firefox-browser

Files (4)

• SKILL.md
• authenticated-session.sh · templates/
• capture-workflow.sh · templates/
• form-automation.sh · templates/

SKILL.md (first lines)

# Firefox Browser Automation with Playwright

**Always use the user's real Firefox profile** instead of launching a fresh automated instance. Fresh automated browsers get flagged by bot detection (Google login bans, CAPTCHAs, account locks). Using the real profile inherits cookies, extensions, and fingerprint.

Uses Playwright's Firefox engine. Install with `npx playwright install firefox`.

## Setup: Find Your Firefox Profile

```bash
# macOS
ls ~/Library/Application\ Support/Firefox/Profiles/
# Look for: xxxxxxxx.default-release

# Linux
ls ~/.mozilla/firefox/
```

Set the `FIREFOX_PROFILE` env var for convenience:

```bash
# macOS
export FIREFOX_PROFILE="$HOME/Library/Application Support/Firefox/Profiles/YOUR_PROFILE.default-release"

# Linux
export FIREFOX_PROFILE="$HOME/.mozilla/firefox/YOUR_PROFILE.default-release"
```

## Core Pattern — Use Real Profile

Copy the user's profile to a temp directory (avoids lock conflicts with running Firefox) and launch with it:

```bash
node <<'SCRIPT'
const { firefox } = require('playwright');
const { execSync } = require('child_process');
const os = require('os');
const path = require('path');

(async () => {
  const sourceProfile = process.env.FIREFOX_PROFILE;
  const tempProfile = path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'firefox-automation-profile');

  // Copy profile (preserves cookies, extensions, history)
  execSync(`rm -rf "${tempProfile}" && cp -R "${sourceProfile}" "${tempProfile}"`);
  // Remove lock files and compatibility markers (Playwright's Firefox is a different version)
  execSync(`rm -f "${tempProfile}/lock" "${tempProfile}/.parentlock" "${tempProfile}/parent.lock" "${tempProfile}/compatibility.ini"`);

  const context = await firefox.launchPersistentContext(tempProfile, {
    headless: false,
  });

  const page = context.pages()[0] || await context.newPage();
  await page.goto('https://example.com');
  await page.waitForLoadState('domcontentloaded');

  console.log('Title:', await page.title());
  console.log('URL:', page.url());
  await page.screenshot({ path: '/tmp/firefox-screenshot.png' });

  await context.close();
})();
SCRIPT
```

**Key details:**
- Close or leave Firefox running — the profile copy avoids lock conflicts
- Remove `compatibility.ini` — Playwright's bundled Firefox is a different version than the system Firefox
- Use `domcontentloaded` instead of `networkidle` — heavy SPAs (Gmail, etc.) never reach network idle
- The user may already be logged in to sites via their cookies

## Reusing a Copied Profile

If the temp profile already exists from a previous run, reuse it (skip the copy):

```bash
node <<'SCRIPT'
const { firefox } = require('playwright');
const os = require('os');
const path = require('path');
const fs = require('fs');

(async () => {
  const tempProfile = path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'firefox-automation-profile');

  if (!fs.existsSync(tempProfile)) {
    console.error('No cached profile found. Run the full copy pattern first.');
    process.exit(1);
  }

  // Clean stale locks from previous run
  const { execSync } = require('child_process');
  execSync(`rm -f "${tempProfile}/lock" "${tempProfile}/.parentlock" "${tempProfile}/parent.lock"`);

  const context = await firefox.launchPersistentContext(tempProfile, {
    headless: false,
  });

  const page = context.pages()[0] || await context.newPage();
  await page.goto('https://example.com');
  await page.waitForLoadState('domcontentloaded');

  console.log('Title:', await page.title());
  await context.close();
})();
SCRIPT
```

## CLI Commands (Simple Tasks)

For one-shot tasks that don't need authentication, CLI commands still work:

```bash
# Screenshot
npx playwright screenshot --browser firefox https://example.com screenshot.png
npx playwright screenshot --browser firefox --full-page https://example.com full.png
npx playwright screenshot --browser firefox --wait-for-selector "#content" https://example.com content.png

# PDF
npx playwright pdf --browser firefox https://example.com output.pdf

From kwannoel/the-controller, MIT.

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