ImL1s OpenCLI as LLM Advisor Bridge
⚠️ Experimental / unofficial. This skill automates vendor web UIs (Gemini, ChatGPT) via
opencli's browser bridge. It is inherently fragile:
- Upstream UI changes may break the DOM selectors overnight. When that happens, the adapter inside opencli needs updating — not this skill.
- Terms of Service: automating chat UIs may violate provider ToS. Use for personal productivity only; avoid high-volume scraping.
- Account safety: excessive automation can get accounts flagged. Keep per-minute rates low.
Use only as a fallback when the official API path is unavailable. If your API quota works, use that instead.
When the official API path fails (429, quota, auth), or when the user wants a higher-tier model than their API key allows, opencli can drive the web UI or desktop app of the LLM instead — reusing your logged-in browser / installed app session. No tokens consumed on the API side, no rate limits against free tiers.
Complements the official OpenCLI skills (opencli-usage, opencli-browser, opencli-adapter-author). Those cover generic opencli capabilities. This skill covers how we specifically use it as an LLM advisor in this user's environment.
When to Use
gemini-cli(API path) returned 429 /MODEL_CAPACITY_EXHAUSTED/ auth issue- CCG flow (
/oh-my-claudecode:ccg) needs a Gemini response but API is down - User explicitly wants Gemini 3.1 Pro or GPT-5.2 Thinking via their Plus subscription
- Want to cross-validate a Claude answer with a different frontier model, no budget
ask-gemini/ask-codexhelpers failed; need fallback
When NOT to Use
- Normal programmatic calls in working CI (opencli needs a GUI Chrome session)
- Image generation → use
opencli chatgpt image/opencli gemini imagedirectly (these are already simple) - When headless / no GUI available
- When the user's own browser Chrome window is not logged into the target service
User's Environment (specific to this setup)
| Service | Preferred account | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini web | Your preferred Google account — use /u/N where N is the account index (/u/0 is the default-logged-in account, /u/1 is the second, etc.) |
Always navigate to the correct /u/N/app URL before calling opencli gemini |
| ChatGPT Desktop | Native macOS app | Use opencli chatgpt-app — native, not web |
| Chrome profile | Default profile | opencli uses whichever profile's browser is connected via the Browser Bridge extension |
Recipe 1 — Gemini 3.1 Pro (free-tier highest)
Goal: Send a prompt to Gemini with the highest-tier free model (Pro / 3.1 Pro), not the default Fast mode.
# 1. Navigate to the right account (/u/1) AND open new chat
opencli browser open "https://gemini.google.com/u/1/app"
sleep 2
# 2. Find the mode picker button (labeled "Fast" or current mode)
opencli browser find --css "bard-mode-switcher button, [aria-label='Open mode picker']"
# Note the ref number from output — likely around 29 after page loads
# 3. Click to open mode picker, then list options
opencli browser click <ref>
sleep 1
opencli browser find --css "[role=menuitem], button[role=menuitemradio]" --text-max 200
# 4. Click the "Pro" menu item (text: "Pro Advanced math and code with 3.1 Pro")
opencli browser click <pro-ref>
# 5. Now send the prompt — adapter will use the Pro model
opencli gemini ask "your prompt here" --timeout 120
Why click instead of CLI flag: opencli gemini ask has no --model flag. Mode is set via UI state, persists for the session.
Timeout: Pro mode "thinks" — set --timeout 120 or higher. Default 60s will cut Pro mid-reasoning.
Recipe 2 — ChatGPT Desktop as advisor
Goal: Ask ChatGPT Desktop (native macOS app) for a second opinion. Uses Plus subscription, zero API spend.
# Pre-flight: ensure ChatGPT Desktop is running
opencli chatgpt-app status
# If not running: launch ChatGPT.app via Spotlight or `open -a "ChatGPT"`
# 1. Open a new chat
opencli chatgpt-app new
# 2. (Optional) Switch model to thinking mode for harder questions
opencli chatgpt-app model thinking # or: 5.2-thinking / 5.2-instant
# 3. Send the prompt
opencli chatgpt-app send "your prompt here"
# 4. Wait for the response (no built-in wait — poll read)
sleep 15
opencli chatgpt-app read
# If still generating, sleep longer and read again
Gotcha: chatgpt-app read returns the last visible message. If ChatGPT is still streaming, you may get partial text. Poll until content stops growing.
