browser-tool-selection

name	browser-tool-selection
description	Decision guide for choosing between Schrute skill recording and direct browser automation. Compares approaches based on task repeatability, latency needs, and API extraction goals. Use when user asks "which browser tool", "automate this website", "should I use schrute", "browser automation options", or needs help deciding how to approach a browser task.
user-invocable	true
argument-hint	[task-description]
metadata	{"author":"Schrute Contributors","version":"0.1.0","mcp-server":"schrute"}

Browser Tool Selection Guide

When a task requires browser interaction, choose the right approach based on the task characteristics.

Decision Framework

Use Schrute When:

• Repeated API calls: The same action will be performed multiple times
• Learning patterns: You want to record and optimize browser interactions
• Progressive optimization: Start with browser automation, automatically promote to direct HTTP
• Skill replay: You need to replay a previously recorded action with different parameters
• API extraction: You want to discover and extract API endpoints from a website

Use Direct Browser Automation When:

• One-off interactions: The action will only be performed once
• UI testing: You need to verify visual elements or layout
• Screenshots: You need to capture what the page looks like
• Form filling: Simple form submission without API extraction
• Navigation exploration: Browsing around to understand a site's structure

Quick Decision Guide

Question	Yes →	No →
Will this action be repeated?	Schrute	Direct browser
Do I need to optimize latency?	Schrute	Either
Am I just looking at the page?	Direct browser	Either
Do I want to learn the API?	Schrute	Direct browser
Is this a one-time data extraction?	Direct browser	Schrute
Will I reuse this across sessions?	Schrute	Direct browser

Schrute Workflow

1. Explore: schrute_explore with the target URL to start a browser session
2. Navigate: Use browser tools to interact with the page
3. Record: schrute_record to capture an action (names the API interaction)
4. Stop: schrute_stop to process the recording into a skill
5. Replay: The generated skill appears as an MCP tool for future use

Execution Tiers

Schrute skills start at Tier 3 (browser-proxied) and can promote to Tier 1 (direct HTTP) after validation:

Tier	Method	Latency	Promotion Criteria
1	Direct HTTP fetch	1-50ms	5 consecutive validations, low volatility
2	Cookie refresh + fetch	5-100ms	Auth-required endpoints
3	Browser-proxied fetch	100-500ms	Default starting tier
4	Full Playwright automation	1-10s	Fallback for complex interactions

Combining Approaches

You can use both approaches together:

• Start with direct browser tools to explore a site
• Switch to Schrute recording when you identify repeatable actions
• Use recorded skills for subsequent calls while using browser tools for new exploration