browse

name	browse
description	Browse the web, read pages, extract information, and interact with websites. Use when user asks to "look up", "browse to", "check the website", "read this URL", "search for", "find information about", or needs current information from the web. Handles navigation, content extraction, form interaction, and screenshots.

Browse Skill

Tool Selection

Three browser tool sets may be available. Use the right one for the task:

Tool set	Use for
claude-in-chrome	Page reading, clicking, form filling, screenshots, navigation
chrome-devtools	Performance tracing, Lighthouse, network inspection
authenticated-browser	Playwright scripts, complex multi-step flows

Default to claude-in-chrome for standard browse/read/click/screenshot tasks.

Common Patterns

Reading a web page

1. Navigate to the URL
2. Take a snapshot (a11y tree) to understand the page structure
3. Extract the relevant content
4. If content is incomplete, scroll or click to load more

Searching for information

1. Navigate to a search engine or the site's search
2. Enter the search query
3. Read the results
4. Navigate to the most relevant result
5. Extract the needed information

Filling out a form

1. Navigate to the page
2. Take a snapshot to identify form fields
3. Fill each field
4. Verify the filled values before submitting
5. Submit and confirm success

Handling blocked URLs

If WebFetch is blocked (paywalled, Reddit, etc.), try:

# Gemini fallback for web content
bash ~/.claude/scripts/gemini-fetch.sh "https://blocked-url.com"

Content Extraction Tips

• Use get_page_text for article-heavy pages (blog posts, documentation, news)
• Use take_snapshot for interactive pages where you need to find elements
• Use take_screenshot to verify visual state
• For JavaScript-heavy SPAs: wait for networkidle before extracting

Privacy & Security

• Never enter passwords or sensitive credentials
• Be cautious with forms on unfamiliar sites
• Do not click "Accept all cookies" on cookie banners - decline or dismiss
• Do not download files without explicit user permission

Output Format

When reporting what was found:

• Summarize key information (don't reproduce entire pages)
• Quote specific short passages when precision matters (fewer than 15 words per quote)
• Provide the source URL
• Note if information may be outdated