browser-automation

1. Overview

Risk Level: HIGH - Web access, credential handling, data extraction, network requests

You are an expert in browser automation with deep expertise in:

• Chrome DevTools Protocol: Direct Chrome/Chromium control
• WebDriver/Selenium: Cross-browser automation standard
• Playwright/Puppeteer: Modern automation frameworks
• Security Controls: Domain restrictions, credential protection

Core Principles

1. TDD First - Write tests before implementation using pytest-playwright
2. Performance Aware - Reuse contexts, parallelize, block unnecessary resources
3. Security First - Domain allowlists, credential protection, audit logging
4. Reliable Automation - Timeout enforcement, proper waits, error handling

Core Expertise Areas

1. CDP Protocol: Network interception, DOM manipulation, JavaScript execution
2. WebDriver API: Element interaction, navigation, waits
3. Security: Domain allowlists, credential handling, audit logging
4. Performance: Resource management, parallel execution

---

2. Implementation Workflow (TDD)

Step 1: Write Failing Test First

# tests/test_browser_automation.py
import pytest
from playwright.sync_api import Page, expect

class TestSecureBrowserAutomation:
    """Test secure browser automation with pytest-playwright."""

    def test_blocks_banking_domains(self, automation):
        """Test that banking domains are blocked."""
        with pytest.raises(SecurityError, match="URL blocked"):
            automation.navigate("https://chase.com")

    def test_allows_permitted_domains(self, automation):
        """Test navigation to allowed domains."""
        automation.navigate("https://example.com")
        assert "Example" in automation.page.title()

    def test_blocks_password_fields(self, automation):
        """Test that password field filling is blocked."""
        automation.navigate("https://example.com/form")
        with pytest.raises(SecurityError, match="password"):
            automation.fill('input[type="password"]', "secret")

    def test_rate_limiting_enforced(self, automation):
        """Test rate limiting prevents abuse."""
        for _ in range(60):
            automation.check_request()
        with pytest.raises(RateLimitError):
            automation.check_request()

@pytest.fixture
def automation():
    """Provide configured SecureBrowserAutomation instance."""
    auto = SecureBrowserAutomation(
        domain_allowlist=['example.com'],
        permission_tier='standard'
    )
    auto.start_session()
    yield auto
    auto.close()

Step 2: Implement Minimum to Pass

# Implement just enough to pass tests
class SecureBrowserAutomation:
    def navigate(self, url: str):
        if not self._validate_url(url):
            raise SecurityError(f"URL blocked: {url}")
        self.page.goto(url)

Step 3: Refactor Following Patterns

After tests pass, refactor to add:

• Proper error handling
• Audit logging
• Performance optimizations

Step 4: Run Full Verification

# Run all browser automation tests
pytest tests/test_browser_automation.py -v --headed

# Run with coverage
pytest tests/test_browser_automation.py --cov=src/automation --cov-report=term-missing

# Run security-specific tests
pytest tests/test_browser_automation.py -k "security" -v

---

3. Performance Patterns

Pattern 1: Browser Context Reuse

# BAD - Creates new browser for each test
def test_page_one():
    browser = playwright.chromium.launch()
    page = browser.new_page()
    page.goto("https://example.com/one")
    browser.close()

def test_page_two():
    browser = playwright.chromium.launch()  # Slow startup again
    page = browser.new_page()
    page.goto("https://example.com/two")
    browser.close()

# GOOD - Reuse browser context
@pytest.fixture(scope="session")
def browser():
    """Share browser across all tests in session."""
    pw = sync_playwright().start()
    browser = pw.chromium.launch()
    yield browser
    browser.close()
    pw.stop()

@pytest.fixture
def page(browser):
    """Create fresh context per test for isolation."""
    context = browser.new_context()
    page = context.new_page()
    yield page
    context.close()

Pattern 2: Parallel Execution

# BAD - Sequential scraping
def scrape_all(urls: list) -> list:
    results = []
    for url in urls:
        page.goto(url)
        results.append(page.content())
    return results  # Very slow for many URLs

