Chrome Actuator

Unofficial companion: drive the Chrome window you already have open from an agent (tested with Grok Build). New work lands in a pink Actuator tab group in the current session, not a new Chrome window.

tabs_create → snapshot → press @e12 / fill @e5 "text" → settle

v1 is an actuator, not a side-panel chatbot. The agent stays in the terminal. The extension sees the page, assigns @eN refs, and clicks/types. Your cookies and logins stay in Chrome.

Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by xAI. "Grok" and "Grok Build" are xAI marks, used here only to describe compatibility. See NOTICE.

Status

Phases 0–3 are in. pnpm gauntlet covers unit tests, the content-script actuator, and a live Chromium tab driven through native messaging.

Phase	What	State
0	Workspace, stable extension id, side panel	done
1	Native messaging heartbeat	done
2	snapshot / press / fill on a real tab	done
3	Agent plugin + /chrome + skill	done

Load the extension

cd /path/to/chrome-actuator
pnpm install
pnpm --filter @chrome-actuator/extension build

1. Open chrome://extensions
2. Enable Developer mode
3. Load unpacked → packages/extension/dist
4. Pin the extension and click it (or Cmd+Shift+G)

Then register the native host (once) and fully quit Chrome:

node packages/host/dist/install.js

--trust on the plugin install lets the agent operate this Chrome profile. Only do that if you trust the agent.

grok plugin install ./packages/plugin --trust

Side panel should say connected once the MCP host is running.

pnpm gauntlet   # unit + L3 + live native-messaging L4

Stable unpacked id (from the committed manifest key): lgkcgenkjaalkfnpmglgpfclkaokblfj

Decisions we will not reopen

• Brain in the agent, body in Chrome. No in-extension LLM loop in v1.
• Native messaging, not WebSocket, not Playwright, not agent-device-the-binary.
• agent-device contract only (snapshot / press / fill).
• No chrome.debugger in v1 (no yellow infobar).
• Independent implementation. Do not copy another vendor's brand, marks, or reverse-engineered internals into this tree.

Layout

packages/shared      protocol, snapshot grammar, target parser
packages/extension   MV3 side panel + service worker
packages/host        MCP + native host
packages/plugin      Grok Build plugin (compatibility layer)

Tests

pnpm --filter @chrome-actuator/shared test

License

MIT. See LICENSE and NOTICE.