chrome

Chrome Browser

Use NodeReplJs for Chrome work. The runtime is thread-bound and persistent; globalThis state survives between calls.

Chrome is the user's real browser profile. Treat browser contents as sensitive.

First Cell

Start with this guarded cell. It avoids redeclaring const tab across REPL calls and works when the cell is rerun:

let chromeBackendReady = false;
try {
  chromeBackendReady = (await agent.browsers.list()).some((item) => item?.id === "extension");
} catch {
  chromeBackendReady = false;
}
if (!chromeBackendReady) {
  const { setupBrowserRuntime } = await import(dotcraft.chromeBrowserClientPath);
  await setupBrowserRuntime({ globals: globalThis, backend: "extension" });
}
if (!globalThis.browser) {
  globalThis.browser = await agent.browsers.get("extension");
}
await browser.nameSession("Chrome");
if (typeof tab === "undefined") {
  try {
    globalThis.tab = await browser.tabs.selected();
  } catch {
    globalThis.tab = await browser.tabs.new();
  }
}

After setup, run a lightweight check such as await browser.user.openTabs(). If it fails, wait about two seconds and retry once.

If retry still fails with a backend connection error, use await dotcraft.chrome.checkSetup() and follow this recovery order:

• Chrome not installed: tell the user DotCraft Chrome needs Google Chrome.
• Extension missing or disabled: ask the user to install/enable the DotCraft Chrome extension.
• Native host manifest missing or invalid: ask the user to reinstall or repair the DotCraft Chrome plugin setup.
• Chrome not running: ask before launching Chrome or opening a Chrome window.
• Checks pass but the Chrome backend is disconnected: ask the user to confirm Chrome is open, click the DotCraft Chrome extension icon once, then refresh status or retry. The backend is discovered through a native pipe started by the extension's native host; do not look for or mention a fixed TCP port.

Do not quote raw ECONNREFUSED output as the final answer.

Stable Chrome error categories map to these recovery actions:

• BridgeDisconnected: explain as Chrome backend disconnected, run dotcraft.chrome.checkSetup(), then ask the user to click the DotCraft Chrome extension icon if setup is otherwise healthy.
• CommandCancelled: do not blindly retry; confirm whether the user cancelled, the turn timed out, or the workflow should be resumed.
• SessionMetadataMissing: rerun the first setup cell in the current Node REPL context so dotcraft.browserSession is available.
• DebuggerUnavailable: ask the user to close DevTools or another extension UI controlling the tab, then retry the specific command.
• ResultTooLarge: narrow the query, lower maxLength, or read smaller chunks; do not retry the same large result with a longer timeout.

Observe After Actions

Navigation and clicks can take a moment to become visible to the bridge. After opening a page or changing app state, observe the current tab before deciding the action failed:

await tab.goto("https://example.com");
globalThis.lastObservation = await tab.observe();
console.log(lastObservation.url, lastObservation.title);

For clicks or submits that should navigate, wrap the action:

await tab.playwright.expectNavigation(
  () => tab.playwright.getByText("Open").click(),
  { timeoutMs: 10000 }
);
globalThis.lastObservation = await tab.observe();

If the URL or title looks stale, wait or observe once before creating a new tab. Do not open a replacement tab just because the immediate return value looked unchanged.

REPL Sandbox Rules

DotCraft's Node REPL is sandboxed. Do not use require, process, process.cwd(), __dirname, or dotcraft.workspace.

Use these safe globals instead:

• dotcraft.workspacePath
• dotcraft.chromePluginRoot
• dotcraft.chromeScriptsPath
• dotcraft.chrome.checkSetup()
• dotcraft.chrome.checkExtension()
• dotcraft.chrome.checkNativeHost()

For setup diagnostics, prefer:

console.log(JSON.stringify(await dotcraft.chrome.checkSetup(), null, 2));

If shell/Exec is available outside the REPL, setup scripts may also be run from dotcraft.chromeScriptsPath. Keep diagnostics read-only.

Supported API

Use these Chrome APIs. Do not invent alternatives unless you have checked describeApi() first.

• agent.browsers.list()
• browser.describeApi()
• browser.nameSession(name)
• browser.user.openTabs(options)
• browser.user.claimTab(tab, options)
• browser.tabs.list(options)
• browser.tabs.selected(options)
• browser.tabs.get(tab)
• browser.tabs.new(options)
• browser.tabs.content({ urls, contentType, maxLength, timeoutMs })
• browser.tabs.read(options)
• browser.tabs.finalize({ keep })
• tab.goto(url, options)
• tab.reload(options)
• tab.back(options)
• tab.forward(options)
• tab.close()
• tab.title()
• tab.url()
• tab.content.text(options)
• tab.content.html(options)
• tab.content.read(options)
• tab.content.get(options)
• tab.domSnapshot(options)
• tab.observe(options)
• tab.evaluate(fn, arg, { timeoutMs, maxBytes })
• tab.screenshot(options)

The tab.playwright compatibility subset supports:

