open-gstack-browser
The facts
Its description
Launch GStack Browser — AI-controlled Chromium with the sidebar extension baked in. Triggers: open gstack browser; launch chromium; show me the browser
The description the agent reads to decide when to use it. Phrases the author says should start it.
When it starts
This skill fires when the person wants the visible, AI-controlled GStack Browser up on screen: opening it, launching the bundled Chromium, or asking to see the browser. It is a launch-and-setup flow, not something another skill starts on its own.
Things a person might say (the model's guesses)
- “Open GStack Browser for me.”
- “Launch Chromium so I can watch what you're doing.”
- “Show me the browser.”
A model's summary of when it is used.
Tools it may use, or may not
allowed-tools: Bash, Read, AskUserQuestion
Tools it may use while it runs without asking you first.
Starts other agents
1 line mentions starting other agents
Lines in the file that mention starting another agent. Found by matching words, so treat them as pointers.
Runs scripts
bin/gstack-skill-start, bin/gstack-learnings-log, bin/gstack-skill-end, bin/gstack-browser-ensure, bin/gstack-paths
Scripts the text names. Found by matching words, so treat them as pointers.
Stops for a person
7 lines stop to ask a person (first 5 linked)
Lines that stop and wait for a person before going on. Found by matching words, so treat them as pointers.
What it leads to
Other skills this one hands off to, calls, requires or offers instead, as a model read them.
What leads to it
- gstack hands off to this PROACTIVE all, or user names it gstack, line 230
Other skills that hand off to this one, call it, require it or offer it instead, as a model read them.
Licence
MIT, from LICENSE
The terms its author shares it under, which let it be shown here.
The text
Most marks come from matching words in the file, so treat them as pointers.
<!-- AUTO-GENERATED from SKILL.md.tmpl — do not edit directly --> <!-- Regenerate: bun run gen:skill-docs -->
Raw lines 1 to 18Boilerplate, lines 19 to 142. The same text appears in 26 other files here. Close
Plan Status Footer
Skills that run plan reviews (/plan-*-review, /codex review) include the EXIT PLAN MODE GATE blocking checklist at the end of the skill, which verifies the plan file ends with ## GSTACK REVIEW REPORT before ExitPlanMode is called. Skills that don't run plan reviews (operational skills like /ship, /qa, /review) typically don't operate in plan mode and have no review report to verify; this footer is a no-op for them. Writing the plan file is the one edit allowed in plan mode.
/open-gstack-browser — Launch GStack Browser
Launch GStack Browser — AI-controlled Chromium with the sidebar extension, anti-bot stealth, and custom branding. You see every action in real time.
Raw lines 143 to 151SETUP (run this check BEFORE any browse command)
_ROOT=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null)
B=""
[ -n "$_ROOT" ] && [ -x "$_ROOT/.claude/skills/gstack/browse/dist/browse" ] && B="$_ROOT/.claude/skills/gstack/browse/dist/browse"
[ -z "$B" ] && B="$HOME/.claude/skills/gstack/browse/dist/browse"
if [ -x "$B" ] && "${B%/browse/*}/bin/gstack-browser-ensure"; then
echo "READY: $B"
else
echo "NEEDS_SETUP"
figstack-browser-ensure installs Chromium on first use when the install skipped it (lazy browser); it prints BROWSER_OK or BROWSER_UNAVAILABLE <reason> first.
If NEEDS_SETUP:
- Tell the user: "gstack browse needs a one-time build (~10 seconds). OK to proceed?" Then STOP and wait.
