chore(release): 0.27.0-fork.47 — tab-drift pin, snapshot -c keeps interactive, stale-ref guidance

- snapshot -c (compact) now always keeps lines with an interactive ARIA role
  (button/link/textbox/combobox/option/…), not only `ref=`/`": "` lines — so a
  clickable control can't vanish from compact output and leave the agent clicking
  an empty ref (issue #2 P1). Additive: only ever keeps more. compact tests green.
- stale-ref error now leads with "take a fresh snapshot" and points to the `eval`
  fallback for ref-churning SPAs, and demotes AGENT_BROWSER_VERIFY_REF=0 to a
  flagged last resort instead of presenting it as the fix (issue #3 P1).

cli/Cargo.lock

@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "agent-browser-stealth"
-version = "0.27.0-fork.46"
+version = "0.27.0-fork.47"
 dependencies = [
  "aes-gcm",
  "async-trait",

cli/Cargo.toml

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "agent-browser-stealth"
-version = "0.27.0-fork.46"
+version = "0.27.0-fork.47"
 edition = "2021"
 description = "Fast browser automation CLI for AI agents"
 license = "Apache-2.0"

cli/src/native/browser.rs

@@ -315,6 +315,13 @@ pub struct BrowserManager {
     /// browser after it ends. Only ever holds tabs we created — never the user's
     /// existing tabs or other sessions' tabs — so closing them is always safe.
     created_targets: HashSet<String>,
+    /// The session's *intended* active tab, pinned by stable target_id rather
+    /// than the fragile `active_page_index`. Set on every explicit open / tab new
+    /// / tab switch. `active_session_id` resolves through this so a foreign tab
+    /// opening (passive discovery), a tab closing, or list reordering can't drift
+    /// the session's commands onto the wrong page — the wrong-origin-fetch hazard
+    /// in the dogfood reports. Falls back to the index if the pinned tab is gone.
+    active_target_id: Option<String>,
     next_tab_id: u32,
     /// Whether to enable the CDP `Runtime` domain (console / error / exception capture).
     /// OFF by default for stealth: a live `Runtime.enable` is a detectable CDP signal
@@ -440,6 +447,7 @@ impl BrowserManager {
                 ignore_https_errors,
                 visited_origins: HashSet::new(),
                 created_targets: HashSet::new(),
+                active_target_id: None,
                 next_tab_id: 1,
                 capture_console: console_capture_enabled(),
             };
@@ -531,6 +539,7 @@ impl BrowserManager {
             ignore_https_errors: false,
             visited_origins: HashSet::new(),
             created_targets: HashSet::new(),
+            active_target_id: None,
             next_tab_id: 1,
             capture_console: console_capture_enabled(),
         };
@@ -547,6 +556,7 @@ impl BrowserManager {
                 target_type: "page".to_string(),
             });
             manager.active_page_index = 0;
+            manager.pin_active_target();
             manager.enable_domains_direct().await?;
         } else {
             manager.discover_and_attach_targets().await?;
@@ -621,6 +631,7 @@ impl BrowserManager {
                 target_type: "page".to_string(),
             });
             self.active_page_index = 0;
+            self.pin_active_target();
             self.enable_domains(&attach_result.session_id).await?;
         } else {
             for target in &page_targets {
@@ -650,6 +661,7 @@ impl BrowserManager {
             }
 
             self.active_page_index = 0;
+            self.pin_active_target();
             let session_id = self.pages[0].session_id.clone();
             self.enable_domains(&session_id).await?;
         }
@@ -736,9 +748,31 @@ impl BrowserManager {
         Ok(())
     }
 
+    /// Index of the session's active page, resolved through the pinned
+    /// `active_target_id` (stable across reorder/removal/passive discovery) and
+    /// falling back to `active_page_index` when nothing is pinned or the pin is
+    /// gone. This is what keeps commands on the tab the agent actually opened.
+    fn resolved_active_index(&self) -> usize {
+        if let Some(tid) = &self.active_target_id {
+            if let Some(i) = self.pages.iter().position(|p| &p.target_id == tid) {
+                return i;
+            }
+        }
+        self.active_page_index
+    }
+
+    /// Pin the current active page by target_id so later commands stick to it.
+    /// Call after any explicit open / tab new / tab switch.
+    fn pin_active_target(&mut self) {
+        self.active_target_id = self
+            .pages
+            .get(self.active_page_index)
+            .map(|p| p.target_id.clone());
+    }
+
     pub fn active_session_id(&self) -> Result<&str, String> {
         self.pages
-            .get(self.active_page_index)
+            .get(self.resolved_active_index())
             .map(|p| p.session_id.as_str())
             .ok_or_else(|| "No active page".to_string())
     }
@@ -991,7 +1025,7 @@ impl BrowserManager {
 
     pub fn active_target_id(&self) -> Result<&str, String> {
         self.pages
-            .get(self.active_page_index)
+            .get(self.resolved_active_index())
             .map(|p| p.target_id.as_str())
             .ok_or_else(|| "No active page".to_string())
     }
@@ -1219,6 +1253,7 @@ impl BrowserManager {
             target_type: "page".to_string(),
         });
         self.active_page_index = index;
+        self.pin_active_target();
 
