chrome-cdp-live-browser

chrome-cdp: Live Chrome Session for AI Agents

Skill by ara.so — Daily 2026 Skills collection.

chrome-cdp connects your AI agent directly to your running Chrome browser via the Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP). Unlike browser automation tools that spin up fresh isolated browsers, this connects to tabs you already have open — with your logins, cookies, and current page state intact.

What It Does

Live session access — reads and interacts with tabs you're already logged into
Persistent daemon — one WebSocket daemon per tab; the "Allow debugging" modal appears once, not on every command
No npm install — only Node.js 22+ required
100+ tab support — handles large numbers of open tabs reliably
Cross-origin iframe support — type command works even inside cross-origin iframes

Installation

As a pi skill

pi install git:github.com/pasky/chrome-cdp-skill@v1.0.1

Manual (for Amp, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, etc.)

git clone https://github.com/pasky/chrome-cdp-skill
# Copy the skills/chrome-cdp/ directory to wherever your agent loads context from

Enable Remote Debugging in Chrome

Open Chrome and navigate to: chrome://inspect/#remote-debugging
Toggle the "Enable remote debugging" switch

That's all. No flags, no relaunching Chrome.

The script auto-detects Chrome, Chromium, Brave, Edge, and Vivaldi on macOS, Linux, and Windows. For non-standard installs:

export CDP_PORT_FILE=

Key Commands

All commands use scripts/cdp.mjs as the entry point. <target> is a unique prefix of the targetId shown by list.

List Open Tabs

Screenshot a Tab

Accessibility Tree (Semantic Snapshot)

Full HTML or Scoped HTML

Evaluate JavaScript

Navigate to URL

Network Resource Timing

Click an Element

Click at Coordinates

Type Text

Load More (Click Until Gone)

Open a New Tab

Stop Daemons

Raw CDP Command Passthrough

Common Patterns

Pattern: Read a Page You're Logged Into

Pattern: Fill and Submit a Form

Pattern: Extract Data with JavaScript

Pattern: Navigate and Wait

Pattern: Paginated Content

Pattern: Script Integration (Node.js)

Configuration

Environment Variable	Purpose
`CDP_PORT_FILE`	Path to `DevToolsActivePort` file for non-standard browser installs

Daemons auto-exit after 20 minutes of inactivity — no manual cleanup needed in normal use.

Troubleshooting

This happens if daemons aren't persisting. Make sure you're using the same scripts/cdp.mjs entry point — it manages daemon lifecycle automatically. If you switched tools mid-session, run stop and let daemons restart fresh.

Browser not detected

If auto-detection fails, find your DevToolsActivePort file and set the env var:

Target not found / prefix ambiguous

Run list again — tab IDs change when tabs are closed/reopened. Use a longer prefix if multiple tabs share the same prefix characters.

Remote debugging toggle not visible

Ensure you're on chrome://inspect/#remote-debugging (not just chrome://inspect/). The toggle is in the top-right of the page.

Node.js version error

This project requires Node.js 22+. Check with node --version and upgrade if needed via nvm or your package manager.

Screenshots are blank or wrong size

The screenshot reflects the actual rendered viewport. If the tab is in a background window or the OS has display scaling, pixel coordinates for clickxy may need adjustment. Use snap or eval to inspect DOM state instead of relying solely on screenshots.

Architecture Notes

No Puppeteer, no Playwright, no intermediary — pure CDP WebSocket
One persistent daemon process per tab (auto-spawned on first access)
Daemon reuse is why 100+ tabs work reliably (no timeout on target enumeration)
type uses CDP Input domain directly, bypassing iframe origin restrictions

chrome-cdp: Live Chrome Session for AI Agents

Skill by ara.so — Daily 2026 Skills collection.

What It Does

Live session access — reads and interacts with tabs you're already logged into
Persistent daemon — one WebSocket daemon per tab; the "Allow debugging" modal appears once, not on every command
No npm install — only Node.js 22+ required
100+ tab support — handles large numbers of open tabs reliably
Cross-origin iframe support — type command works even inside cross-origin iframes

Installation

As a pi skill

pi install git:github.com/pasky/chrome-cdp-skill@v1.0.1

Manual (for Amp, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, etc.)

git clone https://github.com/pasky/chrome-cdp-skill
# Copy the skills/chrome-cdp/ directory to wherever your agent loads context from

Enable Remote Debugging in Chrome

Open Chrome and navigate to: chrome://inspect/#remote-debugging
Toggle the "Enable remote debugging" switch

That's all. No flags, no relaunching Chrome.