- Run:
cd <SKILL_DIR> && ./setup - If
bunis not installed: ``bash if ! command -v bun >/dev/null 2>&1; then BUN_VERSION="1.4.2" BUN_INSTALL_SHA="bab8acfb046aac8c72407bdcce903957665d655d7acaa3e11c7c4616beae68dd" tmpfile=$(mktemp "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/bun-install.XXXXXX") curl -fsSL "https://bun.sh/install" -o "$tmpfile" # shasum is macOS/perl; coreutils-only Linux ships sha256sum instead — # resolve whichever exists so the verify never fails on a missing tool. if command -v sha256sum >/dev/null 2>&1; then actual_sha=$(sha256sum < "$tmpfile" | awk '{print $(1)}') else actual_sha=$(shasum -a 256 < "$tmpfile" | awk '{print $(1)}') fi if [ "$actual_sha" != "$BUN_INSTALL_SHA" ]; then echo "ERROR: bun install script checksum mismatch" >&2 echo " expected: $BUN_INSTALL_SHA" >&2 echo " got: $actual_sha" >&2 rm "$tmpfile"; exit 1 fi bash "$tmpfile" "bun-v$BUN_VERSION" rm "$tmpfile" fi
Step 0: Check for a running browse daemon
A running browse daemon may hold open tabs, cookies and logged-in sessions, and replacing it loses them. Probe without starting one (BROWSE_NO_AUTOSTART=1 keeps status from booting a daemon):
_STATUS=$(BROWSE_NO_AUTOSTART=1 $B status 2>&1); _STATUS_RC=$?
printf '%s\n' "$_STATUS" | head -5
if [ "$_STATUS_RC" -ne 0 ]; then echo "DAEMON: none"
elif printf '%s' "$_STATUS" | grep -q 'Mode: headed'; then echo "DAEMON: headed"
else echo "DAEMON: live"; fi- **
DAEMON: none**: no daemon answered. Clear Chromium profile locks left by a crash, then run Step 1's plain$B connect. The CLI reaps orphaned Chromium and stale state itself, and it still refuses to replace a daemon that is alive but too busy to answer; if it refuses, show its output and stop.
bash GSTACK_STATE_ROOT=$(~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-paths --get GSTACK_STATE_ROOT); : "${GSTACK_STATE_ROOT:?gstack-paths failed; reinstall with ./setup or /gstack-upgrade}" _PROFILE_DIR="$GSTACK_STATE_ROOT/chromium-profile" for _LF in SingletonLock SingletonSocket SingletonCookie; do rm -f "$_PROFILE_DIR/$_LF" 2>/dev/null || true done
- **
DAEMON: headed**: GStack Browser is already open. Step 1's plain$B connectreports that; continue to Step 2.
- **
DAEMON: live**: a headless daemon is running. WithSESSION_KIND: spawnedorheadless, do not ask and do not replace it. Print this and stop:
bash printf 'Live browse daemon left running. Run %s stop, then re-run /open-gstack-browser to replace it.\n' "$B"
Otherwise AskUserQuestion. Replacing the daemon cannot be undone:
"A browse daemon is already running (tabs and logins may be active). Opening GStack Browser replaces it, and everything in that daemon is lost." Recommendation: B unless you are done with the running session.
Options:
- A) Replace it (runs
$B connect --force-restart; its tabs, cookies and logins are lost) - B) Keep it running and stop here
Only an explicit A runs Step 1 with --force-restart. On B, or a reply that is not clearly A, print the "Live browse daemon left running" line above and stop.
Step 1: Connect
$B connectAfter an explicit A in Step 0 only:
$B connect --force-restartThis launches GStack Browser (rebranded Chromium) in headed mode with:
- A visible window you can watch (not your regular Chrome — it stays untouched)
- The gstack sidebar extension auto-loaded via
launchPersistentContext - Anti-bot stealth patches (sites like Google and NYTimes work without captchas)
- Custom user agent and GStack Browser branding in Dock/menu bar
- A sidebar agent process for chat commands
The connect command auto-discovers the extension from the gstack install directory. It always uses port 34567 so the extension can auto-connect.
After connecting, print the full output to the user. Confirm you see Mode: headed in the output.
If the output shows an error or the mode is not headed, run $B status and share the output with the user before proceeding.
Step 2: Verify
$B statusConfirm the output shows Mode: headed. Read the port from the state file:
cat "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null)/.gstack/browse.json" 2>/dev/null | grep -o '"port":[[:space:]]*[0-9]*' | grep -o '[0-9]*'The port should be 34567. If it's different, note it — the user may need it for the Side Panel.