         Ok(json!({
             "tabId": format_tab_id(tab_id),
@@ -1238,6 +1273,7 @@ impl BrowserManager {
         }
 
         self.active_page_index = index;
+        self.pin_active_target();
         let session_id = self.pages[index].session_id.clone();
         self.enable_domains(&session_id).await?;
 
@@ -1581,6 +1617,7 @@ impl BrowserManager {
         let index = self.pages.len();
         self.pages.push(page);
         self.active_page_index = index;
+        self.pin_active_target();
     }
 
     /// Add a passively-discovered page WITHOUT changing the active tab.
@@ -1783,6 +1820,7 @@ async fn initialize_lightpanda_manager(
             ignore_https_errors: false,
             visited_origins: HashSet::new(),
             created_targets: HashSet::new(),
+            active_target_id: None,
             next_tab_id: 1,
             capture_console: console_capture_enabled(),
         };

cli/src/native/element.rs

@@ -556,8 +556,12 @@ async fn verify_ref_identity(
     Err(format!(
         "Ref {} no longer matches its snapshot. Was [{} \"{}\"], now [{} \"{}\"].\n\
          The DOM mutated between snapshot and interaction (typical with React/Vue \
-         reusing nodes during re-render). Take a fresh snapshot, then re-target.\n\
-         To bypass this guard set AGENT_BROWSER_VERIFY_REF=0.",
+         reusing nodes during re-render). Fix: take a fresh `snapshot` and re-target \
+         with the new ref. For SPAs where refs churn every interaction, drive the \
+         element directly with `eval` (e.g. `eval \"document.querySelector(...).click()\"`), \
+         which doesn't depend on refs.\n\
+         (Last resort: AGENT_BROWSER_VERIFY_REF=0 disables this safety check — only \
+         if you accept clicks may land on a re-rendered/wrong node.)",
         ref_id, expected_role, expected_name, actual_role, actual_name,
     ))
 }

cli/src/native/snapshot.rs

@@ -1305,6 +1305,39 @@ fn render_tree(
     }
 }
 
+/// True if a snapshot line names an interactive ARIA role. Compaction keeps
+/// these even without a `ref=`/`": "` marker, so a clickable control never gets
+/// dropped from `-c` output (the dogfood reports saw a button present in the full
+/// snapshot vanish from compact, leaving the agent clicking an empty ref).
+fn is_interactive_line(line: &str) -> bool {
+    const ROLES: &[&str] = &[
+        "button",
+        "link",
+        "textbox",
+        "checkbox",
+        "radio",
+        "combobox",
+        "listbox",
+        "menuitem",
+        "menuitemcheckbox",
+        "menuitemradio",
+        "option",
+        "switch",
+        "slider",
+        "spinbutton",
+        "searchbox",
+        "tab ",
+        "clickable",
+        "focusable",
+        "editable",
+    ];
+    let t = line.trim_start();
+    // Lines look like `- button "Label" [ref=e1]`; match the role token after the
+    // leading "- " marker.
+    let t = t.strip_prefix("- ").unwrap_or(t);
+    ROLES.iter().any(|r| t.starts_with(r))
+}
+
 fn compact_tree(tree: &str, interactive: bool) -> String {
     let lines: Vec<&str> = tree.lines().collect();
     if lines.is_empty() {
@@ -1314,7 +1347,7 @@ fn compact_tree(tree: &str, interactive: bool) -> String {
     let mut keep = vec![false; lines.len()];
 
     for (i, line) in lines.iter().enumerate() {
-        if line.contains("ref=") || line.contains(": ") {
+        if line.contains("ref=") || line.contains(": ") || is_interactive_line(line) {
             keep[i] = true;
             // Mark ancestors
             let my_indent = count_indent(line);

package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "agent-browser-stealth",
-  "version": "0.27.0-fork.46",
+  "version": "0.27.0-fork.47",
   "description": "Browser automation CLI for AI agents — stealth fork with anti-detection",
   "type": "module",
   "packageManager": "pnpm@11.1.3",