---
name: GSD Browser
slug: gsd-browser-2
category: Automation
description: GSD Browser is a Rust CLI for automating browsers, navigating sites, filling forms, taking screenshots, and extracting structured data. Use it for web interaction, live viewing, assertions, and browser-based testing tasks.
github: "https://github.com/gsd-build/gsd-browser/tree/main/gsd-browser-skill"
language: Rust
stars: 256
forks: 18
install: "npx degit https://github.com/gsd-build/gsd-browser/tree/main/gsd-browser-skill ~/.claude/skills/gsd-browser-skill"
installs_to: ~/.claude/skills/gsd-browser-skill
source_path: gsd-browser-skill/SKILL.md
collection_size: 2
category_size: 1523
collection_url: "https://dirskills.com/collections/gsd-build/gsd-browser"
added: 2026-08-12T04:43:53.215Z
last_synced: 2026-08-12T04:43:53.215Z
canonical_url: "https://dirskills.com/skills/gsd-browser-2"
---

# GSD Browser

GSD Browser is a Rust CLI for automating browsers, navigating sites, filling forms, taking screenshots, and extracting structured data. Use it for web interaction, live viewing, assertions, and browser-based testing tasks.

**Install:**

```bash
npx degit https://github.com/gsd-build/gsd-browser/tree/main/gsd-browser-skill ~/.claude/skills/gsd-browser-skill
```

## README

<essential_principles>

**The daemon auto-starts on browser commands.** `gsd-browser daemon health` reports state and does not start a session. Use `gsd-browser daemon start` only when you want to pre-warm or verify daemon lifecycle explicitly.

**Always re-snapshot after page changes.** Refs are versioned (`@v1:e1`, `@v2:e3`). After navigation, form submission, or dynamic content loading, old refs are stale. Run `gsd-browser snapshot` to get fresh refs before interacting.

**Use `--json` when parsing output.** Use text mode when reading output yourself. Use `--json` when you need to extract values programmatically.

**Positional args have no flag prefix.** Commands like `click`, `type`, `hover` take positional args. Do NOT add `--selector`:
- `gsd-browser click "button.submit"` (correct)
- `gsd-browser click --selector "button.submit"` (WRONG)

**Core workflow pattern:** Every browser automation follows: navigate -> snapshot -> interact -> re-snapshot (after DOM changes).

```bash
gsd-browser navigate https://example.com
gsd-browser snapshot
# Read snapshot output: @v1:e1 [input type="email"], @v1:e2 [button] "Submit"
gsd-browser fill-ref @v1:e1 "user@example.com"
gsd-browser click-ref @v1:e2
gsd-browser wait-for --condition network_idle
gsd-browser snapshot  # REQUIRED - old refs are now stale
```

**Command chaining:** Use `&&` when you don't need intermediate output. Run separately when you need to parse output first (e.g., snapshot to discover refs, then interact).

**Use the live viewer when the user wants to watch or direct the browser.** `gsd-browser view` opens a localhost viewer with live frames, narrated action history, ref overlays, and pause/step/resume/abort controls. Keep using CLI commands for actions; the viewer is the shared screen and control surface.

**Global options** available on all commands:

| Flag | Purpose |
|------|---------|
| `--json` | Structured JSON output |
| `--browser-path <path>` | Path to Chrome/Chromium |
| `--cdp-url <url>` | Attach to an already-running Chrome instance |
| `--session <name>` | Named session for parallel instances |
| `--no-narration-delay` | Skip narration lead-time sleeps while keeping history/events |

</essential_principles>

<routing>

Based on what the user needs, read the appropriate workflow:

| User intent | Workflow |
|-------------|----------|
| Navigate, click, type, fill forms, interact with pages | `workflows/navigate-and-interact.md` |
| Share the browser screen, narrate actions, pause/step/resume/abort | `workflows/live-viewer-and-narration.md` |
| Scrape data, extract content, read page structure | `workflows/scrape-and-extract.md` |
| Test pages, run assertions, visual regression, mock network | `workflows/test-and-assert.md` |
| Debug issues, check logs, diagnose problems | `workflows/debug-and-diagnose.md` |
| Install, configure, set up sessions | `workflows/setup-and-configure.md` |

**After reading the workflow, follow it. Load references only when the workflow directs you to.**

</routing>

<reference_index>

All domain knowledge in `references/`:

**Commands:** command-reference.md (complete command syntax)
**Snapshots:** snapshot-and-refs.md (versioned refs, snapshot modes)
**Intents:** semantic-intents.md (15 predefined intents for find-best/act)
**Errors:** error-recovery.md (common errors and fixes)
**Config:** configuration.md (TOML config, env vars, 5-layer merge)

</reference_index>

<workflows_index>

| Workflow | Purpose |
|----------|---------|
| navigate-and-interact.md | Page navigation, clicking, typing, forms, intents |
| live-viewer-and-narration.md | Live shared viewer, narrated history, refs overlay, controls |
| scrape-and-extract.md | Data extraction, accessibility tree, page source |
| test-and-assert.md | Assertions, visual regression, network mocking, test generation |
| debug-and-diagnose.md | Console/network logs, timeline, debug bundles |
| setup-and-configure.md | Installation, configuration, sessions, daemon management |

</workflows_index>

<success_criteria>

Browser automation task is complete when:
- Target page state is achieved and verified (via assertions or visual confirmation)
- Daemon is stopped if no further browser work is needed (`gsd-browser daemon stop`)
- Extracted data is returned in the expected format
- Any saved state (auth, cookies) is persisted for reuse if appropriate

</success_criteria>