# Ghost Browser > Automated Chrome browser using nodriver for AI agent web tasks. Full CLI control with LLM-optimized commands — text-based interaction, markdown output, session management, and smart element matching. - Skill: `dvcrn/ghost-browser-2` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 7 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add dvcrn/ghost-browser-2` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/dvcrn/ghost-browser-2/raw - Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: AI & ML - Author: dvcrn (https://skillmd.com/u/dvcrn) - Updated: 2026-09-22 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/dvcrn/ghost-browser-2 --- # Ghost Browser Automated Chrome browser for AI agent web tasks. Powered by [nodriver](https://github.com/nicedayzhu/nodriver) for reliable browser control. Every command is designed to minimize token usage and maximize accuracy. Use for: web automation, screenshots, page reading, form filling, scraping, cookie/session management, and persistent browser profiles. ## How to Browse — Follow This Workflow **ALWAYS use this workflow. Never use raw `content` (HTML) or CSS-selector `click`/`type` as your first choice.** ### Step 1: Navigate and understand the page ```bash ghost-browser navigate https://example.com ghost-browser wait-ready ghost-browser page-summary ``` `page-summary` returns: page title, URL, element counts (links/buttons/inputs/forms), whether there's a login form, and a short text preview. Costs ~10 tokens. ### Step 2: See what you can interact with ```bash ghost-browser elements # Numbered list of ALL interactive elements ghost-browser elements --form-only # Just form inputs (for login/signup/search) ``` Output: ``` [0] link "Home" → / [1] link "Products" → /products [2] button "Sign In" [3] input[email] "Email address" [4] input[password] "Password" [5] submit "Log In" ``` ### Step 3: Interact by visible text (NOT CSS selectors) ```bash ghost-browser interact click "Sign In" ghost-browser interact type "Email" --type-text "user@example.com" ghost-browser interact type "Password" --type-text "secret123" # Or fill entire forms at once ghost-browser fill-form '{"email":"user@example.com","password":"secret123"}' --submit ``` ### Step 4: Read page content as markdown ```bash ghost-browser readable # Full page as clean markdown ghost-browser readable --max-length 5000 # Limit length to save tokens ``` **Never use `content`** — it returns raw HTML which wastes thousands of tokens. Use `readable` instead. ### Step 5: Wait for dynamic pages ```bash ghost-browser wait-ready # Wait for network idle + DOM stable ghost-browser wait-ready --timeout 10 ``` ### Complete Login Example ```bash ghost-browser start ghost-browser navigate https://mysite.com/login ghost-browser wait-ready ghost-browser elements --form-only ghost-browser fill-form '{"email":"me@example.com","password":"mypass"}' --submit ghost-browser wait-ready ghost-browser page-summary # Verify login succeeded ghost-browser session save mysite # Save auth state for later ``` ### Restore a Previous Session ```bash ghost-browser start --profile mysite ghost-browser session load mysite ghost-browser navigate https://mysite.com/dashboard ghost-browser page-summary ``` ## Command Reference ### Preferred Commands (use these first) | Command | What it does | Token cost | |---------|-------------|------------| | `page-summary` | Page overview: title, URL, element counts, flags | ~10 | | `elements` | Numbered list of buttons, links, inputs | ~50-200 | | `elements --form-only` | Just form inputs | ~10-50 | | `readable` | Full page as clean markdown | ~500-10000 | | `readable --max-length N` | Page markdown capped at N chars | controlled | | `interact click "text"` | Click by visible text | action | | `interact type "label" --type-text "value"` | Type by label/placeholder text | action | | `fill-form '{"field":"value"}' --submit` | Fill and submit a form | action | | `hover "text" --by-text` | Hover by visible text | action | | `wait-ready` | Wait for page to finish loading | ~5 | | `session save ` | Save cookies + localStorage + sessionStorage | ~10 | | `session load ` | Restore full auth state | ~10 | ### Lifecycle ```bash ghost-browser start # Start browser daemon ghost-browser start --headless # Run without visible window ghost-browser start --profile work # Use named profile (persistent data) ghost-browser start --extension /path/ext # Load unpacked Chrome extension ghost-browser start --proxy socks5://host:port # Use proxy ghost-browser stop # Graceful shutdown ghost-browser status # Check if running ghost-browser status --json # Machine-readable status ghost-browser health # Quick health check ``` ### Navigation & Tabs ```bash ghost-browser navigate # Navigate current tab (or reuse matching tab) ghost-browser navigate --force-new # Always open new tab ghost-browser tabs # List open tabs with IDs ghost-browser tabs --json # Machine-readable tab list ghost-browser activate-tab # Switch to a tab by ID ghost-browser close-tab # Close a tab by ID ghost-browser wait-ready # Wait for page to fully load ghost-browser wait-ready --timeout 10 # Custom timeout in seconds ``` After `navigate`, all commands automatically target the navigated tab. ### Page Understanding ```bash ghost-browser page-summary # Quick overview (~10 tokens) ghost-browser elements # All interactive elements (numbered) ghost-browser elements --form-only # Form inputs only ghost-browser elements --limit 50 # Cap at 50 elements ghost-browser readable # Full page as markdown ghost-browser readable --max-length 5000 # Limit output length ghost-browser content # Raw HTML (avoid — use readable instead) ``` ### Text-Based Interaction (preferred) ```bash ghost-browser interact click "Sign In" # Click by button/link text ghost-browser interact type "Email" --type-text "user@example.com" # Type by label ghost-browser interact click "Products" --index 1 # Click 2nd match if multiple ghost-browser fill-form '{"email":"a@b.com","password":"x"}' --submit ghost-browser hover "Menu" --by-text # Hover by visible text ``` ### CSS Selector Interaction (fallback) Use these only when text-based interaction fails. ```bash ghost-browser click "button.submit" # Click by CSS selector ghost-browser