Also find the extension path so you can help the user if they need to load it manually:
_EXT_PATH=""
_ROOT=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null)
[ -n "$_ROOT" ] && [ -f "$_ROOT/.claude/skills/gstack/extension/manifest.json" ] && _EXT_PATH="$_ROOT/.claude/skills/gstack/extension"
[ -z "$_EXT_PATH" ] && [ -f "$HOME/.claude/skills/gstack/extension/manifest.json" ] && _EXT_PATH="$HOME/.claude/skills/gstack/extension"
echo "EXTENSION_PATH: ${_EXT_PATH:-NOT FOUND}"Raw lines 279 to 303Step 3: Guide the user to the Side Panel
Use AskUserQuestion:
Chrome is launched with gstack control. You should see Playwright's Chromium (not your regular Chrome) with a golden shimmer line at the top of the page. The Side Panel extension should be auto-loaded. To open it: 1. Look for the puzzle piece icon (Extensions) in the toolbar — it may already show the gstack icon if the extension loaded successfully 2. Click the puzzle piece → find gstack browse → click the pin icon 3. Click the pinned gstack icon in the toolbar 4. The Side Panel should open on the right showing a live activity feed Port: 34567 (auto-detected — the extension connects automatically in the Playwright-controlled Chrome).
Options:
- A) I can see the Side Panel — let's go!
- B) I can see Chrome but can't find the extension
- C) Something went wrong
If B: Tell the user:
The extension is loaded into Playwright's Chromium at launch time, but sometimes it doesn't appear immediately. Try these steps: 1. Typechrome://extensionsin the address bar 2. Look for "gstack browse" — it should be listed and enabled 3. If it's there but not pinned, go back to any page, click the puzzle piece icon, and pin it 4. If it's NOT listed at all, click "Load unpacked" and navigate to: - Press Cmd+Shift+G in the file picker dialog - Paste this path:{EXTENSION_PATH}(use the path from Step 2) - Click Select After loading, pin it and click the icon to open the Side Panel. If the Side Panel badge stays gray (disconnected), click the gstack icon and enter port 34567 manually.
If C:
- Run
$B statusand show the output - If the server is not healthy, re-run Step 0 cleanup + Step 1 connect
- If the server IS healthy but the browser isn't visible, try
$B focus - If that fails, ask the user what they see (error message, blank screen, etc.)
Step 4: Demo
After the user confirms the Side Panel is working, run a quick demo:
$B goto https://news.ycombinator.comWait 2 seconds, then:
$B snapshot -iTell the user: "Check the Side Panel — you should see the goto and snapshot commands appear in the activity feed. Every command Claude runs shows up here in real time."
Step 5: Sidebar chat
After the activity feed demo, tell the user about the sidebar chat:
The Side Panel also has a chat tab. Try typing a message like "take a snapshot and describe this page." A sidebar agent (a child Claude instance) executes your request in the browser — you'll see the commands appear in the activity feed as they happen. The sidebar agent can navigate pages, click buttons, fill forms, and read content. Each task gets up to 5 minutes. It runs in an isolated session, so it won't interfere with this Claude Code window.Raw lines 370 to 382
Step 6: What's next
Tell the user:
You're all set! Here's what you can do with the connected Chrome: Watch Claude work in real time: - Run any gstack skill (/qa,/design-review,/benchmark) and watch every action happen in the visible Chrome window + Side Panel feed - No cookie import needed — the Playwright browser shares its own session Control the browser directly: - Sidebar chat — type natural language in the Side Panel and the sidebar agent executes it (e.g., "fill in the login form and submit") - Browse commands —$B goto <url>,$B click <sel>,$B fill <sel> <val>,$B snapshot -i— all visible in Chrome + Side Panel Window management: -$B focus— bring Chrome to the foreground anytime -$B disconnect— close headed Chrome and return to headless mode What skills look like in headed mode: -/qaruns its full test suite in the visible browser — you see every page load, every click, every assertion -/design-reviewtakes screenshots in the real browser — same pixels you see -/benchmarkmeasures performance in the headed browser
Then proceed with whatever the user asked to do. If they didn't specify a task, ask what they'd like to test or browse.
Raw lines 383 to 411From garrytan/gstack at 3f79d81, 2026-11-01. Skills read by DeepSeek V4.1 Flash on 2026-11-04. Summary and techniques by Claude Opus 5.5 on 2026-11-06.