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Chrome DevTools Agent Skill

puppeteerautomationtestingdebuggingweb-scraping
β˜… 4.4 (88)⭐ 2.1kπŸ•’ 2026-04-03Source β†—

Install this skill

npx skills add mrgoonie/claudekit-skills

Works across Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Copilot & Antigravity

What this skill does

  • β€’Execute full-page and element-specific screenshots with automated compression
  • β€’Interact with dynamic web elements through automated clicks and form inputs
  • β€’Perform performance analysis including Core Web Vitals and network trace collection
  • β€’Extract interactive DOM metadata using snapshot functionality
  • β€’Monitor real-time console logs and error streams during page execution
  • β€’Run custom JavaScript snippets directly within the page context

When to use it

  • βœ“Visual regression testing of UI components across different viewports
  • βœ“Automating multi-step login flows or form submission processes
  • βœ“Scraping dynamic content from SPAs or JavaScript-heavy websites
  • βœ“Measuring page load performance metrics for specific user journeys
  • βœ“Debugging client-side JavaScript errors during remote development sessions

When not to use it

  • βœ•Handling high-frequency, large-scale web scraping requiring IP rotation
  • βœ•Tasks that can be solved with static HTTP requests via curl or Fetch
  • βœ•Executing heavy background processes that conflict with browser memory limits

How to invoke it

Example prompts that trigger this skill:

  • β€œCapture a full-page screenshot of the dashboard and save it to the docs folder.”
  • β€œNavigate to the login page, fill in the credentials, and submit the form.”
  • β€œMonitor the console logs on the homepage to find any runtime errors.”
  • β€œRun a performance trace on the checkout flow and output the vitals as JSON.”
  • β€œGet a list of all buttons on the page to identify the correct submit selector.”

Example workflow

  1. Navigate to the target website using navigate.js to set the initial state.
  2. Use snapshot.js to list selectors and identify the target form field IDs.
  3. Call fill.js and click.js sequentially to perform the login action.
  4. Trigger screenshot.js to document the post-login state.
  5. Parse the resulting JSON output to confirm the login status was successful.

Prerequisites

  • –Node.js runtime environment
  • –ImageMagick for screenshot compression
  • –Linux system libraries for headless Chrome (Ubuntu/Debian/Fedora)

Pitfalls & limitations

  • !Puppeteer scripts are sensitive to current working directory; always verify before execution.
  • !Generating large screenshots may trigger memory limits if not compressed correctly.
  • !CSS selectors may break if the website UI structure changes frequently.
  • !Failing to close browser instances can lead to zombie processes consuming system resources.

FAQ

Why do I need to install ImageMagick?
ImageMagick is used to compress screenshots automatically to keep file sizes under the 5MB limit required for API processing.
How do I maintain session state across multiple commands?
Use the --close false flag to keep the browser instance alive, allowing you to chain commands like navigation, filling forms, and clicking buttons.
What happens if a script fails to find an element?
Use snapshot.js to extract current interactive elements and their metadata, or switch to an XPath selector for more precise targeting.

How it compares

Unlike manual browser testing, this skill enables programmatic repeatability and structured JSON output, which allows your agent to make decisions based on the data returned by the page rather than relying solely on visual inspection.

Source & trust

⭐ 2.1k starsπŸ•’ Updated 2026-04-03πŸ›‘ runs-shell, network, reads-credentials

From the source: β€œ# Chrome DevTools Agent Skill Browser automation via executable Puppeteer scripts. All scripts output JSON for easy parsing. ## Quick Start **CRITICAL**: Always check `pwd` before running scripts. ### Installation #### Step 1: Install System Dependencies (Linux/WSL only) On Linux/WSL, Chrome require…”

View the full SKILL.md source

# Chrome DevTools Agent Skill

Browser automation via executable Puppeteer scripts. All scripts output JSON for easy parsing.

