feat: browse handoff — headless-to-headed browser switching (v0.7.4) (garrytan#201)

* feat: browse handoff — headless-to-headed browser switching

Add `handoff` and `resume` commands that let users take over a visible
Chrome when the headless browser gets stuck (CAPTCHAs, auth walls, MFA).

Architecture: launch-first-close-second for safe rollback. State transfer
via extracted saveState()/restoreState() helpers (DRY with recreateContext).
Auto-handoff hint after 3 consecutive command failures.

* test: handoff unit + integration tests (15 tests)

Covers saveState/restoreState, failure tracking, edge cases (already
headed, resume without handoff), and full integration flow with cookie
and tab preservation across headless-to-headed switch.

* docs: handoff section in browse template + TODOS update

Add User Handoff section to browse/SKILL.md.tmpl with usage examples.
Update State Persistence TODO noting saveState/restoreState reusability.

* chore: bump version and changelog (v0.7.4)

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

---------

Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Author: garrytan

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,5 +1,18 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## [0.8.2] - 2026-03-19
+
+### Added
+
+- **Hand off to a real Chrome when the headless browser gets stuck.** Hit a CAPTCHA, auth wall, or MFA prompt? Run `$B handoff "reason"` and a visible Chrome opens at the exact same page with all your cookies and tabs intact. Solve the problem, tell Claude you're done, and `$B resume` picks up right where you left off with a fresh snapshot.
+- **Auto-handoff hint after 3 consecutive failures.** If the browse tool fails 3 times in a row, it suggests using `handoff` — so you don't waste time watching the AI retry a CAPTCHA.
+- **15 new tests for the handoff feature.** Unit tests for state save/restore, failure tracking, edge cases, plus integration tests for the full headless-to-headed flow with cookie and tab preservation.
+
+### Changed
+
+- `recreateContext()` refactored to use shared `saveState()`/`restoreState()` helpers — same behavior, less code, ready for future state persistence features.
+- `browser.close()` now has a 5-second timeout to prevent hangs when closing headed browsers on macOS.
+
 ## [0.8.1] - 2026-03-19
 
 ### Fixed

SKILL.md

@@ -529,7 +529,9 @@ Refs are invalidated on navigation — run `snapshot` again after `goto`.
 ### Server
 | Command | Description |
 |---------|-------------|
+| `handoff [message]` | Open visible Chrome at current page for user takeover |
 | `restart` | Restart server |
+| `resume` | Re-snapshot after user takeover, return control to AI |
 | `status` | Health check |
 | `stop` | Shutdown server |
 

TODOS.md

@@ -52,7 +52,9 @@
 
 **Why:** Enables "resume where I left off" for QA sessions and repeatable auth states.
 
-**Effort:** M
+**Context:** The `saveState()`/`restoreState()` helpers from the handoff feature (browser-manager.ts) already capture cookies + localStorage + sessionStorage + URLs. Adding file I/O on top is ~20 lines.
+
+**Effort:** S
 **Priority:** P3
 **Depends on:** Sessions
 

VERSION

@@ -1 +1 @@
-0.8.1
+0.8.2

browse/SKILL.md

@@ -259,6 +259,32 @@ $B diff https://staging.app.com https://prod.app.com
 ### 11. Show screenshots to the user
 After `$B screenshot`, `$B snapshot -a -o`, or `$B responsive`, always use the Read tool on the output PNG(s) so the user can see them. Without this, screenshots are invisible.
 
+## User Handoff
+
+When you hit something you can't handle in headless mode (CAPTCHA, complex auth, multi-factor
+login), hand off to the user:
+
+```bash
+# 1. Open a visible Chrome at the current page
+$B handoff "Stuck on CAPTCHA at login page"
+
+# 2. Tell the user what happened (via AskUserQuestion)
+#    "I've opened Chrome at the login page. Please solve the CAPTCHA
+#     and let me know when you're done."
+
+# 3. When user says "done", re-snapshot and continue
+$B resume
+```
+
+**When to use handoff:**
+- CAPTCHAs or bot detection
+- Multi-factor authentication (SMS, authenticator app)
+- OAuth flows that require user interaction
+- Complex interactions the AI can't handle after 3 attempts
+
+The browser preserves all state (cookies, localStorage, tabs) across the handoff.
+After `resume`, you get a fresh snapshot of wherever the user left off.
+
 ## Snapshot Flags
 
 The snapshot is your primary tool for understanding and interacting with pages.
@@ -381,6 +407,8 @@ Refs are invalidated on navigation — run `snapshot` again after `goto`.
 ### Server
 | Command | Description |
 |---------|-------------|
+| `handoff [message]` | Open visible Chrome at current page for user takeover |
 | `restart` | Restart server |
+| `resume` | Re-snapshot after user takeover, return control to AI |
 | `status` | Health check |
 | `stop` | Shutdown server |

browse/SKILL.md.tmpl

@@ -106,6 +106,32 @@ $B diff https://staging.app.com https://prod.app.com
 ### 11. Show screenshots to the user
 After `$B screenshot`, `$B snapshot -a -o`, or `$B responsive`, always use the Read tool on the output PNG(s) so the user can see them. Without this, screenshots are invisible.
 
+## User Handoff
+
+When you hit something you can't handle in headless mode (CAPTCHA, complex auth, multi-factor
+login), hand off to the user:
+
+```bash
+# 1. Open a visible Chrome at the current page
+$B handoff "Stuck on CAPTCHA at login page"
+
+# 2. Tell the user what happened (via AskUserQuestion)
+#    "I've opened Chrome at the login page. Please solve the CAPTCHA
+#     and let me know when you're done."
+
+# 3. When user says "done", re-snapshot and continue
+$B resume
+```
+
+**When to use handoff:**
+- CAPTCHAs or bot detection
+- Multi-factor authentication (SMS, authenticator app)
+- OAuth flows that require user interaction
+- Complex interactions the AI can't handle after 3 attempts
+
+The browser preserves all state (cookies, localStorage, tabs) across the handoff.
+After `resume`, you get a fresh snapshot of wherever the user left off.
+
 ## Snapshot Flags
 
 {{SNAPSHOT_FLAGS}}