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Browser Hand — fork notes

Repo: https://github.com/verygoodplugins/browser-hand
Upstream: SawyerHood/dev-browser (MIT)
Maintainer: Very Good Plugins

Browser Hand keeps upstream’s sandboxed CLI for headless/CI use and adds a first-class extension bridge so agents can drive the user’s normal Chrome profile.

Why this exists

Remote debugging and WebDriver-style attach are the usual way to automate Chrome. They work poorly for “use my real Gmail / GitHub / admin session”:

  1. Chrome 136+ will not open a remote-debugging port on the default profile without a separate --user-data-dir.
  2. Many sites (including Google sign-in/OAuth flows) treat debugger/automation surfaces as hostile and block or throttle them.
  3. Focus — attach APIs tend to activate tabs and steal the OS window mid-work.
  4. Agents need recovery when password managers and multi-step forms detach the debugger, plus tests that match those failure modes.

The extension + local relay path avoids putting a debug port on the daily profile, keeps work in the background by default, and ships an obstacle course for agent UX.

What’s different from upstream

Area Upstream dev-browser Browser Hand
Daily logged-in Chrome Optional --connect (remote debug) Default: MV3 extension + local relay
Default profile Debug port blocked on modern Chrome Extension works in the normal profile
Focus Typical CDP activate behavior Background-first; optional one-shot focus for humans
Recovery Standard CDP Soft-detach, scripting fallback, reconnect hygiene
Agent practice General skill docs Local challenge gym under extension/challenges/

Nearby forks

dev-browser-enhanced applies Playwright anti-detection patches only (few commits, far behind upstream). It does not address logged-in default-profile use, focus, or agent recovery.

dev-browser-eval benchmarks full agent runs on a sample app (greenfield login/CRUD). Useful for CLI skill cost/latency; not a substitute for extension reliability on real sessions.

Layout

Path Role
cli-js/ Product Node CLI (browser-hand bin; workspace browser-hand-cli)
relay/ Local WebSocket bridge
extension/ Chrome MV3 extension + challenges (load extension/dist/chrome-mv3)
skills/browser-hand/ Agent skill
cli/ + daemon/ + bin/dev-browser Upstream headless CLI
AGENTS.md Canonical agent guide (CLAUDE.md → @AGENTS.md)
MIGRATING.md Rename map from historical “dev-browser” / Path A naming

License

MIT. Upstream copyright Sawyer Hood; Browser Hand modifications © Very Good Plugins / contributors.