🤖 Copilot Browser Integration

A powerful system that enables GitHub Copilot to control your browser automatically, similar to Google's Antigravity browser agent. This creates a bidirectional communication channel between VS Code, GitHub Copilot, and your browser for automated testing, debugging, and web automation.

🎯 Features

• Bidirectional Communication: Commands flow from Copilot → Browser, results flow back Browser → Copilot
• Browser Automation: Click, type, navigate, scroll, and interact with web pages
• Real-time Monitoring: Console logs, network requests, DOM changes, performance metrics
• Data Extraction: Screenshots, DOM structure, storage data, cookies
• JavaScript Execution: Run custom code directly in the browser context
• Privacy-First: All communication happens locally (localhost), no cloud dependencies
• GitHub Copilot Integration: Copilot can naturally interact with your browser through conversation

🏗️ Architecture

┌─────────────────┐         ┌─────────────────┐         ┌─────────────────┐
│   VS Code       │◄───────►│  Relay Server   │◄───────►│ Browser Extension│
│   Extension     │  WebSocket│  (localhost:8080)│ WebSocket│   (Chrome)      │
│                 │         │                 │         │                 │
│  GitHub Copilot │         │  Message Broker │         │  Command Executor│
└─────────────────┘         └─────────────────┘         └─────────────────┘

Components

1. Relay Server (Node.js): WebSocket message broker that routes commands and responses
2. Browser Extension (Chrome/Edge): Executes commands in web pages and captures browser data
3. VS Code Extension: Sends commands and integrates with GitHub Copilot

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Node.js v18+ installed
• VS Code installed
• Chrome or Edge browser

Installation

1. Install the Browser Extension

Option A: Chrome Web Store (Recommended)

1. Install from the Chrome Web Store.

Option B: Manual Install (GitHub)

1. Download Copilot.Browser.zip.
2. Extract the file to a folder.
3. Open Chrome/Edge and navigate to chrome://extensions/.
4. Enable "Developer mode" (top-right toggle).
5. Click "Load unpacked" and select the extracted folder.

2. Install the VS Code Extension

Option A: VS Code Marketplace (Recommended)

1. Install from the VS Code Marketplace.

Option B: Manual Install (VSIX)

1. Download copilot-browser-vscode.vsix.
2. In VS Code, press Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+P (Mac) → "Extensions: Install from VSIX..."
3. Select the .vsix file.

That's it! NO separate server installation is required.

Publishing to Chrome Web Store

1. Zip the Extension: Use the build script to generate a production zip: node scripts/package-all.js. (This creates dist/Copilot.Browser.zip for you)

2. Upload:

   • Go to Chrome Web Store Developer Dashboard
   • Click "New Item"
   • Upload browser-extension.zip
   • Fill in store listing details and publish.

Packaging for Release

I have provided a unified build script to package everything:

1. Run Build Script:

   node scripts/package-all.js
   

   This generates version-independent files in the dist/ folder:

   • copilot-browser-vscode.vsix
   • Copilot.Browser.zip

2. Publish: Upload the .vsix file to the VS Code Marketplace.

Or manually:

1. Open VS Code
2. Press F5 to open Extension Development Host
3. Or press Cmd+Shift+P → "Install from VSIX" (after packaging)

First Test

1. Launch Browser: In VS Code, run command "Browser Agent: Launch Isolated Browser".

2. Wait: Chrome will launch automatically.

3. Verify: VS Code status bar should show "Browser: Connected".

4. Open browser with the extension installed

5. Check extension popup - should show "Connected" with a green indicator

6. Open VS Code - status bar should show "Browser: Connected"

7. Navigate to a website in your browser

8. In VS Code, press Cmd+Shift+P and type:

   • "Browser Agent: Get Console Logs"
   • "Browser Agent: Click Element"
   • "Browser Agent: Take Screenshot"

💬 Using with GitHub Copilot

Once everything is connected, you can ask Copilot to control your browser naturally:

Example Copilot Conversations:

You: "Check the console logs on the current page"
Copilot: [executes browserAgent.getConsole command and shows logs]

You: "Click the submit button"
Copilot: [asks for selector and executes click command]

You: "Navigate to google.com and search for 'VS Code'"
Copilot: [executes navigate and type commands]

You: "Take a screenshot of the current page"
Copilot: [captures and displays screenshot]

You: "What's the page load performance?"
Copilot: [retrieves and displays performance metrics]

📋 Available Commands

Browser Actions

• browserAgent.navigate - Navigate to URL
• browserAgent.click - Click element by CSS selector
• browserAgent.type - Type text into input field
• browserAgent.scroll - Scroll to element or position
• browserAgent.hover - Hover over element
• browserAgent.submit - Submit form

