Browser Workbench

Browser Workbench

Use this as the default entry point for browser work.

For broader app/UI routing across web and Expo/mobile, prefer ui-workbench. For final release QA and explicit evidence capture, prefer ui-release-signoff.

This skill is a router, not a browser framework. It decides whether the job should use:

• browser-workbench-setup
• playwright-interactive
• agent-browser
• a staged flow: playwright-interactive first, then agent-browser

Do not load both browser runtime skills by default. Pick one path unless the task clearly benefits from a staged workflow.

Default Policy

• Prefer playwright-interactive for serious local UI work.
• Prefer agent-browser for quick CLI-first smoke checks and annotated artifacts.
• Use browser-workbench-setup when the repo is not ready yet.
• Use a staged flow only when the second tool adds distinct value.

First Step

Before choosing a path, do one quick environment pass:

• check whether the repo has Playwright installed locally
• check whether browser artifacts and ignore rules exist
• check whether auth persistence has already been set up
• check whether the task is local-app debugging, quick smoke testing, or setup/bootstrap

Routing Rules

Path: Setup

Choose browser-workbench-setup when any of these are true:

• Playwright is not installed in the repo
• browser binaries are missing
• artifact directories or ignore rules are missing
• auth persistence is not configured and the task depends on authenticated browser work
• the user asked to bootstrap a repo for browser automation

When you choose this path:

• state Path: setup
• use browser-workbench-setup
• let that skill decide the auth-provider-specific setup

Path: playwright-interactive

Choose playwright-interactive by default for:

• local web-app development
• UI debugging that may take multiple iterations
• auth-heavy flows
• desktop plus mobile signoff
• console, network, or runtime investigation
• visual polish and final QA evidence

When you choose this path:

• state Path: playwright-interactive
• use playwright-interactive as the main loop
• keep the session alive across fixes and verification

Path: agent-browser

Choose agent-browser for:

• quick smoke checks on a running app or site
• annotated screenshots
• accessibility-tree snapshots
• simple DOM or screenshot diffs
• lightweight scraping or extraction
• simple page-error and console review

When you choose this path:

• state Path: agent-browser
• use agent-browser only
• keep the workflow CLI-first and fast

Path: staged playwright-interactive -> agent-browser

Choose the staged path only when:

• playwright-interactive is needed for the real investigation or auth flow
• and agent-browser adds a specific secondary benefit such as:
  • annotated screenshots
  • quick snapshot/screenshot diff
  • a fast post-fix smoke pass

When you choose this path:

• state Path: staged playwright-interactive -> vercel:agent-browser
• do the real investigation and signoff work in playwright-interactive
• use vercel:agent-browser only for the secondary evidence or check

Anti-Patterns

• Do not mention both $playwright-interactive and $vercel:agent-browser in ordinary prompts.
• Do not run both runtime skills in parallel unless the task explicitly requires that complexity.
• Do not use vercel:agent-browser as the primary debugger for a stateful auth-heavy UI task.
• Do not use playwright-interactive for a narrow one-shot CLI smoke task if vercel:agent-browser is enough.
• Do not duplicate provider-auth setup guidance here. Route setup/bootstrap work to browser-workbench-setup.

Prompting Guidance

Recommend these patterns to users:

• Use $browser-workbench to debug and polish this UI flow, verify auth, and capture desktop/mobile evidence.
• Use $browser-workbench to smoke-test this running app and capture annotated screenshots of any issues.
• Use $browser-workbench to set up this repo for browser-based UI testing and auth persistence.

Treat direct low-level prompts as advanced overrides:

• $playwright-interactive means the user already wants the persistent Playwright path
• $vercel:agent-browser means the user already wants the CLI-first path

Output Contract

When using this skill, begin with the chosen route in the first progress update:

• Path: setup
• Path: playwright-interactive
• Path: vercel:agent-browser
• Path: staged playwright-interactive -> vercel:agent-browser

If setup is required before runtime work, do not improvise around missing prerequisites. Route to setup first.