glider CLI

Browser automation CLI with autonomous loop execution

---

	headless CDP	extension relay (glider)
logged-in tab / SSO	❌ cold profile	✅ attach to open tab
corp / MFA sessions	❌ re-auth wall	✅ reuse browser cookies
loop until done	manual glue	✅ glider loop + markers

glidercli → relay at ws://127.0.0.1:19988 → Glider extension → CDP on your tab.

---

Issue

failure mode	symptom
❌ cold profile launch	SSO/MFA breaks on internal sites; no logged-in tab to drive
❌ raw CDP without bridge	extension must relay debugger traffic from real Chromium profile
❌ cookie-only terminal fetch	cross-origin API hosts often 401 without in-tab bearer
❌ one-shot scripts only	no first-class loop with iteration cap, timeout, completion marker

---

Setup

npm i -g glidercli
glider install
glider connect

Step	Action
CLI	npm i -g glidercli
Extension	Glider on Chrome Web Store in the profile you automate
Daemon	glider install
Session	glider connect (once per browser launch)

Node 18+. Chromium-based browser with the extension enabled (see Browsers).

---

Browsers

Extension + relay model uses Chromium + Glider extension from Chrome Web Store in the same profile as glider connect.

	Browser	Config
	Google Chrome	default for glider connect
	Arc	config/browser.json.example
	Microsoft Edge	registry key edge
	Brave	registry key brave
	Vivaldi	registry key vivaldi

Not supported today: Firefox/Safari/WebKit/Gecko, DuckDuckGo, browsers without Chrome Web Store extension path.

Browser config

Priority: $GLIDER_HOME/config/browser.json → $GLIDER_HOME/browser.json → default Google Chrome.

Registry key (recommended):

{ "use": "arc" }

Registry file: $GLIDER_HOME/config/browsers-registry.json

glider use arc
glider browser

Explicit name/path:

{
  "name": "Arc",
  "path": "/Applications/Arc.app",
  "processName": "Arc"
}

Command	Effect
glider use arc	write { "use": "arc" } to browser.json
glider use	list registry keys
glider browser	show resolved name, path, process

macOS: open -a / AppleScript. Linux/Windows: partial, on roadmap.

---

Task files

name: hn-front
steps:
  goto: "https://news.ycombinator.com"
  wait: 2
  eval: "document.title"
  screenshot: "/tmp/hn.png"

---

Usage

glider connect
glider status
glider goto "https://news.ycombinator.com"
glider eval "document.title"
glider run `hn-scrape.yaml`
glider loop `hn-scrape.yaml` -n 50 -m hn_scrape_done

# per-host capture hints (optional)
glider resolve https://news.ycombinator.com --json

Output	Path
daemon log	~/.glider/daemon.log
domain index	~/.glider/config/domains.json
per-host intel	~/.glider/warch/HOST/glider.json
explore cache	~/.glider/bexplore/HOST/

Env	Default	Role
GLIDER_HOME	~/.glider	config, cache, warch tree
GLIDER_PORT	19988	relay port for CLI + helpers; non-default values require matching extension configuration
GLIDER_NODE_BIN	auto-detected	Node.js 18+ executable for background relay supervisor
GLIDER_RELOAD_TIMEOUT_MS	15000	extension reload/reconnect deadline
GLIDER_CDP_TIMEOUT_MS	30000	per-request CDP/extension timeout
GLIDER_RELAY_RECONNECT_GRACE_MS	10000	keep cached targets while extension WS flaps
GLIDER_RELAY_COMMAND_RECONNECT_WAIT_MS	3000	wait for extension before failing a command
GLIDER_RELAY_MAX_PENDING	256	max in-flight extension requests
GLIDER_TIMING	unset	set 1 to always attach timing on --json output
GLIDER_BROWSER_UI	unset (off)	set 1 to allow AppleScript launch/tabs/activate (steals focus). Default refuses browser UI mutation.
GLIDER_HEAL_NO_WAKE	unset	set 1 to force-skip heal tab-wake even if GLIDER_BROWSER_UI=1
AGREGISTRY	unset	optional registry root → warch at AGREGISTRY/warch/HOST/

Copy config/domains.template.json into ~/.glider/config/domains.json to seed the host index.

---

Gotchas

problem	fix	stability	why
extension not connected	install/enable Glider on Chrome Web Store in selected browser profile; click Glider icon, then run glider connect	per browser launch	relay waits on extension WS
extension socket up but worker dead	click Glider icon or glider reload-ext; glider heal does not open tabs by default (GLIDER_BROWSER_UI off); set GLIDER_BROWSER_UI=1 only if you want AppleScript wake	MV3 worker	status refuses healthy until pong
CLI steals browser focus / opens tabs	leave GLIDER_BROWSER_UI unset (default); never set it unless you explicitly want launch/tabs/activate	session-stable	AppleScript UI gated off by default
custom relay port has no extension	use 19988 with Chrome Web Store build	install-stable	published extension connects to ws://localhost:19988/extension
wrong tab targeted	glider targets → glider use-session session-6	session-stable	multi-tab needs explicit session
explore HAR empty bodies	replay in-tab with auth hook on XHR/fetch	site-specific	some SPAs never expose bearer in storage
resolve misses host	add ~/.glider/warch/HOST/glider.json or set AGREGISTRY	file-stable	optional per-host capture hints

---

Commands

Command	Description
glider install / uninstall	background relay supervisor
glider connect	attach relay to browser
glider status	server + extension + tabs; nonzero unless full stack is healthy
glider doctor	relay + SW + targets + one next action (--json)
glider heal	ensure relay, best-effort SW wake, optional --clear-pin
glider test	relay + extension + target + live CDP 1+1 diagnostic
glider goto / eval / click / type	page ops
glider frozen / thaw	detect / un-throttle a hidden (macrotask-frozen) tab in place
glider screenshot	PNG capture
glider explore	crawl + HAR
glider resolve	host → local warch intel (--json)
glider run / loop	YAML task / Ralph loop

Full surface: glider --help

---

Verification

npm test                 # unit, CLI regression, relay integration, tarball boundary
npm run test:live        # isolated live-browser fixture against the connected extension
npm run test:syntax      # package JavaScript syntax gate

Live smoke creates + closes its own browser window.

Incomplete event-stream features fail closed: wait --network-idle, console streaming, response fulfillment. No success-shaped fallback.

---

Roadmap

status	item
done	CDP relay, YAML tasks, loop, daemon, multi-tab, resolve
planned	Linux and Windows browser launch
	headless cloud mode
	task chaining

---

Contact