gstack/skills/qa/references/legacy/scrape.md

Host-neutral runtime bindings

These assignments select stable paths only; they do not install anything or grant consent:

GSTACK_HOME="${GSTACK_HOME:-$HOME/.gstack}"
GSTACK_ROOT="$GSTACK_HOME"
GSTACK_STATE_ROOT="$GSTACK_HOME"
GSTACK_BIN="$GSTACK_HOME/bin"
B="$GSTACK_BIN/browse"
D="$GSTACK_BIN/gstack-design"
P="$GSTACK_BIN/make-pdf"

$qa --mode Report --module scrape — pull data from a page

One entry point for getting data off the web. Two paths under the hood:

1. Match path (~200ms) — if the user's intent matches an existing browser-skill's triggers, run it via $B skill run <name> and emit the JSON.
2. Prototype path (~30s) — no matching skill yet, so drive the page with $B primitives, return the JSON, and suggest $qa --mode Report --module skillify so the next call lands on the match path.

Read-only by contract. If the intent implies writing (submitting forms, clicking buttons that mutate state), refuse and route to /automate.

Step 1 — Determine intent

The user's request after $qa --mode Report --module scrape is the intent. If they did not include one, ask once:

"What do you want to scrape? Describe it in one line, e.g. 'top stories on Hacker News' or 'product names + prices on example.com/products'."

Do not ask multiple clarifying questions up front. Any further questions go in the prototype path where they're cheaper.

Step 2 — Refuse mutating intents

If the intent implies writes — verbs like submit, post, send, log in, click X, fill the form, delete, create, order, book — respond:

"$qa --mode Report --module scrape is read-only. For mutating flows, use /automate (browser-skills Phase 2 P0 in TODOS.md — not yet shipped). Until then, use $B click / $B fill / $B type directly."

Stop. Do not enter the match or prototype path.

Step 3 — Match phase

List existing browser-skills:

$B skill list

For each skill, $B skill show <name> exposes the full SKILL.md including triggers:, description:, and host:. Read these and judge whether the user's intent semantically matches one of them.

A confident match means all three are true:

• The intent's domain matches the skill's host (or one of its hostnames)
• A triggers: phrase or the description: covers the same data the intent asks for
• The intent does not require args the skill does not declare in args:

If matched, parse any --arg key=value from the intent (or pass none for zero-arg skills) and run:

$B skill run <name> [--arg key=value ...]

Emit the JSON the skill prints to stdout. Stop.

If matching is ambiguous (two skills could plausibly fit), pick the narrower-tier one (project > global > bundled — $B skill list shows the tier). If still ambiguous, fall through to the prototype path rather than guess wrong.

Step 4 — Prototype phase

No match. Drive the page using $B primitives:

1. $B goto <url> — navigate to the target. The user's intent usually names a host or a URL; use it directly.
2. $B snapshot --text (or $B text) — get a clean text view of the page to find selectors.
3. $B html — pull the raw HTML when you need to parse structured data (lists, tables, repeated rows).
4. $B links — when the intent is to gather URLs.
5. Iterate: try a selector, check the output, refine.

Emit the result as JSON on stdout (one document, not pretty-printed). Use a stable shape — typically { "items": [...], "count": N } or similar — so downstream consumers can treat it as data.

Step 5 — Skillify nudge

After a successful prototype, append exactly one line:

"Say $qa --mode Report --module skillify to make this a permanent skill (200ms on next call)."

That is the entire nudge. Do not nag, do not list pros, do not push. Proactive surfacing is a Phase 3 knob (gstack-config browser_skillify_prompts), not this skill's job.

When the prototype fails

If the page loads but data extraction does not yield a sensible JSON shape after 3-4 selector attempts:

• Report what you tried, what came back, and what's blocking (lazy-loaded, JS-rendered, paywalled, etc.).
• Do NOT write a partial result and call it done.
• Do NOT suggest $qa --mode Report --module skillify on a broken prototype.
• Ask the user whether they want to (a) try a different selector, (b) switch to a different page, or (c) stop.

What this skill does NOT do

• Mutating actions (use /automate when shipped, or $B primitives directly)
• Auth flows / cookie import (use $qa --mode Report --module setup-browser-cookies first)
• Multi-page crawls (this is one-shot per call)
• Anything that requires the daemon to not be running

Output discipline

The match path returns whatever JSON the matched skill emits. The prototype path returns whatever JSON you construct. In both cases:

• One JSON document, on stdout.
• Stderr (or chat) is for logs and the skillify nudge.
• Do not embed prose around the JSON in the chat reply unless the user asked for an explanation — many $qa --mode Report --module scrape callers pipe the output to jq.

Capture Learnings

If you discovered a non-obvious pattern, pitfall, or architectural insight during this session, log it for future sessions:

$GSTACK_BIN/gstack-learnings-log '{"skill":"scrape","type":"TYPE","key":"SHORT_KEY","insight":"DESCRIPTION","confidence":N,"source":"SOURCE","files":["path/to/relevant/file"]}'

Types: pattern (reusable approach), pitfall (what NOT to do), preference (user stated), architecture (structural decision), tool (library/framework insight), operational (project environment/CLI/workflow knowledge).

Sources: observed (you found this in the code), user-stated (user told you), inferred (AI deduction), cross-model (both Claude and Codex agree).

Confidence: 1-10. Be honest. An observed pattern you verified in the code is 8-9. An inference you're not sure about is 4-5. A user preference they explicitly stated is 10.

files: Include the specific file paths this learning references. This enables staleness detection: if those files are later deleted, the learning can be flagged.

Only log genuine discoveries. Don't log obvious things. Don't log things the user already knows. A good test: would this insight save time in a future session? If yes, log it.

Upstream judgment port: PR #679

Match the user language

User-language rule

Write questions, progress updates, reports, and artifacts in the language used by the user. Source material, code identifiers, commands, and quotations may remain in their original language when translating them would reduce accuracy.

Upstream judgment port: PR #2030

Record only signal-bearing learnings

Signal-gated learning

Persist a learning only when the interaction contains a useful, reusable signal such as an explicit preference, correction, accepted recommendation, or rejected direction. Track helpful and harmful outcomes separately. Do not manufacture a learning merely because a workflow completed.