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web-search

The web-search skill performs real-time web searches using a Playwright-controlled browser through a local bridge server, enabling Claude to access current information, latest documentation, recent news, and data beyond its January 2025 knowledge cutoff. Use this skill when users request current events, up-to-date technical documentation, real-time data like stock prices or weather, fact verification of recent developments, community discussions, product comparisons, or troubleshooting solutions that require contemporary information from the internet.

Install in Claude Code
Copy
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/netease-youdao/LobsterAI /tmp/web-search && cp -r /tmp/web-search/SKILLs/web-search ~/.claude/skills/web-search
Then start a new Claude Code session; the skill loads automatically.

SKILL.md

# Web Search Skill

## When to Use This Skill

Use the web-search skill when you need:

- **Current information** - Events, news, or data after January 2025
- **Latest documentation** - Up-to-date framework/library docs (React 19, Next.js 15, etc.)
- **Real-time data** - Stock prices, weather, sports scores, etc.
- **Fact verification** - Check current status of projects, companies, or technologies
- **Recent discussions** - Community opinions, GitHub issues, Stack Overflow answers
- **Product comparisons** - Latest reviews and comparisons
- **Troubleshooting** - Search for specific error messages or solutions

**Examples of when to use:**
- User: "What are the new features in React 19?"
- User: "Search for the latest Next.js App Router documentation"
- User: "What's the current status of the Rust async project?"
- User: "Find recent discussions about Vue 3 performance"

## How It Works

```
┌──────────┐    Bash    ┌─────────┐    HTTP    ┌──────────────┐    CDP    ┌────────┐
│  Claude  │───────────▶│ CLI.sh  │───────────▶│ Bridge Server│──────────▶│ Chrome │
│          │            │         │            │ (localhost)  │ Playwright│        │
└──────────┘            └─────────┘            └──────────────┘            └────────┘
                                                      │
                                                  ▼
                                             Google/Bing Search
                                                Extract Results
```

**Architecture:**
1. **CLI Script** - Simple bash interface for Claude
2. **Bridge Server** - Express HTTP API (auto-started by Electron)
3. **Playwright Manager** - Browser connection and session management
4. **Search Engine Layer** - Google primary, Bing fallback
5. **Chrome Browser** - Visible browser window (all operations transparent)

## Basic Usage

### Simple Search (Recommended)

**IMPORTANT:** Always use the `$SKILLS_ROOT` environment variable to locate the skill scripts. This ensures the skill works in both development and production environments.

```bash
bash "$SKILLS_ROOT/web-search/scripts/search.sh" "search query" [max_results]
```

For non-ASCII queries (Chinese/Japanese/etc.), prefer UTF-8 file input to avoid shell encoding issues on Windows:

```bash
cat > /tmp/web-query.txt <<'TXT'
苹果 Siri AI 2026 发布计划
TXT

bash "$SKILLS_ROOT/web-search/scripts/search.sh" @/tmp/web-query.txt 10
```

**Examples:**

```bash
# Search with default 10 results
bash "$SKILLS_ROOT/web-search/scripts/search.sh" "TypeScript 5.0 new features"

# Limit to 5 results
bash "$SKILLS_ROOT/web-search/scripts/search.sh" "React Server Components guide" 5

# Search for recent news
bash "$SKILLS_ROOT/web-search/scripts/search.sh" "AI news January 2026" 10
```

**Output Format:**

The script returns Markdown-formatted results:

```markdown
# Search Results: TypeScript 5.0 new features

**Query:** TypeScript 5.0 new features
**Results:** 5
**Time:** 834ms

---

## TypeScript 5.0 Release Notes

**URL:** [https://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/...]

TypeScript 5.0 introduces decorators, const type parameters...

---

## (More results...)
```

### Workflow Example

```bash
# 1. Search for topic
bash "$SKILLS_ROOT/web-search/scripts/search.sh" "Next.js 14 features" 5

# 2. Analyze results and answer user

# 3. Follow-up search if needed
bash "$SKILLS_ROOT/web-search/scripts/search.sh" "Next.js Server Actions tutorial" 3
```

## Advanced Usage

### Server Management

The Bridge Server is **automatically managed** by Electron. You typically don't need to start/stop it manually.

However, for manual control:

```bash
# Start server (if not already running)
bash "$SKILLS_ROOT/web-search/scripts/start-server.sh"

# Stop server
bash "$SKILLS_ROOT/web-search/scripts/stop-server.sh"

# Check health (start script will print endpoint status)
bash "$SKILLS_ROOT/web-search/scripts/start-server.sh"
```

### Direct API Calls

For advanced use cases, you can call the HTTP API directly:

```bash
# Get or create connection
CONNECTION_ID=$(curl -s -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8923/api/browser/connect \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{}' | grep -o '"connectionId":"[^"]*"' | cut -d'"' -f4)

# Perform search
curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8923/api/search \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{
    \"connectionId\": \"$CONNECTION_ID\",
    \"query\": \"Playwright tutorial\",
    \"maxResults\": 5
  }"

# Navigate to specific URL
curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8923/api/page/navigate \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{
    \"connectionId\": \"$CONNECTION_ID\",
    \"url\": \"https://example.com\"
  }"

# Take screenshot
curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8923/api/page/screenshot \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{
    \"connectionId\": \"$CONNECTION_ID\",
    \"format\": \"png\"
  }"
```

## Best Practices

### 1. Use Specific Queries

❌ Bad: `bash scripts/search.sh "react"`
✅ Good: `bash scripts/search.sh "React 19 new features and breaking changes"`

### 2. Limit Results Appropriately

- Quick lookup: 3-5 results
- Comprehensive research: 10 results
- Don't request more than needed (faster + less noise)

### 3. Check Server Status First

If search fails, verify the server is running:

```bash
bash "$SKILLS_ROOT/web-search/scripts/start-server.sh" || echo "Server not running"
```

### 4. Reuse Connections

The CLI script automatically caches connections. Multiple searches in the same session will reuse the same browser connection for better performance.

### 5. Clean Output

Parse the Markdown output to extract key information for the user. Don't just dump all results - synthesize and summarize.

## Common Patterns

### Pattern 1: Latest Documentation

```bash
# User asks about latest framework features
bash SKILLs/web-search/scripts/search.sh "Next.js 15 documentation" 5

# Parse results, find official docs, summarize features
```

### Pattern 2: Troubleshooting

```bash
# User reports an error
bash SKILLs/web-search/scripts/search.sh