## Quick Start

**CRITICAL**: Always check `pwd` before running scripts.

### Installation

#### Step 1: Install System Dependencies (Linux/WSL only)

On Linux/WSL, Chrome requires system libraries. Install them first:

```bash
pwd  # Should show current working directory
cd .claude/skills/chrome-devtools/scripts
./install-deps.sh  # Auto-detects OS and installs required libs
```

Supports: Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, RHEL, CentOS, Arch, Manjaro

**macOS/Windows**: Skip this step (dependencies bundled with Chrome)

#### Step 2: Install Node Dependencies

```bash
npm install  # Installs puppeteer, debug, yargs
```

#### Step 3: Install ImageMagick (Optional, Recommended)

ImageMagick enables automatic screenshot compression to keep files under 5MB:

**macOS:**
```bash
brew install imagemagick
```

**Ubuntu/Debian/WSL:**
```bash
sudo apt-get install imagemagick
```

**Verify:**
```bash
magick -version  # or: convert -version
```

Without ImageMagick, screenshots >5MB will not be compressed (may fail to load in Gemini/Claude).

### Test
```bash
node navigate.js --url https://example.com
# Output: {"success": true, "url": "https://example.com", "title": "Example Domain"}
```

## Available Scripts

All scripts are in `.claude/skills/chrome-devtools/scripts/`

**CRITICAL**: Always check `pwd` before running scripts.

### Script Usage
- `./scripts/README.md`

### Core Automation
- `navigate.js` - Navigate to URLs
- `screenshot.js` - Capture screenshots (full page or element)
- `click.js` - Click elements
- `fill.js` - Fill form fields
- `evaluate.js` - Execute JavaScript in page context

### Analysis & Monitoring
- `snapshot.js` - Extract interactive elements with metadata
- `console.js` - Monitor console messages/errors
- `network.js` - Track HTTP requests/responses
- `performance.js` - Measure Core Web Vitals + record traces

## Usage Patterns

### Single Command
```bash
pwd  # Should show current working directory
cd .claude/skills/chrome-devtools/scripts
node screenshot.js --url https://example.com --output ./docs/screenshots/page.png
```
**Important**: Always save screenshots to `./docs/screenshots` directory.

### Automatic Image Compression
Screenshots are **automatically compressed** if they exceed 5MB to ensure compatibility with Gemini API and Claude Code (which have 5MB limits). This uses ImageMagick internally:

```bash
# Default: auto-compress if >5MB
node screenshot.js --url https://example.com --output page.png

# Custom size threshold (e.g., 3MB)
node screenshot.js --url https://example.com --output page.png --max-size 3

# Disable compression
node screenshot.js --url https://example.com --output page.png --no-compress
```

**Compression behavior:**
- PNG: Resizes to 90% + quality 85 (or 75% + quality 70 if still too large)
- JPEG: Quality 80 + progressive encoding (or quality 60 if still too large)
- Other formats: Converted to JPEG with compression
- Requires ImageMagick installed (see imagemagick skill)

**Output includes compression info:**
```json
{
  "success": true,
  "output": "/path/to/page.png",
  "compressed": true,
  "originalSize": 8388608,
  "size": 3145728,
  "compressionRatio": "62.50%",
  "url": "https://example.com"
}
```

### Chain Commands (reuse browser)
```bash
# Keep browser open with --close false
node navigate.js --url https://example.com/login --close false
node fill.js --selector "#email" --value "[email protected]" --close false
node fill.js --selector "#password" --value "secret" --close false
node click.js --selector "button[type=submit]"
```

### Parse JSON Output
```bash
# Extract specific fields with jq
node performance.js --url https://example.com | jq '.vitals.LCP'

# Save to file
node network.js --url https://example.com --output /tmp/requests.json
```

## Execution Protocol

### Working Directory Verification

BEFORE executing any script:
1. Check current working directory with `pwd`
2. Verify in `.claude/skills/chrome-devtools/scripts/` directory
3. If wrong directory, `cd` to correct location
4. Use absolute paths for all output files

Example:
```bash
pwd  # Should show: .../chrome-devtools/scripts
# If wrong:
cd .claude/skills/chrome-devtools/scripts
```

### Output Validation

AFTER screenshot/capture operations:
1. Verify file created with `ls -lh <output-path>`
2. Read screenshot using Read tool to confirm content
3. Check JSON output for success:true
4. Report file size and compression status

Example:
```bash
node screenshot.js --url https://example.com --output ./docs/screenshots/page.png
ls -lh ./docs/screenshots/page.png  # Verify file exists
# Then use Read tool to visually inspect
```