type "input#email" "a@b.com" # Type by CSS selector ghost-browser find "h1" # Find elements by selector ghost-browser hover ".dropdown" # Hover by CSS selector ghost-browser wait ".loaded" --timeout 10 # Wait for element to appear ghost-browser scroll --down # Scroll down ghost-browser scroll --up # Scroll up ghost-browser scroll --to 500 # Scroll to Y position ghost-browser eval "document.title" # Execute arbitrary JavaScript ``` ### Cookies & Storage ```bash ghost-browser cookies # List all cookies ghost-browser cookies --domain example.com # Filter by domain ghost-browser set-cookie name value # Set a cookie ghost-browser set-cookie name value --domain .example.com # Set with domain ghost-browser clear-cookies # Clear all cookies ghost-browser clear-cookies --domain example.com # Clear for domain ghost-browser save-cookies --file cookies.json # Export cookies to JSON ghost-browser load-cookies cookies.json # Import cookies from JSON ghost-browser storage list # List localStorage entries ghost-browser storage list --session # List sessionStorage entries ghost-browser storage get # Get a value ghost-browser storage set # Set a value ghost-browser storage delete # Delete a key ghost-browser storage clear # Clear all localStorage ``` ### Session Management ```bash ghost-browser session save # Save cookies + localStorage + sessionStorage ghost-browser session load # Restore full auth state ``` Sessions are saved locally under `state/sessions/.json`. They contain cookies and storage data needed to restore an authenticated state. Delete session files when no longer needed. ### Files & Media ```bash ghost-browser screenshot # Screenshot to auto-named file ghost-browser screenshot --output ./page.png # Screenshot to specific file ghost-browser pdf --output page.pdf # Save page as PDF ghost-browser pdf --output page.pdf --landscape # Landscape PDF ghost-browser upload photo.jpg # Upload file (auto-detect file input) ghost-browser upload doc.pdf --selector "#file" # Upload to specific file input ghost-browser download --output file.pdf # Download a file ``` ### Debugging ```bash ghost-browser network-log # View recent network requests ghost-browser network-log --limit 20 # Limit entries ghost-browser network-log --filter api # Filter by URL substring ghost-browser network-log --clear # Clear the log ghost-browser console-log # View JS console output ghost-browser console-log --level error # Show only errors ghost-browser console-log --clear # Clear the log ghost-browser eval "document.title" # Execute JavaScript and return result ``` Network and console logging run automatically in the background. ### Window ```bash ghost-browser window --size 1920x1080 # Resize window ghost-browser window --position 0x0 # Reposition window ``` ### Profile Management Profiles persist browser data (history, cookies, extensions) across sessions. ```bash ghost-browser profile list # List profiles with sizes ghost-browser profile create # Create new profile ghost-browser profile delete # Delete a profile and its data ghost-browser profile default # Show default profile ghost-browser profile default # Set default profile ghost-browser profile clone # Clone a profile ``` ### Extension Management ```bash ghost-browser install-extension # Install from Web Store URL/ID or .crx file ghost-browser install-extension --name custom-name # Install with custom folder name ghost-browser list-extensions # List all installed extensions ghost-browser remove-extension # Remove an installed extension ghost-browser load-extension # Load extension into running browser ghost-browser load-extension # Load all extensions ghost-browser unload-extension # Unload extension from running browser ``` ### Challenge Handling ```bash ghost-browser cf-solve # Handle Cloudflare challenges (all tabs) ghost-browser cf-solve --tab # Handle on specific tab ``` Challenges are also detected and handled automatically in the background. ## Decision Guide | I want to... | Use this | |--------------|----------| | Understand what's on a page | `page-summary` then `elements` if needed | | Read page text content | `readable` (NOT `content`) | | Click a button | `interact click "Button Text"` | | Fill a login form | `fill-form '{"email":"...","password":"..."}' --submit` | | Type into a specific field | `interact type "Field Label" --type-text "value"` | | Wait for page to load | `wait-ready` | | See what I can click/type | `elements` or `elements --form-only` | | Save login for later | `session save sitename` | | Restore a saved login | `session load sitename` | | Debug a failing request | `network-log --filter domain.com` | | Check for JS errors | `console-log --level error` | | Take a screenshot | `screenshot --output ./page.png` | | Run custom JavaScript | `eval "your code here"` | ## JSON Output All commands support `--json` for machine-readable output: ```bash ghost-browser page-summary --json ghost-browser elements --json ghost-browser readable --json ghost-browser status --json ``` ## Installation After installing the skill, run the setup script: ```bash bash setup.sh ``` This creates a Python virtual environment and installs dependencies automatically. ## Requirements - Python 3.8+ - Google Chrome installed on the system - nodriver (installed automatically by `setup.sh`) ## Data & Privacy This skill stores the following data locally under its `state/` directory: | Data | Location | Contains | |------|----------|----------| | Browser state | `state/browser.json` | Port numbers, process ID | | Logs | `state/browser.log` | Daemon debug logs | | Profiles | `state/profiles/` | Chrome user data (history, cookies) | | Sessions | `state/sessions/` | Saved auth state (cookies, localStorage) | **To clean up:** delete the `state/` directory to remove all persistent data. Use `ghost-browser profile delete ` to remove individual profiles. Session and cookie files may contain authentication tokens. Handle them carefully and delete when no longer needed. ## Security - Browser control server binds to 127.0.0.1 only (localhost, not network-accessible) - The skill does not modify any files outside its own directory - No environment variables or external credentials are required - All persistent data is stored under the skill's `state/` directory