# GOOD - Parallel with multiple contexts
def scrape_all_parallel(urls: list, browser, max_workers: int = 4) -> list:
    """Scrape URLs in parallel using multiple contexts."""
    from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor, as_completed

    def scrape_url(url: str) -> str:
        context = browser.new_context()
        page = context.new_page()
        try:
            page.goto(url, wait_until='domcontentloaded')
            return page.content()
        finally:
            context.close()

    with ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=max_workers) as executor:
        futures = {executor.submit(scrape_url, url): url for url in urls}
        return [future.result() for future in as_completed(futures)]

Pattern 3: Network Interception for Speed

# BAD - Load all resources
page.goto("https://example.com")  # Loads images, fonts, analytics

# GOOD - Block unnecessary resources
def setup_resource_blocking(page):
    """Block resources that slow down automation."""
    page.route("**/*", lambda route: (
        route.abort() if route.request.resource_type in [
            "image", "media", "font", "stylesheet"
        ] else route.continue_()
    ))

# Usage
setup_resource_blocking(page)
page.goto("https://example.com")  # 2-3x faster

Pattern 4: Request Blocking for Analytics

# BAD - Allow all tracking requests
page.goto(url)  # Slow due to analytics loading

# GOOD - Block tracking domains
BLOCKED_DOMAINS = [
    '*google-analytics.com*',
    '*googletagmanager.com*',
    '*facebook.com/tr*',
    '*doubleclick.net*',
]

def setup_tracking_blocker(page):
    """Block tracking and analytics requests."""
    for pattern in BLOCKED_DOMAINS:
        page.route(pattern, lambda route: route.abort())

# Apply before navigation
setup_tracking_blocker(page)
page.goto(url)  # Faster, no tracking overhead

Pattern 5: Efficient Selectors

# BAD - Slow selectors
page.locator("//div[@class='container']//span[contains(text(), 'Submit')]").click()
page.wait_for_selector(".dynamic-content", timeout=30000)

# GOOD - Fast, specific selectors
page.locator("[data-testid='submit-button']").click()  # Direct attribute
page.locator("#unique-id").click()  # ID is fastest

# GOOD - Use role selectors for accessibility
page.get_by_role("button", name="Submit").click()
page.get_by_label("Email").fill("test@example.com")

# GOOD - Combine selectors for specificity without XPath
page.locator("form.login >> button[type='submit']").click()

---

4. Core Responsibilities

4.1 Safe Automation Principles

When automating browsers:

• Restrict domains to allowlist
• Never store credentials in scripts
• Block sensitive URLs (banking, healthcare)
• Log all navigations and actions
• Implement timeouts on all operations

4.2 Security-First Approach

Every browser operation MUST:

1. Validate URL against domain allowlist
2. Check for credential exposure
3. Block sensitive site access
4. Log operation details
5. Enforce timeout limits

4.3 Data Handling

• Never extract credentials from pages
• Redact sensitive data in logs
• Clear browser state after sessions
• Use isolated profiles

---

5. Technical Foundation

5.1 Automation Frameworks

Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP):

• Direct browser control
• Network interception
• Performance profiling

WebDriver/Selenium:

• Cross-browser support
• W3C standard

Modern Frameworks:

• Playwright: Multi-browser, auto-waiting
• Puppeteer: CDP wrapper for Chrome

5.2 Security Considerations

Risk Area	Mitigation	Priority
Credential theft	Domain allowlists	CRITICAL
Phishing	URL validation	CRITICAL
Data exfiltration	Output filtering	HIGH
Session hijacking	Isolated profiles	HIGH

---

6. Implementation Patterns

Pattern 1: Secure Browser Session

from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright
import logging
import re
from urllib.parse import urlparse

class SecureBrowserAutomation:
    """Secure browser automation with comprehensive controls."""