5. Restart working directory to the project root.

### Error Recovery

If script fails:
1. Check error message for selector issues
2. Use snapshot.js to discover correct selectors
3. Try XPath selector if CSS selector fails
4. Verify element is visible and interactive

Example:
```bash
# CSS selector fails
node click.js --url https://example.com --selector ".btn-submit"
# Error: waiting for selector ".btn-submit" failed

# Discover correct selector
node snapshot.js --url https://example.com | jq '.elements[] | select(.tagName=="BUTTON")'

# Try XPath
node click.js --url https://example.com --selector "//button[contains(text(),'Submit')]"
```

### Common Mistakes

❌ Wrong working directory β†’ output files go to wrong location
❌ Skipping output validation β†’ silent failures
❌ Using complex CSS selectors without testing β†’ selector errors
❌ Not checking element visibility β†’ timeout errors

βœ… Always verify `pwd` before running scripts
βœ… Always validate output after screenshots
βœ… Use snapshot.js to discover selectors
βœ… Test selectors with simple commands first

## Common Workflows

### Web Scraping
```bash
node evaluate.js --url https://example.com --script "
  Array.from(document.querySelectorAll('.item')).map(el => ({
    title: el.querySelector('h2')?.textContent,
    link: el.querySelector('a')?.href
  }))
" | jq '.result'
```

### Performance Testing
```bash
PERF=$(node performance.js --url https://example.com)
LCP=$(echo $PERF | jq '.vitals.LCP')
if (( $(echo "$LCP < 2500" | bc -l) )); then
  echo "βœ“ LCP passed: ${LCP}ms"
else
  echo "βœ— LCP failed: ${LCP}ms"
fi
```

### Form Automation
```bash
node fill.js --url https://example.com --selector "#search" --value "query" --close false
node click.js --selector "button[type=submit]"
```

### Error Monitoring
```bash
node console.js --url https://example.com --types error,warn --duration 5000 | jq '.messageCount'
```

## Script Options

All scripts support:
- `--headless false` - Show browser window
- `--close false` - Keep browser open for chaining
- `--timeout 30000` - Set timeout (milliseconds)
- `--wait-until networkidle2` - Wait strategy

See `./scripts/README.md` for complete options.

## Output Format

All scripts output JSON to stdout:
```json
{
  "success": true,
  "url": "https://example.com",
  ... // script-specific data
}
```

Errors go to stderr:
```json
{
  "success": false,
  "error": "Error message"
}
```

## Finding Elements

Use `snapshot.js` to discover selectors:
```bash
node snapshot.js --url https://example.com | jq '.elements[] | {tagName, text, selector}'
```

## Troubleshooting

### Common Errors

**"Cannot find package 'puppeteer'"**
- Run: `npm install` in the scripts directory

**"error while loading shared libraries: libnss3.so"** (Linux/WSL)
- Missing system dependencies
- Fix: Run `./install-deps.sh` in scripts directory
- Manual install: `sudo apt-get install -y libnss3 libnspr4 libasound2t64 libatk1.0-0 libatk-bridge2.0-0 libcups2 libdrm2 libxkbcommon0 libxcomposite1 libxdamage1 libxfixes3 libxrandr2 libgbm1`

**"Failed to launch the browser process"**
- Check system dependencies installed (Linux/WSL)
- Verify Chrome downloaded: `ls ~/.cache/puppeteer`
- Try: `npm rebuild` then `npm install`

**Chrome not found**
- Puppeteer auto-downloads Chrome during `npm install`
- If failed, manually trigger: `npx puppeteer browsers install chrome`

### Script Issues

**Element not found**
- Get snapshot first to find correct selector: `node snapshot.js --url <url>`

**Script hangs**
- Increase timeout: `--timeout 60000`
- Change wait strategy: `--wait-until load` or `--wait-until domcontentloaded`

**Blank screenshot**
- Wait for page load: `--wait-until networkidle2`
- Increase timeout: `--timeout 30000`

**Permission denied on scripts**
- Make executable: `chmod +x *.sh`

**Screenshot too large (>5MB)**
- Install ImageMagick for automatic compression
- Manually set lower threshold: `--max-size 3`
- Use JPEG format instead of PNG: `--format jpeg --quality 80`
- Capture specific element instead of full page: `--selector .main-content`

