Before this change, the main skill served by the CLI (`agent-browser
skills get agent-browser`) was a ~40-line discovery stub whose content
was essentially "run `agent-browser skills get <name>` before doing
anything." Agents already inside the CLI got no signal from it — the
content they needed to actually use the tool lived only in the `--full`
references.
Split the two jobs apart:
- **`skill-data/core/`** (new) — the runtime usage guide. 420-line
`SKILL.md` covering the snapshot-and-ref loop, common workflows
(login, extract, screenshot, multi-tab, sessions, iframes, dialogs),
waiting strategies, element selection strategies, troubleshooting,
and when to load a specialized skill. Supplementary `references/` and
`templates/` (moved from `skills/agent-browser/`) provide the full
command reference under `--full`.
- **`skills/agent-browser/SKILL.md`** — still the discovery stub that
`npx skills add` installs, now marked `hidden: true` so it stays out
of `skills list` inside the CLI. Body is a clean pointer to
`agent-browser skills get core` and the specialized skills.
The `hidden: true` frontmatter flag is a new, general mechanism: skills
marked hidden are omitted from `skills list` and `skills get --all` but
can still be fetched by explicit name. This keeps the stub reachable
for anyone who installed via `npx skills add` without polluting the
CLI-side skill listing.
## Behavior
```
$ agent-browser skills list
agentcore Run agent-browser on AWS Bedrock AgentCore cloud browsers...
core Core agent-browser usage guide. Read this before running...
dogfood Systematically explore and test a web application...
electron Automate Electron desktop apps (VS Code, Slack, Discord...)
slack Interact with Slack workspaces using browser automation...
vercel-sandbox Run agent-browser + Chrome inside Vercel Sandbox microVMs...
$ agent-browser skills get core # the actual usage guide
# ~420 lines of workflows, patterns, troubleshooting
$ agent-browser skills get agent-browser # still works if called explicitly
# the thin stub, now pointing at `core`
```
External `npx skills add vercel-labs/agent-browser` behavior is
unchanged: it finds and installs the thin `agent-browser` stub, which
tells the agent to run `agent-browser skills get core` for real
content. Version drift protection is preserved — the stub is the only
thing that gets copied; the real content is always runtime-fetched.
## Updated
- `cli/src/skills.rs` — `SkillInfo.hidden: bool`, parsed from
frontmatter; `run_list` and `run_get --all` filter it. 3 new unit
tests for the frontmatter parser.
- `cli/src/output.rs` — top-level `--help` and `skills` subcommand help
reference `skills get core` / `skills get core --full`.
- `AGENTS.md` — "update these files for user-facing features" now
points at `skill-data/core/` instead of the stub, with a note that
the stub is not the right place for feature content.
- `README.md`, `docs/src/app/skills/page.mdx` — describe the new
split and `skills get core --full` as the recommended entry point.
- `evals/cases/{command-usage,skill-selection}.ts` — expect
`skills get core` in agent output instead of `skills get
agent-browser`. Eval lib still reads `skills/agent-browser/SKILL.md`
(simulating what an agent sees after `npx skills add`).
All 11 skills unit tests pass. `cargo clippy -- -D warnings` and
`cargo fmt --check` clean. Verified end-to-end: `skills list` shows
`core` + specialized (no stub), `skills get core` returns the new
content, `skills get agent-browser` still returns the stub on explicit
request.
Skills Evals
Tests whether the thin SKILL.md + CLI-served skills approach works: do agents load the right skill via agent-browser skills get, then produce correct agent-browser commands?
Prerequisites
- Bun installed
AI_GATEWAY_API_KEYset (Vercel AI Gateway key)- One or both CLIs installed:
claudeCLI (npm i -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code) for the Claude providercodexCLI (npm i -g @openai/codex) for the Codex provider
The evals route all calls through the Vercel AI Gateway (https://ai-gateway.vercel.sh). Set your key before running:
export AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY=gw_your_key_here
Or copy .env.example to .env and source it.
Usage
cd evals
# Run all evals (default: Claude provider)
bun run run.ts
# Use Codex provider
bun run run.ts --provider codex
# Filter by category
bun run run.ts --category skill-loading
bun run run.ts --category skill-selection
bun run run.ts --category command-usage
# Use a specific model (overrides provider default)
bun run run.ts --model anthropic/claude-opus-4.6
bun run run.ts --provider codex --model openai/gpt-4.1
# Enable LLM judge for quality scoring (1-5)
bun run run.ts --judge
# JSON output (for CI or further analysis)
bun run run.ts --json
# Combine options
bun run run.ts --provider codex --category skill-selection --judge
Or via package scripts:
bun run eval # run all (Claude)
bun run eval:claude # run all (Claude, explicit)
bun run eval:codex # run all (Codex)
bun run eval:judge # run all with LLM judge
bun run eval:json # JSON output
Providers
| Provider | CLI | Default Model | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| claude | claude -p | anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6 | Uses ANTHROPIC_API_KEY + ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL env vars |
| codex | codex exec --json | openai/o3 | Writes ~/.codex/config.toml with AI Gateway config |
The LLM judge always uses Claude (anthropic/claude-opus-4.6), regardless of the eval provider.
Eval Categories
skill-loading
Tests that the agent runs agent-browser skills get before issuing browser commands. The thin SKILL.md instructs agents to load skills first; these evals verify compliance.
skill-selection
Tests that the agent picks the correct specialized skill for the task. For example, a Slack task should load the slack skill, not the generic agent-browser skill.
command-usage
Tests that the agent produces correct agent-browser commands for common workflows: navigation + screenshot, form filling with snapshot-interact pattern, diffing, authentication, data extraction.
How It Works
- Each eval case provides a user task prompt
- The thin
skills/agent-browser/SKILL.mdis injected as context (simulating a skill installation) - The chosen provider CLI is called to get a single response
- Pattern matching checks for expected/forbidden command patterns (pass/fail)
- Optionally, a second Claude call judges response quality on a 1-5 scale
Adding Cases
Create or edit files in cases/. Each file exports a cases array of EvalCase objects:
import type { EvalCase } from "../lib/types.ts";
export const cases: EvalCase[] = [
{
id: "xx-01",
name: "Description of what this tests",
category: "skill-loading",
prompt: "The user task to send to the model",
expectedPatterns: ["regex.*that.*must.*match"],
forbiddenPatterns: ["regex.*that.*must.*not.*match"],
rubric: "1 - worst ... 5 - best",
},
];
Then import and add the cases to ALL_CASES in run.ts.
Output
Console mode shows pass/fail per case with failed pattern details:
skill-loading
----------------------------------------------------------------------
✓ Loads skill before opening a page PASS 3200ms
✗ Loads skill before form interaction FAIL 2800ms
✗ Expected pattern not found: agent-browser skills get
JSON mode (--json) outputs structured results for programmatic consumption.