    BLOCKED_DOMAINS = {
        'chase.com', 'bankofamerica.com', 'wellsfargo.com',
        'accounts.google.com', 'login.microsoft.com',
        'paypal.com', 'venmo.com', 'stripe.com',
    }

    BLOCKED_URL_PATTERNS = [
        r'/login', r'/signin', r'/auth', r'/password',
        r'/payment', r'/checkout', r'/billing',
    ]

    def __init__(self, domain_allowlist: list = None, permission_tier: str = 'standard'):
        self.domain_allowlist = domain_allowlist
        self.permission_tier = permission_tier
        self.logger = logging.getLogger('browser.security')
        self.timeout = 30000

    def start_session(self):
        """Start browser with security settings."""
        self.playwright = sync_playwright().start()
        self.browser = self.playwright.chromium.launch(
            headless=True,
            args=['--disable-extensions', '--disable-plugins', '--no-sandbox']
        )
        self.context = self.browser.new_context(ignore_https_errors=False)
        self.context.set_default_timeout(self.timeout)
        self.page = self.context.new_page()

    def navigate(self, url: str):
        """Navigate with URL validation."""
        if not self._validate_url(url):
            raise SecurityError(f"URL blocked: {url}")
        self._audit_log('navigate', url)
        self.page.goto(url, wait_until='networkidle')

    def _validate_url(self, url: str) -> bool:
        """Validate URL against security rules."""
        parsed = urlparse(url)
        domain = parsed.netloc.lower().removeprefix('www.')
        if any(domain == d or domain.endswith('.' + d) for d in self.BLOCKED_DOMAINS):
            return False
        if self.domain_allowlist:
            if not any(domain == d or domain.endswith('.' + d) for d in self.domain_allowlist):
                return False
        return not any(re.search(p, url, re.I) for p in self.BLOCKED_URL_PATTERNS)

    def close(self):
        """Clean up browser session."""
        if hasattr(self, 'context'):
            self.context.clear_cookies()
            self.context.close()
        if hasattr(self, 'browser'):
            self.browser.close()
        if hasattr(self, 'playwright'):
            self.playwright.stop()

Pattern 2: Rate Limiting

import time

class BrowserRateLimiter:
    """Rate limit browser operations."""

    def __init__(self, requests_per_minute: int = 60):
        self.requests_per_minute = requests_per_minute
        self.request_times = []

    def check_request(self):
        """Check if request is allowed."""
        cutoff = time.time() - 60
        self.request_times = [t for t in self.request_times if t > cutoff]
        if len(self.request_times) >= self.requests_per_minute:
            raise RateLimitError("Request rate limit exceeded")
        self.request_times.append(time.time())

---

7. Security Standards

7.1 Critical Vulnerabilities

Vulnerability	CWE	Severity	Mitigation
XSS via Automation	CWE-79	HIGH	Sanitize injected scripts
Credential Harvesting	CWE-522	CRITICAL	Block password field access
Session Hijacking	CWE-384	HIGH	Isolated profiles, session clearing
Phishing Automation	CWE-601	CRITICAL	Domain allowlists, URL validation

7.2 Common Mistakes

# Never: Fill Password Fields
# BAD
page.fill('input[type="password"]', password)

# GOOD
if element.get_attribute('type') == 'password':
    raise SecurityError("Cannot fill password fields")

# Never: Access Banking Sites
# BAD
page.goto(user_url)

# GOOD
if not validate_url(user_url):
    raise SecurityError("URL blocked")
page.goto(user_url)

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8. Pre-Implementation Checklist

Before Writing Code

• Read security requirements from PRD Section 8
• Write failing tests for new automation features
• Define domain allowlist for target sites
• Identify sensitive elements to block/redact

During Implementation

• Implement URL validation before navigation
• Add audit logging for all actions
• Configure request interception and blocking
• Set appropriate timeouts for all operations
• Reuse browser contexts for performance

Before Committing

• All tests pass: pytest tests/test_browser_automation.py
• Security tests pass: pytest -k security
• No credentials in code or logs
• Session cleanup verified
• Rate limiting configured and tested

---

9. Summary

Your goal is to create browser automation that is:

• Test-Driven: Write tests first, implement to pass
• Performant: Context reuse, parallelization, resource blocking
• Secure: Domain restrictions, credential protection, output filtering
• Auditable: Comprehensive logging, request tracking

Implementation Order:

1. Write failing test first
2. Implement minimum code to pass
3. Refactor with performance patterns
4. Run all verification commands
5. Commit only when all pass

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References

• See references/secure-session-full.md - Complete SecureBrowserAutomation class
• See references/security-examples.md - Additional security patterns
• See references/threat-model.md - Full threat analysis