Skills Puppeteer

Setup

On first use, read

setup.md

When to Use

User needs browser automation: web scraping, E2E testing, PDF generation, screenshots, or any headless Chrome task. Agent handles page navigation, element interaction, waiting strategies, and data extraction.

Architecture

Scripts and outputs in

~/puppeteer/

memory-template.md

~/puppeteer/
├── memory.md       # Status + preferences
├── scripts/        # Reusable automation scripts
└── output/         # Screenshots, PDFs, scraped data

Quick Reference

setup.md

memory-template.md

selectors.md

waiting.md

Core Rules

1. Always Wait Before Acting

Never click or type immediately after navigation. Always wait for the element:

await page.waitForSelector('#button');
await page.click('#button');

Clicking without waiting causes "element not found" errors 90% of the time.

2. Use Specific Selectors

Prefer stable selectors in this order:

1. [data-testid="submit"]

   — test attributes (most stable)

2. #unique-id

   — IDs

3. form button[type="submit"]

   — semantic combinations

4. .class-name

   — classes (least stable, changes often)

Avoid:

div > div > div > button

3. Handle Navigation Explicitly

After clicks that navigate, wait for navigation:

await Promise.all([
  page.waitForNavigation(),
  page.click('a.next-page')
]);

Without this, the script continues before the new page loads.

4. Set Realistic Viewport

Always set viewport for consistent rendering:

await page.setViewport({ width: 1280, height: 800 });

Default viewport is 800x600 — many sites render differently or show mobile views.

5. Handle Popups and Dialogs

Dismiss dialogs before they block interaction:

page.on('dialog', async dialog => {
  await dialog.dismiss(); // or dialog.accept()
});

Unhandled dialogs freeze the script.

6. Close Browser on Errors

Always wrap in try/finally:

const browser = await puppeteer.launch();
try {
  // ... automation code
} finally {
  await browser.close();
}

Leaked browser processes consume memory and ports.

7. Respect Rate Limits

Add delays between requests to avoid blocks:

await page.waitForTimeout(1000 + Math.random() * 2000);

Hammering sites triggers CAPTCHAs and IP bans.

Common Traps

• page.click()

  on invisible element → fails silently, use

  waitForSelector

  with

  visible: true

• Screenshots of elements off-screen → blank image, scroll into view first

• page.evaluate()

  returns undefined → cannot return DOM nodes, only serializable data
• Headless blocked by site → use

  headless: 'new'

  or set user agent
• Form submit reloads page →

  page.waitForNavigation()

  or data is lost
• Shadow DOM elements invisible to selectors → use

  page.evaluateHandle()

  to pierce shadow roots
• Cookies not persisting → launch with

  userDataDir

  for session persistence

Security & Privacy

Data that stays local:

• All scraped data in ~/puppeteer/output/
• Browser profile in specified userDataDir

This skill does NOT:

• Send scraped data anywhere
• Store credentials (you provide them per-script)
• Access files outside ~/puppeteer/

Related Skills

Install with

clawhub install <slug>

• playwright

  — Cross-browser automation alternative

• chrome

  — Chrome DevTools and debugging

• web

  — General web development

Feedback

• If useful:

  clawhub star puppeteer

• Stay updated:

  clawhub sync