**Compression not working**
- Verify ImageMagick installed: `magick -version` or `convert -version`
- Check file was actually compressed in output JSON: `"compressed": true`
- For very large pages, use `--selector` to capture only needed area

## Reference Documentation

Detailed guides available in `./references/`:
- [CDP Domains Reference](./references/cdp-domains.md) - 47 Chrome DevTools Protocol domains
- [Puppeteer Quick Reference](./references/puppeteer-reference.md) - Complete Puppeteer API patterns
- [Performance Analysis Guide](./references/performance-guide.md) - Core Web Vitals optimization

## Advanced Usage

### Custom Scripts
Create custom scripts using shared library:
```javascript
import { getBrowser, getPage, closeBrowser, outputJSON } from './lib/browser.js';
// Your automation logic
```

### Direct CDP Access
```javascript
const client = await page.createCDPSession();
await client.send('Emulation.setCPUThrottlingRate', { rate: 4 });
```

See reference documentation for advanced patterns and complete API coverage.

## External Resources

- [Puppeteer Documentation](https://pptr.dev/)
- [Chrome DevTools Protocol](https://chromedevtools.github.io/devtools-protocol/)
- [Scripts README](./scripts/README.md)

Quoted from mrgoonie/claudekit-skills for reference β€” see the original for the authoritative, latest version.

πŸ“„ Full skill instructions β€” original source: mrgoonie/claudekit-skills
This skill provides a programmatic interface for browser automation using Puppeteer, helping developers inspect, debug, and scrape web applications directly from the command line. It acts as an execution layer for tasks requiring a live browser environment, such as performance profiling, form interaction, and DOM analysis. By normalizing complex browser interactions into consistent JSON outputs, it enables agents to perform reliable regression testing and network traffic monitoring. It is particularly helpful for teams needing to bridge the gap between raw web code and automated verification, ensuring that functional UI behaviors are captured, validated, and documented without manual browser intervention. The toolkit includes logic for handling high-resolution screenshots, automatic compression for API compatibility, and persistent browser sessions for multi-step authentication workflows.

How to Use This Skill Unit

Option A: Project-Specific (Recommended)

  1. Click "Download" above
  2. In your project, create the directory: .agent/skills/chrome-devtools/
  3. Save the file as SKILL.md
  4. The agent will automatically discover the skill based on its description.

Option B: Global Installation (All Agents)

Save the file to these locations to make it available across all projects:

  • Claude Code: ~/.claude/skills/mrgoonie/claudekit-skills/chrome-devtools/SKILL.md
  • Cursor: ~/.cursor/skills/mrgoonie/claudekit-skills/chrome-devtools/SKILL.md
  • Antigravity: ~/.gemini/antigravity/skills/mrgoonie/claudekit-skills/chrome-devtools/SKILL.md

πŸš€ Install with CLI:
npx skills add mrgoonie/claudekit-skills

Read the Master Guide: Mastering Agent Skills β†’

Recommended Rules

View more rules β†’

Recommended Workflows

View more workflows β†’

Recommended MCP Servers

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Take It Further

Maximize your productivity with these powerful resources

πŸ“‹

Define Your Standards

Set up coding standards to ensure this workflow produces consistent, high-quality results.

Browse Rules Library
πŸ“–

Master Workflows

Learn how to create custom workflows, use Turbo Mode, and build your automation library.

Complete Guide

How to use this Skill in Claude Code & Cursor

For Claude Code (CLI)

To use this skill in Claude Code, copy the rule content into your project's custom instructions or follow our Add-Skill CLI guide. This ensures Claude follows your standards during every code generation.

For Cursor & Windsurf

For Cursor or Windsurf, individual skills are best used in the "Rules for AI" section. This specific unit helps the agent avoid testing & quality assurance issues, leading to cleaner, more efficient code.

Why the skill format matters: the standardized Agent Skills format lets your AI agent load detailed instructions only when they are relevant, keeping your prompt clean while improving results.

Source & attribution

This skill is categorized under Testing & Quality Assurance and is published by mrgoonie, maintained in mrgoonie/claudekit-skills.

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