The script auto-detects Chrome, Chromium, Brave, Edge, and Vivaldi on macOS, Linux, and Windows. For non-standard installs:

export CDP_PORT_FILE=

Key Commands

All commands use scripts/cdp.mjs as the entry point. <target> is a unique prefix of the targetId shown by list.

List Open Tabs

Screenshot a Tab

Accessibility Tree (Semantic Snapshot)

Full HTML or Scoped HTML

Evaluate JavaScript

Navigate to URL

Network Resource Timing

Click an Element

Click at Coordinates

Type Text

Load More (Click Until Gone)

Open a New Tab

Stop Daemons

Raw CDP Command Passthrough

Common Patterns

Pattern: Read a Page You're Logged Into

Pattern: Fill and Submit a Form

Pattern: Extract Data with JavaScript

Pattern: Navigate and Wait

Pattern: Paginated Content

Pattern: Script Integration (Node.js)

Configuration

Environment Variable	Purpose
`CDP_PORT_FILE`	Path to `DevToolsActivePort` file for non-standard browser installs

Daemons auto-exit after 20 minutes of inactivity — no manual cleanup needed in normal use.

Troubleshooting

Browser not detected

If auto-detection fails, find your DevToolsActivePort file and set the env var:

Target not found / prefix ambiguous

Run list again — tab IDs change when tabs are closed/reopened. Use a longer prefix if multiple tabs share the same prefix characters.

Remote debugging toggle not visible

Ensure you're on chrome://inspect/#remote-debugging (not just chrome://inspect/). The toggle is in the top-right of the page.

Node.js version error

This project requires Node.js 22+. Check with node --version and upgrade if needed via nvm or your package manager.

Screenshots are blank or wrong size

Architecture Notes

No Puppeteer, no Playwright, no intermediary — pure CDP WebSocket
One persistent daemon process per tab (auto-spawned on first access)
Daemon reuse is why 100+ tabs work reliably (no timeout on target enumeration)
type uses CDP Input domain directly, bypassing iframe origin restrictions

chrome-cdp-live-browser

Documentation

Documentation

chrome-cdp: Live Chrome Session for AI Agents

What It Does

Installation

As a pi skill

Manual (for Amp, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, etc.)

Enable Remote Debugging in Chrome

Key Commands

List Open Tabs

Screenshot a Tab

Accessibility Tree (Semantic Snapshot)

Full HTML or Scoped HTML

Evaluate JavaScript

Navigate to URL

Network Resource Timing

Click an Element

Click at Coordinates

Type Text

Load More (Click Until Gone)

Open a New Tab

Stop Daemons

Raw CDP Command Passthrough

Common Patterns

Pattern: Read a Page You're Logged Into

Pattern: Fill and Submit a Form

Pattern: Extract Data with JavaScript

Pattern: Navigate and Wait

Pattern: Paginated Content

Pattern: Script Integration (Node.js)

Configuration

Troubleshooting

"Allow debugging" modal keeps appearing

Browser not detected

Target not found / prefix ambiguous

Remote debugging toggle not visible

Node.js version error

Screenshots are blank or wrong size

Architecture Notes

Documentation

chrome-cdp-live-browser

Documentation

chrome-cdp: Live Chrome Session for AI Agents

What It Does

Installation

As a pi skill

Manual (for Amp, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, etc.)

Enable Remote Debugging in Chrome

Key Commands

List Open Tabs

Screenshot a Tab

Accessibility Tree (Semantic Snapshot)

Full HTML or Scoped HTML

Evaluate JavaScript

Navigate to URL

Network Resource Timing

Click an Element

Click at Coordinates

Type Text

Load More (Click Until Gone)

Open a New Tab

Stop Daemons

Raw CDP Command Passthrough

Common Patterns

Pattern: Read a Page You're Logged Into

Pattern: Fill and Submit a Form

Pattern: Extract Data with JavaScript

Pattern: Navigate and Wait

Pattern: Paginated Content

Pattern: Script Integration (Node.js)

Configuration

Troubleshooting

"Allow debugging" modal keeps appearing

Browser not detected

Target not found / prefix ambiguous

Remote debugging toggle not visible

Node.js version error

Screenshots are blank or wrong size

Architecture Notes