ubereats-search

name	ubereats-search
description	Use when you need to search Uber Eats for a store, restaurant, product, or cuisine. Covers the top-of-page search bar, the quirks around search input focus and overlay rendering, filtering to grocery vs restaurants, and picking the right store from results. Only use within an active Uber Eats ordering flow — this is a sub-skill of ubereats-order.

Uber Eats: Search

Where to search from

The search bar lives at the top of every Uber Eats page. URL patterns that always work as a starting point:

• https://www.ubereats.com/feed — home feed, has search bar
• https://www.ubereats.com/search — search results page

Navigate via mcp__playwright__browser_navigate to one of these if you're lost.

The search bar quirk

This is the #1 reason Uber Eats automation fails. The search "Search Uber Eats" input at the top isn't always immediately typeable. Clicking it often opens an overlay with a different input inside the overlay, and the original click target is no longer the one that receives text.

Correct pattern

1. browser_snapshot (depth: 4) — get fresh refs
2. Locate the element described as "Search Uber Eats" OR with placeholder "Search Uber Eats"
3. browser_click on it — this may open an overlay
4. browser_snapshot (depth: 4) AGAIN — the overlay has new refs
5. In the new snapshot, find the input element that is FOCUSED and has an empty value
   (look for role="combobox" or role="searchbox" with no value)
6. browser_type on THAT ref, with the search query + slowly=false + submit=true

If browser_type fails with "element not found" or "element not interactable":

• Try browser_fill_form with a single field
• Try browser_evaluate with () => { document.activeElement.value = 'your query'; document.activeElement.dispatchEvent(new Event('input', {bubbles:true})); }
• As last resort: browser_press_key character by character (slow but always works)

What to search for

To find a GROCERY STORE (for food items + alcohol + produce)

Good queries (in order of preference):

• Whole Foods — carries grocery + beer/wine in most locations
• Gopuff — convenience + alcohol, fast delivery
• Total Wine — alcohol-only
• Food Bazaar / Key Food / C-Town — NYC grocery chains
• Duane Reade / CVS — last-resort convenience

To find a RESTAURANT (for prepared food)

Search by cuisine (pizza, ramen, sushi, tacos) or by name (Shake Shack, Joe's Pizza).

To find a SPECIFIC PRODUCT

Uber Eats top-level search supports product queries like Modelo 12 pack — it will return stores that carry it. This is often faster than browsing categories.

Reading the results page

After submitting a search, browser_snapshot the results page. Look for:

1. Store cards — each has a name, cuisine/category, ETA, delivery fee, rating
2. "Closed" / "Opens at X" badges — skip these stores
3. "Free delivery" or "$0 delivery fee" — prefer when tied
4. Distance / ETA — shorter is better but not the deciding factor

Pick the best store

Decision order:

1. Open + carries what you need + delivers to user's address + ETA ≤ 60 min = use it
2. If no perfect match, pick the one that carries the MOST items from the list (fewer multi-carts = less delivery fees)
3. Click the store card (browser_click on its name or main tile) to enter its page

Filtering (if initial results are bad)

After search, Uber Eats shows filter chips near the top:

• Grocery / Alcohol / Convenience / Restaurants — click to filter
• Delivery time / Rating / Price — sort options

Use these when the initial feed has too many restaurants and you want grocery only.

Dead ends and how to escape them

Dead end	Escape
Search overlay won't close	Press Escape via browser_press_key
No results for query	Broaden the query (remove brand, use category: "beer" instead of "Modelo 12 pack")
"No stores deliver to your address"	The address is wrong OR the item category isn't deliverable locally. Snapshot, report, try a different category.
Search bar is not visible (mid-checkout)	Navigate back to /feed first
Infinite scroll loading forever	browser_press_key PageDown to trigger load, or navigate directly to a store URL if you know it

Confirming you're on the right store

Before adding to cart, browser_snapshot the store page and verify:

• Store name matches
• Delivery address shown is the user's default (do NOT change it)
• Store is marked "Open"
• There's a "Menu" or product grid visible

If any of these fail, back out and re-search.

Then invoke the ubereats-add-to-cart skill.