Recipe 3 — Account switching (general pattern)
OpenCLI has no --account flag. It uses whatever session is active in the current browser tab.
To use a non-default Google account (e.g., /u/1 instead of /u/0):
# Always pre-navigate to the /u/N variant of the URL
opencli browser open "https://gemini.google.com/u/1/app"
# Then run the normal adapter command — it operates on whatever tab is active
opencli gemini ask "..."
Same pattern for any Google-authenticated site.
Recipe 4 — CCG (Claude-Codex-Gemini) via opencli fallback
When omc ask gemini fails with 429, the original /oh-my-claudecode:ccg flow can still complete by substituting opencli for the Gemini leg:
# Codex leg (API path, usually fine)
omc ask codex "<codex prompt>"
# Gemini leg via opencli (no API, no 429)
opencli browser open "https://gemini.google.com/u/1/app"
# ... select Pro per Recipe 1 ...
opencli gemini ask "<gemini prompt>" --timeout 120 > /tmp/gemini-response.md
# Claude synthesizes both as usual
Failure Modes & Workarounds
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
opencli gemini ask hangs or times out at 60s |
Pro mode thinking longer | Add --timeout 120 or --timeout 180 |
| Wrong Google account replies | Active tab is on /u/0, not /u/1 |
Always browser open the /u/N URL first |
| Mode picker button ref not 29 | Page layout changed or lazy load | Re-run browser find --css "bard-mode-switcher button" to get fresh ref |
| "Upgrade" shown instead of Pro option | Free-tier quota for Pro used up that day | Switch to Thinking mode (still high-tier) or use chatgpt-app instead |
| ChatGPT Desktop returns partial message | Still streaming | Sleep longer, re-read until stable |
opencli chatgpt-app send but nothing happens |
App not focused / not running | Check chatgpt-app status; focus window manually if needed |
| Adapter targets wrong tab | opencli binds to the "site workspace" tab, not the one you have open | Use opencli browser open to seed the correct URL into the site workspace first |
Model Tier Reference (as of 2026-04)
Gemini web (via opencli gemini ask):
- Fast (default) — low-effort answers
- Thinking — medium, good for most advisor queries
- Pro (3.1 Pro) — highest free-tier, use for architecture/review tasks
- Upgrade — paid, skip unless user has Gemini Advanced
ChatGPT Desktop (opencli chatgpt-app model <mode>):
auto— ChatGPT picksinstant/5.2-instant— fastthinking/5.2-thinking— higher reasoning, recommended for advisor role
Integration with Existing Skills
| Task | Skill to use |
|---|---|
| First-time setup / CLI install questions | opencli-usage |
| Writing a new adapter for a new site | opencli-adapter-author |
| Fixing a broken built-in adapter | opencli-autofix |
| Low-level browser primitives | opencli-browser |
| Using an LLM as advisor/fallback (this skill) | opencli-llm-advisors |
Anti-patterns
- Don't use opencli when the API path works. API is faster, scriptable, idempotent. opencli is a fallback, not a default.
- Don't leave chat history accumulating in the browser. Gemini/ChatGPT web context can bleed between calls. Always
browser open .../appfresh orchatgpt-app newbefore a new advisor query. - Don't assume the model persists. If the user restarts the browser, mode resets to Fast / default. Re-run the mode picker flow.
- Don't send sensitive prompts through the chat UI without thinking about it — these go through the web service with regular chat-history retention, unlike opaque API calls.
- Don't wait forever. If Pro mode takes > 3 min, something's wrong — abort, retry with smaller prompt.
Quick one-liner wrappers
Add to ~/.zshrc for fast access:
# Gemini Pro on account /u/1
ask-gemini-pro() {
opencli browser open "https://gemini.google.com/u/1/app" > /dev/null
opencli gemini ask "$@" --timeout 180
}
# ChatGPT Desktop with thinking mode
ask-gpt-think() {
opencli chatgpt-app new > /dev/null
opencli chatgpt-app model thinking > /dev/null
opencli chatgpt-app send "$@"
sleep 20
opencli chatgpt-app read
}