Online Shopping

Online Shopping

Overview

Search for products, compare options, and complete purchases on online stores — even those protected by Cloudflare. Uses Patchright (stealth Playwright) to avoid bot detection.

First-Time Setup

Run the setup script to install all dependencies:

bash <skill-dir>/scripts/setup.sh

This installs xvfb, Patchright, and Chromium, then verifies everything works. See references/setup.md for manual steps or troubleshooting.

Workflow

1. Understand the request — product type, specs, size, brand preference, budget
2. Browse the store — use stealth browser script to search and extract product listings
3. Recommend — present options with price, availability, ratings. Give a clear recommendation.
4. Confirm — get explicit approval before adding to cart
5. Checkout — fill shipping/contact details, select delivery and payment
6. Stop before paying — always confirm with the user before completing a purchase

Using the Stealth Browser

All browsing goes through Patchright scripts executed with xvfb-run. Do NOT use OpenClaw's built-in browser tool for Cloudflare-protected sites — it connects via CDP which leaks Runtime.enable calls that Cloudflare detects.

Quick browse (bundled script)

xvfb-run --auto-servernum node <skill-dir>/scripts/browse.mjs "<url>" --screenshot /tmp/page.png --text

Custom scripts

Write .mjs scripts in /tmp/ for multi-step flows. Auto-detect Patchright path:

import { createRequire } from 'module';
import { execSync } from 'node:child_process';
import { existsSync } from 'node:fs';

function findPatchright() {
  const root = execSync('npm root -g 2>/dev/null').toString().trim();
  const candidates = [
    root + '/openclaw/node_modules/patchright',
    process.env.HOME + '/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/openclaw/node_modules/patchright',
    root + '/patchright',
  ];
  for (const p of candidates) {
    try { if (existsSync(p)) return p; } catch {}
  }
  throw new Error('Patchright not found. Run setup.sh first.');
}

const require = createRequire(import.meta.url);
const { chromium } = require(findPatchright());

const browser = await chromium.launchPersistentContext('/tmp/patchright-ctx', {
  headless: false,   // REQUIRED — Cloudflare detects headless
  viewport: null,    // REQUIRED — use real viewport, not default 800x600
  args: ['--no-sandbox', '--disable-gpu'],
});

const page = browser.pages()[0] || await browser.newPage();
// ... your automation here ...
await browser.close();

Execute with: xvfb-run --auto-servernum node /tmp/my-script.mjs

Critical best practices (from Patchright docs)

These are essential for avoiding bot detection:

1. headless: false — always. Cloudflare fingerprints headless mode. Use xvfb for servers without a display.
2. viewport: null — let the browser use its natural viewport. Custom viewports are a detection signal.
3. Do NOT set custom userAgent or HTTP headers — fingerprint injection makes you more detectable, not less.
4. Use persistent context (launchPersistentContext) — retains cookies, localStorage, and session state between runs. Also more closely resembles real browser behavior.
5. Prefer Google Chrome over Chromium where available (x86_64: npx patchright install chrome, then channel: "chrome"). Chromium has subtle fingerprint differences. ARM64 only supports Chromium.
6. Do NOT use connectOverCDP() — connecting via raw CDP bypasses Patchright's patches. Always use chromium.launch() or chromium.launchPersistentContext().

Why Patchright works where Playwright doesn't

Patchright patches three key detection vectors:

• Runtime.enable leak — Playwright uses Runtime.enable CDP call which sites detect. Patchright executes JS in isolated execution contexts instead.
• Command flag leaks — Removes --enable-automation, adds --disable-blink-features=AutomationControlled.
• Console.enable leak — Disables console API to avoid detection (console.log won't work in page context).

Script workflow for shopping

1. Search script — navigate to store, search for product, extract listings as text
2. Product script — click into a product page, get details
3. Cart script — add to cart, navigate to checkout
4. Checkout script — dump form fields with page.evaluate(), fill details, select shipping/payment
5. Screenshot — always screenshot before completing purchase for user confirmation

Write each step as a separate .mjs script in /tmp/. Persistent context means the cart and session carry over between scripts.

Debugging tips

• Use page.screenshot() liberally to see what the page looks like
• Use page.evaluate(() => document.body.innerText) to dump page text
• Dump form fields with page.evaluate(() => { ... querySelectorAll('input') ... }) before filling
• Some fields may be read-only (auto-filled from other fields) — check before trying to fill
• Use page.waitForTimeout() generously — sites need time to load/render
• Close cookie banners early — they can block interactions

User Details & Preferences

Check references/preferences.md for saved shopping data (addresses, payment methods, delivery preferences, order history). If it doesn't exist yet, copy references/preferences-template.md to references/preferences.md and fill it in.

Fall back to USER.md for basic contact/address info.

When checkout requires info not on file, ask the user. After a successful order, update references/preferences.md with:

• Any new address or delivery preference
• The order in the history table

Never store card numbers or sensitive payment credentials. Only store method names (e.g. "Swish", "PayPal", "Visa ending 4321").

Safety

• Never complete a purchase without explicit user confirmation
• Show the cart summary, total price, and shipping cost before final step
• Screenshot the checkout page and describe it to the user
• If something looks wrong (wrong product, unexpected charges), stop and ask

Site-Specific Notes

See references/sites.md for store-specific quirks and tips. If the file doesn't exist yet, copy references/sites-template.md to get started.