Data Retrieval

• browserAgent.getConsole - Get browser console logs
• browserAgent.getDOM - Get DOM structure (full page or element)
• browserAgent.screenshot - Capture screenshot
• browserAgent.getPerformance - Get performance metrics
• browserAgent.getCookies - Get browser cookies
• browserAgent.getStorage - Get localStorage/sessionStorage

JavaScript Execution

• browserAgent.executeJS - Execute custom JavaScript code

Connection

• browserAgent.connect - Connect to relay server
• browserAgent.disconnect - Disconnect from relay server

🔧 Configuration

VS Code Settings

{
  "browserAgent.relayServerUrl": "ws://localhost:8080",
  "browserAgent.autoConnect": true,
  "browserAgent.commandTimeout": 10000
}

Relay Server Config (relay-server/config.json)

{
  "port": 8080,
  "host": "localhost",
  "maxConnections": 10,
  "heartbeatInterval": 30000,
  "messageTimeout": 10000,
  "logLevel": "info"
}

📡 Message Protocol

All messages follow this JSON structure:

{
  "id": "unique-message-id",
  "type": "command | response | event",
  "from": "vscode | browser",
  "timestamp": 1234567890,
  "command": "command-name",
  "params": {},
  "data": {},
  "success": true,
  "error": null
}

🛠️ Development

Project Structure

browser-copilot-integration/
├── relay-server/           # WebSocket relay server
│   ├── index.js           # Main server code
│   ├── config.json        # Server configuration
│   └── package.json
├── browser-extension/      # Chrome extension
│   ├── manifest.json      # Extension manifest
│   ├── background.js      # Service worker
│   ├── content.js         # Content script
│   └── popup/             # Popup UI
└── vscode-extension/       # VS Code extension
    ├── extension.js       # Main extension code
    └── package.json

Running in Development

Terminal 1 - Relay Server:

cd relay-server
npm start

Terminal 2 - VS Code Extension:

cd vscode-extension
npm install
# Then press F5 in VS Code

Browser: Load unpacked extension from browser-extension folder

🧪 Testing

Manual Testing Workflow

1. Start relay server
2. Load browser extension
3. Open a test webpage (e.g., https://example.com)
4. Test commands from VS Code:

// In VS Code, open command palette:
"Browser Agent: Navigate to URL" → https://example.com
"Browser Agent: Get Console Logs" → Shows console output
"Browser Agent: Click Element" → Enter selector: h1
"Browser Agent: Get DOM" → Shows HTML structure
"Browser Agent: Take Screenshot" → Displays image

Automated Tests (Coming Soon)

npm test

📚 Use Cases

1. Automated Testing

Ask Copilot to test your web application:

• Fill out forms
• Navigate through user flows
• Verify page content
• Check for errors

2. Debugging

Debug web applications with Copilot's help:

• Inspect console errors
• Check network requests
• Analyze performance issues
• Examine DOM structure

3. Web Scraping

Extract data from websites:

• Get page content
• Extract specific elements
• Capture screenshots
• Monitor changes

4. Performance Analysis

Monitor web performance:

• Load times
• Resource usage
• Layout shifts
• Memory consumption

🔒 Security & Privacy

• Local-only communication: All traffic stays on localhost
• No external servers: No data sent to cloud services
• User consent: Extension requires explicit permissions
• Sandboxed execution: JavaScript runs in isolated context
• Rate limiting: Prevents command spam
• Timeout protection: Commands automatically timeout

🐛 Troubleshooting

Relay Server Won't Start

• Check if port 8080 is already in use: lsof -i :8080
• Change port in relay-server/config.json

Browser Extension Not Connecting

• Check if relay server is running
• Open browser console (F12) and check for errors
• Click extension icon and verify connection status

VS Code Extension Not Working

• Check Output panel → "Browser Agent" for logs
• Verify relay server URL in settings
• Try reconnecting: "Browser Agent: Connect"

Commands Timeout

• Increase timeout in settings
• Check if browser is responding (open DevTools)
• Verify network connection to relay server

🚧 Roadmap

• [x] Phase 1: Foundation (Relay Server, Browser Extension, VS Code Extension)
• [x] Phase 2: Core Commands (Navigation, Click, Type, Data Retrieval)
• [ ] Phase 3: Advanced Features (Event Monitoring, Advanced APIs)
• [ ] Phase 4: Copilot Chat Participant (@browser)
• [ ] Phase 5: Multi-browser Support (Firefox, Safari)
• [ ] Phase 6: Visual Testing (Screenshot comparison)
• [ ] Phase 7: AI-powered Element Detection
• [ ] Phase 8: Test Automation Framework Integration

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please read our contributing guidelines.

📄 License

MIT License - See LICENSE file for details

🙏 Acknowledgments

Inspired by:

• Google's Antigravity browser agent
• Playwright and Puppeteer
• Browser automation tools

📞 Support

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Discussions: GitHub Discussions

Made with ❤️ for the developer community

Connect GitHub Copilot to your browser and unlock new possibilities! 🚀