stef-openclaw-skills/skills/web-automation/SKILL.md

---
name: web-automation
description: Browse and scrape web pages using Playwright-compatible CloakBrowser. Use when automating web workflows, extracting rendered page content, handling authenticated sessions, or scraping websites with bot protection.
---

# Web Automation with CloakBrowser (Codex)

Automated web browsing and scraping using Playwright-compatible CloakBrowser with two execution paths under one skill:

- one-shot extraction via `extract.js`
- broader stateful automation via CloakBrowser and the existing `auth.ts`, `browse.ts`, `flow.ts`, and `scrape.ts`

## When To Use Which Command

- Use `node scripts/extract.js "<URL>"` for one-shot extraction from a single URL when you need rendered content, bounded stealth behavior, and JSON output.
- Use `npx tsx scrape.ts ...` when you need markdown output, Readability extraction, full-page cleanup, or selector-based scraping.
- Use `npx tsx browse.ts ...`, `auth.ts`, or `flow.ts` when the task needs interactive navigation, persistent sessions, login handling, click/type actions, or multi-step workflows.

## Requirements

- Node.js 20+
- pnpm
- Network access to download the CloakBrowser binary on first use or via preinstall

## First-Time Setup

```bash
cd ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/web-automation/scripts
pnpm install
npx cloakbrowser install
pnpm approve-builds
pnpm rebuild better-sqlite3 esbuild
```

## Updating CloakBrowser

```bash
cd ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/web-automation/scripts
pnpm up cloakbrowser playwright-core
npx cloakbrowser install
pnpm approve-builds
pnpm rebuild better-sqlite3 esbuild
```

## Prerequisite Check (MANDATORY)

Before running any automation, verify CloakBrowser and Playwright Core dependencies are installed and scripts are configured to use CloakBrowser.

```bash
cd ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/web-automation/scripts
node --input-type=module -e "await import('cloakbrowser');import 'playwright-core';console.log('OK: cloakbrowser + playwright-core installed')"
node -e "const fs=require('fs');const t=fs.readFileSync('browse.ts','utf8');if(!/import\s*\{[^}]*launchPersistentContext[^}]*\}\s*from\s*['\"]cloakbrowser['\"]/.test(t)){throw new Error('browse.ts is not configured for CloakBrowser')}console.log('OK: CloakBrowser integration detected in browse.ts')"
```

If any check fails, stop and return:

"Missing dependency/config: web-automation requires `cloakbrowser` and `playwright-core` with CloakBrowser-based scripts. Run setup in this skill, then retry."

If runtime fails with missing native bindings for `better-sqlite3` or `esbuild`, run:

```bash
cd ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/web-automation/scripts
pnpm approve-builds
pnpm rebuild better-sqlite3 esbuild
```

## Quick Reference

- One-shot JSON extract: `node scripts/extract.js "https://example.com"`
- Browse page: `npx tsx browse.ts --url "https://example.com"`
- Scrape markdown: `npx tsx scrape.ts --url "https://example.com" --mode main --output page.md`
- Authenticate: `npx tsx auth.ts --url "https://example.com/login"`
- Natural-language flow: `npx tsx flow.ts --instruction 'go to https://example.com then click on "Login" then type "user@example.com" in #email then press enter'`

## OpenClaw Exec Approvals / Allowlist

If OpenClaw prompts for exec approval every time this skill runs, add a local approvals allowlist for the main agent before retrying. This is especially helpful for repeated `extract.js`, `browse.ts`, and other CloakBrowser-backed scrapes.

```bash
openclaw approvals allowlist add --agent main "/opt/homebrew/bin/node"
openclaw approvals allowlist add --agent main "/usr/bin/env"
openclaw approvals allowlist add --agent main "~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/web-automation/scripts/*.js"
openclaw approvals allowlist add --agent main "~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/web-automation/scripts/node_modules/.bin/*"
```

Then verify:

```bash
openclaw approvals get
```

Notes:
- If `node` lives somewhere else on the host, replace `/opt/homebrew/bin/node` with the output of `which node`.
- If matching problems persist, replace `~/.openclaw/...` with the full absolute path such as `/Users/<user>/.openclaw/...`.
- Keep the allowlist scoped to the main agent unless there is a real reason to broaden it.

## One-shot extraction

Use `extract.js` when you need a single page fetch with JavaScript rendering and lightweight anti-bot shaping, but not a full automation session.

```bash
node scripts/extract.js "https://example.com"
WAIT_TIME=5000 node scripts/extract.js "https://example.com"
SCREENSHOT_PATH=/tmp/page.png SAVE_HTML=true node scripts/extract.js "https://example.com"
```

Output is JSON only and includes fields such as:

- `requestedUrl`
- `finalUrl`
- `title`
- `content`
- `metaDescription`
- `status`
- `elapsedSeconds`
- `challengeDetected`
- optional `screenshot`
- optional `htmlFile`

## General flow runner

Use `flow.ts` for multi-step commands in plain language (go/click/type/press/wait/screenshot).

Example:

```bash
npx tsx flow.ts --instruction 'go to https://search.fiorinis.com then type "pippo" then press enter then wait 2s'
```

### Gallery/lightbox workflows

For real-estate listings and other image-heavy pages, prefer opening the gallery/lightbox explicitly and verifying that each navigation step produces a distinct image.

Practical rules:
- Do not treat a listing page hero image, gallery collage, or modal landing view as full photo review.
- After opening the gallery, capture the first image, then use the actual in-gallery next control.
- Confirm the image changed before counting the next screenshot as reviewed.
- If a generic `Next` control exits the gallery or returns to the listing shell, stop and adjust the selector/interaction; do not claim the photos were reviewed.
- Blind `ArrowRight` presses are not reliable enough unless you have already verified that they advance the gallery on that site.
- For smaller listings, review all photos when practical; otherwise review enough distinct photos to cover kitchen, baths, living areas, bedrooms, exterior, and any waterfront/balcony/deck elements.
- If automation cannot reliably advance the gallery, say so explicitly in the final answer.

Where possible, prefer specific controls over vague ones, for example a gallery-specific next-arrow button rather than a page-level `Next` button.

## Compatibility Aliases

- `CAMOUFOX_PROFILE_PATH` still works as a legacy alias for `CLOAKBROWSER_PROFILE_PATH`
- `CAMOUFOX_HEADLESS` still works as a legacy alias for `CLOAKBROWSER_HEADLESS`
- `CAMOUFOX_USERNAME` and `CAMOUFOX_PASSWORD` still work as legacy aliases for `CLOAKBROWSER_USERNAME` and `CLOAKBROWSER_PASSWORD`

## Notes

- Sessions persist in CloakBrowser profile storage.
- Use `--wait` for dynamic pages.
- Use `--mode selector --selector "..."` for targeted extraction.
- `extract.js` keeps stealth and bounded anti-bot shaping while keeping the browser sandbox enabled.