Browser Tool Edge Cases

Standard Operating Procedure for debugging and fixing browser automation failures on complex websites.

When to Use This Skill

• browser_interact(action="scroll") succeeds but page doesn't move
• browser_interact(action="left_click") succeeds but no action triggered
• browser_interact(action="type") text disappears or doesn't work
• browser_snapshot hangs or returns stale content
• browser_navigate loads wrong content

SOP: Debugging Browser Tool Failures

Phase 1: Reproduce & Isolate

1. Create minimal test case demonstrating failure
2. Test against simple site (example.com) to verify tool works
3. Test against problematic site to confirm issue

Quick isolation test:

# Test 1: Does the tool work at all?
await browser_navigate(tab_id, "https://example.com")
result = await browser_interact(action="scroll", tab_id=tab_id, scroll_direction="down", scroll_amount=100)
# Should work on simple sites

# Test 2: Does it fail on the problematic site?
await browser_navigate(tab_id, "https://linkedin.com/feed")
result = await browser_interact(action="scroll", tab_id=tab_id, scroll_direction="down", scroll_amount=100)
# If this fails but example.com works → site-specific edge case

Phase 2: Analyze Root Cause

Step 2a: Check console for errors

console = await browser_console(tab_id)
# Look for: CSP violations, React errors, JavaScript exceptions

Step 2b: Inspect DOM structure

html = await browser_html(tab_id)
snapshot = await browser_snapshot(tab_id)
# Look for:
# - Nested scrollable divs (overflow: scroll/auto)
# - Shadow DOM roots
# - iframes
# - Custom widgets

Step 2c: Identify the pattern