Dedicated Chrome Browser

A dedicated headed Chrome for Testing (CfT) instance with CDP for Playwright MCP. Persistent profile (cookies/logins survive restarts), launchd-managed, multi-session safe. Distinct "TEST" badge icon in the Dock.

Why

• Chrome's single-instance lock prevents CDP when the default profile is in use — dedicated user-data-dir required
• Chrome for Testing has its own CFBundleIdentifier — shows as a separate app in Dock/Cmd+Tab with a distinctive icon
• Headed so the user can log into sites manually; Playwright shares the session
• launchd auto-starts on login, restarts on crash

Tool Selection

This skill drives Chrome only through Playwright MCP attached to 127.0.0.1:9222.

Do NOT use these lookalike MCPs even if they are loaded in the session:

• mcp__chrome-devtools__* — different MCP. Using it mixes tool surfaces and breaks the single-source-of-truth model this skill relies on. Typical failure: agent silently switches MCPs after a transient Playwright error and continues against an unrelated browser context.
• mcp__claude-in-chrome__* — deprecated predecessor; this skill replaces it. If it shows up loaded somewhere, the config is stale — ignore it and use Playwright against 127.0.0.1:9222.

If Playwright MCP isn't loaded, stop and tell the user — do not silently switch to a sibling MCP, and do not drive the browser via raw curl/CDP-WebSocket (see "Working with pages").

The Playwright MCP tools may be exposed under either namespace depending on how it was installed:

• mcp__playwright__browser_* — when added via claude mcp add playwright … (the INSTALL.md flow).
• mcp__plugin_<plugin>_playwright__browser_* — when loaded as part of a Claude Code plugin.

Either is fine; both attach to the same 127.0.0.1:9222 CDP. The preflight below checks whichever variant is present.

On activation

Before the first browser action in a session, run a 2-check preflight:

1. Browser ready: chrome-cdp-health (exit 0). On exit 1 → CDP unreachable, run launch-chrome-cdp. On exit 2 → endpoint reachable but webSocketDebuggerUrl is not local; the Playwright MCP --cdp-endpoint is misconfigured.
2. Playwright MCP loaded: at least one mcp__*playwright*__browser_* tool is available (either mcp__playwright__* or the plugin-namespaced mcp__plugin_<plugin>_playwright__*). If neither is present, stop and tell the user — see Tool Selection.

If either check fails, stop and surface the issue. Do not improvise an alternative.

Architecture

Chrome for Testing (CfT, ~/.local/Applications/)
  └── CDP on port 9222 + ergonomic flags
      └── ~/.cache/chrome-cdp-profile (persistent, isolated from daily Chrome)
          ├── Claude session 1 → Playwright MCP → CDP
          ├── Claude session 2 → Playwright MCP → CDP
          └── User can log into sites manually (headed)

Quick Reference

# Health / inspect / restart helpers (~/.local/bin/, installed by install-cft.sh)
chrome-cdp-health         # exit 0 alive, 1 unreachable, 2 endpoint wrong host
chrome-cdp-tabs           # list open tabs — read-only
chrome-cdp-restart        # kickstart launchd-managed Chrome (use when CDP hangs)

# Configure Playwright MCP (user-scope, one-time)
claude mcp add -s user playwright -- npx @playwright/mcp --cdp-endpoint http://127.0.0.1:9222

# Start / ensure Chrome CDP is running (one-shot, idempotent)
launch-chrome-cdp                                    # ~/.local/bin/launch-chrome-cdp

# Install / update Chrome for Testing (also (re)creates the helper symlinks)
${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/install-cft.sh          # latest stable
${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/install-cft.sh 147      # specific milestone

Finding the scripts when ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR} isn't set

Cold sessions or one-shot bash calls may not have ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}. After install-cft.sh has run once, the canonical entry point is on $PATH:

launch-chrome-cdp     # symlink in ~/.local/bin → skills/chrome-browser/scripts/launch-chrome-cdp.sh

If that's missing, locate the skill directory directly. Do NOT guess paths like ~/.cache/launch-chrome-cdp.sh, and do NOT fall back to launching /Applications/Google Chrome.app manually — you'd bypass Chrome for Testing and the curated flag set:

SKILL_DIR="$(dirname "$(find ~/.claude/skills ~/.claude/plugins ~/CODE \
  -path '*/chrome-browser/scripts/launch-chrome-cdp.sh' 2>/dev/null | head -1)")"
"${SKILL_DIR}/launch-chrome-cdp.sh"

Using the browser via Playwright MCP

• Inspect and close tabs: use the browser_tabs tool (no action = list; close action = close). Playwright page.close() does NOT work over CDP — it fails silently.
• One tab at a time: close each tab when done. If 10+ tabs accumulate, close all and start fresh.
• Sequential, not parallel: browser tool calls in parallel race the same Chrome instance. Wait for the previous call to settle before issuing the next.
• Verify you're talking to the local CDP: run chrome-cdp-health. Exit 0 = alive on 127.0.0.1:9222; exit 2 = endpoint reachable but webSocketDebuggerUrl points elsewhere (the MCP --cdp-endpoint is pointed at a remote host — fix it before doing anything else).
• Never drive the browser via raw HTTP/WebSocket against :9222/json/*. Those endpoints are for diagnostics only. For read-only inspection use chrome-cdp-tabs or chrome-cdp-health. Tab manipulation, navigation, snapshots, and any action go through Playwright MCP — direct CDP calls bypass Playwright's state tracking and break subsequent MCP calls.

