browser-tool-selection

Browser Tool Selection Guide

When a task requires browser interaction, choose the right approach based on the task characteristics.

Decision Framework

Use Schrute When:

• Repeated API calls: The same action will be performed multiple times
• Learning patterns: You want to record and optimize browser interactions
• Progressive optimization: Start with browser automation, automatically promote to direct HTTP
• Skill replay: You need to replay a previously recorded action with different parameters
• API extraction: You want to discover and extract API endpoints from a website

Use Direct Browser Automation When:

• One-off interactions: The action will only be performed once
• UI testing: You need to verify visual elements or layout
• Screenshots: You need to capture what the page looks like
• Form filling: Simple form submission without API extraction
• Navigation exploration: Browsing around to understand a site's structure

Quick Decision Guide

Question	Yes →	No →
Will this action be repeated?	Schrute	Direct browser
Do I need to optimize latency?	Schrute	Either
Am I just looking at the page?	Direct browser	Either
Do I want to learn the API?	Schrute	Direct browser
Is this a one-time data extraction?	Direct browser	Schrute
Will I reuse this across sessions?	Schrute	Direct browser

Schrute Workflow

1. Explore: schrute_explore with the target URL to start a browser session
2. Navigate: Use browser tools to interact with the page
3. Record: schrute_record to capture an action (names the API interaction)
4. Stop: schrute_stop to process the recording into a skill
5. Replay: The generated skill appears as an MCP tool for future use

Execution Tiers

Schrute skills start at Tier 3 (browser-proxied) and can promote to Tier 1 (direct HTTP) after validation:

Tier	Method	Latency	Promotion Criteria
1	Direct HTTP fetch	1-50ms	5 consecutive validations, low volatility
2	Cookie refresh + fetch	5-100ms	Auth-required endpoints
3	Browser-proxied fetch	100-500ms	Default starting tier
4	Full Playwright automation	1-10s	Fallback for complex interactions

Combining Approaches

You can use both approaches together:

• Start with direct browser tools to explore a site
• Switch to Schrute recording when you identify repeatable actions
• Use recorded skills for subsequent calls while using browser tools for new exploration