• locator(selector).count()
• locator(selector).click()
• locator(selector).dblclick()
• locator(selector).fill(value)
• locator(selector).type(value)
• locator(selector).press(key)
• locator(selector).textContent()
• locator(selector).allTextContents()
• locator(selector).innerText()
• locator(selector).getAttribute(name)
• locator(selector).isVisible()
• locator(selector).isEnabled()
• locator(selector).waitFor({ state, timeoutMs })
• locator(selector).check()
• locator(selector).uncheck()
• locator(selector).setChecked(checked)
• locator(selector).selectOption(value)
• getByText, getByRole, getByLabel, getByPlaceholder, getByTestId
• domSnapshot(options), observe(options), screenshot(options), waitForLoadState({ state, timeoutMs }), waitForTimeout(ms), waitForURL(url, options), expectNavigation(action, options)
• waitForEvent("filechooser", { timeoutMs })

File chooser objects support:

• chooser.isMultiple()
• chooser.setFiles(["C:\\absolute\\path\\file.txt"])

The tab.cua compatibility subset supports:

• get_visible_screenshot(options)
• click({ x, y })
• double_click({ x, y })
• scroll({ x, y, deltaX, deltaY })
• type(text)
• keypress(keyOrKeys)
• move({ x, y })

The tab.dom_cua compatibility subset supports:

• get_visible_dom(options)
• click({ node_id })
• double_click({ node_id })
• scroll({ node_id, deltaX, deltaY })
• type({ node_id, text })
• keypress({ node_id, key })

networkidle is treated as document.readyState === "complete" in this backend. DotCraft locator methods are a page-level compatibility subset; nested locators are not a full Playwright scoping model. For complex DOMs, inspect with domSnapshot() and then use a stable page-level locator.

Call content methods as functions. For example, use await tab.content.text({ maxLength: 30000 }), not tab.content.text.

Large Pages And Logs

Do not return complete large documents, build logs, or virtualized page contents through tab.evaluate.

• Prefer page-side filtering: return only matching rows, current viewport text, failing sections, or a small summary object.
• Use maxLength on content reads, for example await tab.content.text({ maxLength: 30000, timeoutMs: 20000 }).
• Use tab.evaluate(fn, arg, { maxBytes, timeoutMs }) only for bounded objects. The default serialized result limit is 1 MB, and callers may only lower it.
• If you see ResultTooLarge, narrow the query or fetch smaller chunks. Do not retry the same full-page command with a longer timeout.
• For long logs, look for page controls, filters, search results, ranges, or download endpoints before reading raw text.

File Uploads

Use the Playwright-style file chooser flow. Start waiting before clicking the file input or its label:

const chooserPromise = tab.playwright.waitForEvent("filechooser", { timeoutMs: 10000 });
await tab.playwright.locator('input[type="file"]').click();
const chooser = await chooserPromise;
await chooser.setFiles(["C:\\absolute\\path\\file.txt"]);

Use absolute local paths only. For multiple files, check await chooser.isMultiple() first; if the input is not multiple, ask the user which single file to upload or use a more specific input[type="file"] locator.

If the page uses a custom upload button and the chooser cannot be located, try the underlying input[type="file"] or a stable label/role locator. If that still fails, ask the user to upload manually.

Unsupported APIs

These objects/methods exist only to fail clearly or report no optional capabilities:

• browser.capabilities.list() and tab.capabilities.list() return [].
• tab.playwright.frameLocator(...), tab.clipboard, downloads, history, media downloads, complex frames, and tab.cua.drag(...) are not implemented.
• tab.playwright.waitForEvent("download") is unsupported. Only "filechooser" is implemented.

Do not work around unsupported Chrome APIs with profile file inspection, cookies, local storage, history databases, or unrelated automation mechanisms.

Setup Checks

Available read-only scripts:

• check-extension-installed.js --json
• check-native-host-manifest.js --json
• chrome-is-running.js --check --json
• installed-browsers.js --check --json
• open-chrome-window.js --dry-run --json

Use open-chrome-window.js without --dry-run only after the user agrees. Do not install, repair, or rewrite Chrome state without user consent.

User Tabs

• Use browser.user.openTabs() to inspect visible user tabs by title, URL, recency, and group.
• Claim an existing tab only by passing the exact returned tab object to browser.user.claimTab(tab).
• Do not guess tab IDs.
• Prefer reusing an already selected or claimed tab over creating new tabs.
• Before finishing, call browser.tabs.finalize({ keep: [{ tab, status: "deliverable" }] }) exactly once as the final Chrome browser action of the turn. Use status: "handoff" when the user should continue in the tab, status: "deliverable" when the tab itself is part of the delivered result, and keep: [] when no agent-created tabs should remain. Do not use legacy shapes such as keep: [tab], keep: [id], or keep: true.
• Keep only tabs that are deliverables or explicit handoffs.

Playwright Discipline

Use stable locators first: role, label, placeholder, test id, then CSS. Keep actions small and verify page state with observe(), domSnapshot(), or targeted content reads. If an action fails because the Chrome backend is disconnected, retry once, then use the recovery flow above.

Safety

• Do not inspect cookies, passwords, Chrome profile databases, local storage, session stores, or browser history files.
• Ask before navigating to a new external site, claiming a user tab, uploading a file, downloading a file, or touching sensitive pages.
• Do not read or write Chrome profile files except the documented setup checks.