When Playwright MCP errors but CDP is alive

If mcp__playwright__browser_* errors but chrome-cdp-health returns 0, CDP is healthy and Playwright is the problem. Restart launchd-managed Chrome and retry the same Playwright call:

chrome-cdp-restart

Never switch to mcp__chrome-devtools__* or mcp__claude-in-chrome__* as a workaround. The fix is always to restore CDP, not to change MCPs. If CDP itself is dead, see Troubleshooting → "CDP unreachable" below.

Working with pages

• React / SPA text extraction: use innerText, not textContent. React's virtual DOM may leave text nodes empty while innerText reflects rendered visual output.
• Batch crawling: page.goto() works inside browser_run_code for multi-page work without an MCP round-trip per page. Add 1–2 s between navigations to avoid rate limiting.
• No filesystem inside browser_run_code: require('fs') is unavailable in the Playwright MCP sandbox. Return data as the function's return value, or POST it to a local HTTP server.
• Cloudflare: if a site shows a challenge / waiting page, just wait — the browser MCP usually handles it. Real blocks are rare. Don't retry in a tight loop, and don't open a second tab to the same site.
• Rate limits: sites like Galaxus / Digitec block after ~100+ rapid requests. Crawl slowly (1–2 s/page); expect a ~5 min cool-off after a block.

Key Decisions

| Decision | Rationale | |----------|-----------| | Chrome for Testing | Distinct Dock icon ("TEST" badge), own CFBundleIdentifier, no auto-update surprises | | ~/.local/Applications/ install path | User-writable, stable path independent of puppeteer cache | | Isolated profile (~/.cache/chrome-cdp-profile) | Avoids single-instance lock, doesn't interfere with daily browsing | | Headed (not headless) | User can log into sites manually, cookies persist for automation | | launchd KeepAlive on crash only | Restart on crash, but intentional quit stays quit | | --no-first-run --no-default-browser-check | Zero-friction automated sessions | | --disable-infobars + UI suppression flags | Suppress infobars, search engine choice, hang monitor, popup blocking, form repost dialogs | | --disable-features=Translate,... | Disable translation, password check, autofill, media routing, AI mode, tab organization, optimization hints | | --password-store=basic --use-mock-keychain | Bypass macOS keychain — no unlock prompts during automation | | Background reduction flags | Disable background networking, phishing detection, component updates, sync, metrics upload | | User-scope MCP (-s user) | Available across all projects |

Troubleshooting

CDP unreachable (chrome-cdp-health exit 1):

1. launchctl list | grep chrome-cdp — is the launchd agent loaded?
2. pgrep -f chrome-cdp-profile — is a Chrome process actually running?
3. Process exists but CDP is dead (the "running but hung" case): chrome-cdp-restart (when launchd-loaded), or pkill -f chrome-cdp-profile + launch-chrome-cdp if the launchd agent isn't loaded.
4. Launchd shows non-zero exit in launchctl list: check the stdout/stderr paths defined in your plist.

CDP reaches the wrong machine (chrome-cdp-health exit 2): webSocketDebuggerUrl does not start with ws://127.0.0.1:9222/. The Playwright MCP --cdp-endpoint has been pointed at a remote host — re-run the claude mcp add line in Quick Reference.

Profile lock errors: zombie Chrome holding ~/.cache/chrome-cdp-profile. pkill -f chrome-cdp-profile, wait 2 s, relaunch.

Cloudflare challenges: wait, don't retry. Real blocks are very rare; they need a fresh IP, not another browser restart.

CfT update: run ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/install-cft.sh to download/install the latest stable version (it also refreshes the launch-chrome-cdp symlink).

Lost session after CfT update: the persistent profile at ~/.cache/chrome-cdp-profile may lose stored cookies/logins after a Chrome for Testing version bump. This is one-time per upgrade — re-login manually in the headed browser, no profile reset needed. Warn the user before any destructive pkill/profile-clear, since they may need the existing tab state for re-auth.

Setup

See INSTALL.md for the full setup checklist, including the launch script and launchd plist.

Self-Improvement

If you encounter a setup step that fails, a Chrome/Playwright behavior change, or missing guidance in this skill, don't just work around it — fix the skill:

1. Create a PR from a fresh worktree of https://github.com/eins78/agent-skills on a new branch, fixing the issue directly
2. Or file an issue on https://github.com/eins78/agent-skills with: what failed, the actual behavior, and the suggested fix

Never silently work around a skill gap. The fix benefits all future sessions.