient
Network request inspection	playwright-cli	Has network interception
Multi-browser testing	playwright-cli	Supports Chromium, Firefox, WebKit
Console errors / JS debugging	playwright-cli	Has console capture
Record a test / generate code	playwright-cli codegen	Test generation built-in

Default rule: Start with the lightest tool. Escalate only if it can't do what you need.

2. Tier 1: WebSearch / WebFetch (Built-in)

Use when you just need to read content or search for information. These are already available -- no setup needed.

# Search the web
Use the WebSearch tool directly

# Fetch and read a specific URL
Use the WebFetch tool directly

When to escalate to Tier 2: You need to see the rendered page, interact with elements, or WebFetch is blocked/insufficient.

3. Tier 2: agent-browser (Primary Browser Tool)

Use for most interactive browser tasks. Returns compact element refs.

Quick snapshot (see what's on the page)

agent-browser navigate "https://localhost:3000"
agent-browser snapshot -i   # -i = interactive elements only

Output looks like:

@e1 [header]
  @e3 [a] "Home"
  @e6 [button] "Sign In"
@e7 [main]
  @e10 [input type="email"] placeholder="Email"
  @e12 [button type="submit"] "Log In"

Take a screenshot

agent-browser screenshot /tmp/page.png
agent-browser screenshot /tmp/page.png --annotate   # numbered labels on elements

Interact with elements (use refs from snapshot)

agent-browser click @e6              # Click "Sign In"
agent-browser fill @e10 "[e-mail]"  # Fill email field
agent-browser select @e15 "option-value"  # Select dropdown
agent-browser snapshot -i            # Re-snapshot after interaction

Scoped/filtered snapshots (reduce context)

agent-browser snapshot -i -s "#main"        # Only elements inside #main
agent-browser snapshot -i -d 3              # Max depth 3
agent-browser snapshot -i -c                # Compact format
agent-browser snapshot --json               # Structured JSON output

Extract text content

agent-browser execute "document.body.innerText"

When to escalate to Tier 3: You need network interception, console logs, multi-browser testing, or Playwright-specific features.

4. Tier 3: playwright-cli (Advanced)

Use for complex automation, debugging, and cross-browser testing.

Navigate and snapshot

playwright-cli navigate "https://localhost:3000"
playwright-cli snapshot    # Saves YAML to .playwright-cli/

Interact (uses refs without @ prefix)

playwright-cli click e15
playwright-cli fill e5 "text"
playwright-cli screenshot --filename page.png

Network inspection

playwright-cli network-log start
playwright-cli navigate "https://api.example.com"
playwright-cli network-log stop    # Shows all requests/responses

Console capture

playwright-cli console start
playwright-cli navigate "https://localhost:3000"
playwright-cli console stop        # Shows console.log, errors, warnings

Multi-browser testing

playwright-cli --browser firefox navigate "https://localhost:3000"
playwright-cli --browser webkit navigate "https://localhost:3000"

Generate test code from actions

playwright-cli codegen "https://localhost:3000"

5. Common Web Dev Workflows

"Check if my local dev server is working"

agent-browser navigate "http://localhost:3000"
agent-browser screenshot /tmp/dev-check.png
agent-browser snapshot -i

"Debug why the login form isn't working"

agent-browser navigate "http://localhost:3000/login"
agent-browser snapshot -i -s "form"
# Try filling and submitting
agent-browser fill @e10 "[e-mail]"
agent-browser fill @e11 "password123"
agent-browser click @e12
# Check result
agent-browser snapshot -i
agent-browser screenshot /tmp/after-login.png

"Check what API calls a page makes"

playwright-cli network-log start
playwright-cli navigate "http://localhost:3000/dashboard"
playwright-cli network-log stop

"See console errors on a page"

playwright-cli console start
playwright-cli navigate "http://localhost:3000"
playwright-cli console stop

"Compare rendering across browsers"

playwright-cli --browser chromium screenshot --filename /tmp/chrome.png
playwright-cli --browser firefox screenshot --filename /tmp/firefox.png
playwright-cli --browser webkit screenshot --filename /tmp/safari.png

6. Troubleshooting

• "Browser not found": Run agent-browser install or playwright-cli install-browser
• "Navigation timeout": Page might be down. Check with curl -I <url> first.
• "No sandbox": Already configured via CHROME_NO_SANDBOX=1. If issues persist, pass --no-sandbox explicitly.
• Stale refs: Refs (@e1, e5) invalidate on page change. Always re-snapshot after navigation or interaction.
• High context usage: Use -i (interactive only), -s (scoped), -d (depth limit) to reduce snapshot size.