Autonomous Web Browsing

Ghost (the agent) uses Space Black's advanced autonomous browsing capabilities to interact with the modern web. Unlike simple HTML scrapers, Space Black provides a full headless browser environment that can see, click, type, and scroll just like a human.

Core Capabilities

The browser engine is designed to handle dynamic, JavaScript-heavy websites (React, Vue, Angular, etc.) that traditional CLI tools cannot access.

1. Vision (Accessibility Tree)

Ghost doesn't just "read source code." It uses the Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP) to fetch the Accessibility Tree (AXTree). This provides a semantic understanding of the page, allowing Ghost to identify:

  • Buttons and Links (by their text or purpose)
  • Form Fields (by their labels)
  • Headings and Structural Elements
  • Interactive States (Disabled, Expanded, etc.)

2. Interaction

Ghost can perform human-like actions:

  • Click: browser_click(selector) - Click elements by their ID or semantic label.
  • Type: browser_type(selector, text) - Fill out forms, search bars, and login fields.
  • Scroll: browser_scroll(direction, amount) - Move through long pages or infinite scrolls.
  • Navigate: browser_go_to(url) - Visit any accessible URL.
  • Go Back/Forward: Navigate browser history.

3. Loop (Think-Act-Observe)

Browsing is not a one-shot process. Ghost enters a browsing loop:

  1. Observe: Ghost looks at the current page state (Vision).
  2. Think: Ghost analyzes the page to find the element needed for its goal.
  3. Act: Ghost performs an action (e.g., clicks "Login").
  4. Wait: The browser waits for the network and DOM to settle.
  5. Repeat: Ghost observes the new page state.

4. Stealth & Anti-Detection

Modern websites often block bots. Space Black's browser includes stealth features:

  • User-Agent Rotation: Mimics a real desktop browser.
  • Flag Masking: Hides "navigator.webdriver" and other automation flags.
  • Human-like Delays: randomized pauses between actions to avoid bot detection patterns.

5. Persistence

The browser session maintains state across actions:

  • Cookies: Logged-in sessions persist (e.g., if Ghost logs into GitHub, it stays logged in).
  • Local Storage: Site preferences are saved.
  • Session Vault: Sensitive credentials (passwords, specific tokens) can be automatically retrieved by the agent during autonomous browsing using the Vault System. By default it will fetch passwords from your OS Native Keyring (macOS might request a one-time "Always Allow" confirmation). Alternatively, if passwords are stored in the Local Encrypted Vault, the agent can fetch them automatically once you unlock the vault for that session.

Usage Examples

You can ask Ghost to perform complex web tasks naturally:

Research

"Go to news.ycombinator.com and tell me the top 3 stories about AI."

Navigation & Interaction

"Go to amazon.com, search for 'mechanical keyboard', and tell me the price of the first result."

Data Extraction

"Go to the Python 3.12 release notes and summarize the new features."

Troubleshooting

"Go to stackoverflow.com and find the solution to 'React useEffect infinite loop'."

Technical Details

  • Engine: Chromium (via Playwright)
  • Protocol: Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP)
  • State Storage: brain/vault/browser_session/
  • Headless Mode: Defaults to True (runs in background), but can be set to False in config.json for debugging (watch Ghost browse).

Limitations

  • CAPTCHAs: While Ghost can solve some simple challenges, complex CAPTCHAs (like reCAPTCHA v3) may still block access.
  • 2FA: Two-Factor Authentication requires user intervention (Ghost will pause and ask for the code).
  • Heavy Media: Video playback is disabled to save resources.