Social Media Video Upload

Social Media Video Upload — Hybrid Pattern

Foundational reference for uploading files to web apps through Chrome when Playwright's browser_file_upload doesn't work (returns Protocol error (DOM.setFileInputFiles): Not allowed).

The Core Problem

• browser_file_upload fails on LinkedIn, X, and many sites: Not allowed
• Playwright intercepts fileChooserOpened CDP events, which prevents the native macOS file dialog from appearing
• On X specifically: you must close the Playwright tab (browser_close) before the macOS-use click triggers the file dialog — otherwise Playwright's CDP listener swallows the event

The Solution: Hybrid Playwright + macOS-use

Use Playwright for all standard web interactions (navigate, type, click web buttons). Switch to macOS-use when you need to trigger and interact with native file dialogs.

Step-by-Step Pattern

1. Use Playwright for navigation, typing text, clicking web UI buttons
2. When you hit a file upload button:
   • On X: call browser_close first to release CDP file chooser interception
   • On LinkedIn: no need to close — just switch to macOS-use
3. Find Chrome PID:

   pgrep -x "Google Chrome"
   

4. Click the upload button via macOS-use (click_and_traverse) — this triggers the native file dialog
5. Confirm dialog opened: grep the traversal output for AXSheet role
6. Navigate the file dialog:
   • Press Cmd+Shift+G to open "Go to folder" text field
   • Type the full absolute file path
   • Press Return to navigate
7. Click "Open" button:
   • The Open/Cancel buttons are always near the bottom of the AXSheet
   • Typically at y > 1500 (around y ~1565)
   • Grep traversal for "Open" and find the AXButton
8. Verify upload — wait for upload progress indicator to complete
9. Continue posting via macOS-use (click Post, Next, etc.)

Traversal Tips

• Never read full traversal JSON — files are huge. Use grep or python to search.
• Check for AXSheet role to confirm file dialog is open
• The "Where:" popup shows the current directory in the file dialog
• File dialog Open/Cancel buttons are typically at y ~1565
• After clicking Open, wait a moment for the file to be selected/uploaded

Platform-Specific Notes

Common Gotchas

• Playwright steals file dialogs: The CDP fileChooserOpened event listener prevents native dialogs. On X, the only fix is closing the Playwright connection.
• Cmd+Shift+G timing: Sometimes the "Go to folder" sheet takes a moment to appear. If typing the path doesn't work, wait and retry.
• File path must be absolute: Always use full paths like /path/to/your/video.mp4
• AXSheet detection: After clicking an upload button, grep for AXSheet in the traversal to confirm the dialog appeared. If it didn't, the CDP interception may have swallowed it.