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WebBrain vs Claude Chrome Extension

This note compares the local WebBrain checkout with ../webbrain-claude, a deobfuscated Claude Chrome extension tree. It focuses on architecture, model-callable tools, and website-specific adapter behavior.

Sources Inspected

WebBrain:

  • docs/architecture.md
  • docs/adding-a-tool.md
  • docs/site-adapters.md
  • docs/accessibility-tree-and-refs.md
  • docs/webbrain-tool-tiers.xlsx
  • src/chrome/ARCHITECTURE.md
  • src/chrome/src/agent/tools.js
  • src/chrome/src/agent/skills.js
  • src/chrome/src/agent/adapters.js
  • src/chrome/skills/freeskillz-xyz.md
  • Matching Firefox files where parity matters

Claude Chrome:

  • ../webbrain-claude/manifest.json
  • ../webbrain-claude/settings.html
  • ../webbrain-claude/settings.js
  • ../webbrain-claude/assets/service-worker.js
  • ../webbrain-claude/assets/mcpPermissions.js
  • ../webbrain-claude/assets/PermissionManager.js
  • ../webbrain-claude/assets/sidepanel.js
  • ../webbrain-claude/assets/accessibility-tree.js

The Claude tree is bundled/minified in places. Tool names below were recovered from toAnthropicSchema() definitions, native-message dispatch, and the sidepanel quick-command prompt.

Architecture

Area WebBrain Claude Chrome extension
Browser support Two mirrored extension builds: Chrome/Edge MV3 and Firefox MV2. Chrome MV3 only in this tree.
Agent location Extension owns the full agent loop in agent.js; providers are local extension modules. Two paths: a normal Anthropic tool-calling loop in the sidepanel, plus a native-host/MCP bridge in the service worker.
LLM provider model Provider abstraction supports OpenAI-compatible, Anthropic, local llama.cpp/LM Studio/Ollama-style endpoints, and provider settings. Primarily Anthropic Messages API; sidepanel quick mode points at http://localhost:4000 when configured, and native host names target Claude desktop / Claude Code integration.
Tool dispatch getToolsForMode() returns OpenAI-style function schemas from tools.js, optionally extended by enabled skill tools. agent.js dispatches tools to content scripts, Chrome APIs, CDP, network helpers, or skill executors. MCP-style schemas live in mcpPermissions.js. Sidepanel executes tool calls by name. Quick mode uses a compact command DSL with no Anthropic tools, then converts commands into synthetic tool-use/results.
Page reading Preferred AX tree tool with stable ref_ids plus prose/page-source/PDF readers. AX tree reader also exists and uses window.__wbElementMap / ref_ IDs, but the primary browser action tool is more coordinate/computer oriented.
Trusted browser events Chrome uses CDP for trusted mouse/keyboard events, screenshots, closed shadow-root access, and some file-upload paths. Firefox uses synthetic events. Chrome uses debugger/CDP for computer actions, screenshots, JavaScript evaluation, uploads, console/network tracking, and zoom screenshots.
Conversation controls Ask/Act modes, plan-before-act, scratchpad, progress ledger, scheduled tasks/resumes, optional traces. Permission modes, plan approval via update_plan, domain transition prompts, tab groups, compaction, native host/MCP status.
Dynamic extension model User/imported skills can inject prompt text and declare webbrain-tools runtime tools. Native/MCP and shortcuts are the extension points visible in the deobfuscated tree; no equivalent user-editable Markdown tool manifest was found.

WebBrain Tool Surface

Current static core tools from the local source:

  • Chrome: 57 core tools.
  • Firefox: 48 core tools.
  • Chrome-only core tools: shadow_dom_query plus the reversible/diagnostic Dev tools inject_css, remove_injected_css, patch_element, revert_patch, read_console, inspect_network_requests, inspect_event_listeners, and highlight_element.
  • execute_js is shared: Chrome Dev uses CDP evaluation and Firefox Dev uses its MV2 content-script evaluator.
  • Dynamic skill tools can add more schemas at runtime and are not included in those counts.

Ask-mode core tools:

get_accessibility_tree, read_page, read_pdf,
get_window_info, get_interactive_elements, scroll, extract_data,
get_selection, done, wait_for_stable,
fetch_url, research_url, list_downloads

Chrome static core tool list (the union across modes and tiers):

get_accessibility_tree, click_ax, type_ax, set_field, hover, drag_drop,
read_page, read_pdf, read_page_source, get_window_info, resize_window,
get_interactive_elements, click, type_text, press_keys, scroll, navigate,
go_back, go_forward, extract_data, inspect_element_styles, wait_for_element,
inject_css, remove_injected_css, patch_element, revert_patch, execute_js,
read_console, inspect_network_requests, inspect_event_listeners,
highlight_element, wait_for_stable, schedule_resume, schedule_task, get_selection, new_tab,
done, clarify, get_shadow_dom, shadow_dom_query, get_frames, iframe_read,
iframe_click, iframe_type, fetch_url, research_url, list_downloads,
read_downloaded_file, download_resource_from_page, download_files,
upload_file, scratchpad_write, progress_update, progress_read,
verify_form, download_social_media, solve_captcha

Firefox omits the Chrome-only Dev tools and shadow_dom_query; the remaining core surface, including Dev-only execute_js, is shared.

WebBrain Tool Families

Family Tools
AX-first DOM control get_accessibility_tree, click_ax, type_ax, set_field, hover, drag_drop
Legacy DOM fallback get_interactive_elements, click, type_text, press_keys, scroll, wait_for_element, wait_for_stable
Navigation and tabs navigate, go_back, go_forward, new_tab
Reading/extraction read_page, read_pdf, read_page_source, extract_data, inspect_element_styles, get_selection
Dev editing and diagnostics inject_css, remove_injected_css, patch_element, revert_patch, execute_js, read_console, inspect_network_requests, inspect_event_listeners, highlight_element
Shadow DOM and frames get_shadow_dom, shadow_dom_query on Chrome, get_frames, iframe_read, iframe_click, iframe_type
Network and files fetch_url, research_url, list_downloads, read_downloaded_file, download_resource_from_page, download_files, upload_file
Long-running work schedule_resume, schedule_task, scratchpad_write, progress_update, progress_read
Safety/workflow verify_form, clarify, done, solve_captcha
Media download_social_media, plus dynamic skill tools when enabled

WebBrain Dynamic Skill Tools

WebBrain has two tool classes declared inside skill Markdown fences:

  • kind: "http": read-only HTTPS GET/POST tools, available in Ask and Act according to their manifest modes.
  • kind: "httpDownloadJob": Act-only HTTPS POST job tools that create a job, poll status, fetch the file, save through browser Downloads, and clean up.

The bundled FreeSkillz.xyz skill exposes:

read_youtube_transcript
resolve_public_media
download_public_media

These are not /allow-api mutations. They are trusted at skill import/enable time, use credentials: "omit", and should mark third-party results as untrusted.

Claude Chrome Tool Surface

Recovered MCP/tool schemas:

computer, javascript_tool, file_upload, find, form_input, get_page_text,
gif_creator, navigate, read_console_messages, read_network_requests,
read_page, resize_window, tabs_context, tabs_create, turn_answer_start,
update_plan, upload_image, tabs_context_mcp, tabs_create_mcp, tabs_close_mcp,
shortcuts_list, shortcuts_execute

The biggest design difference is that Claude collapses many browser actions into computer, with an action enum:

left_click, right_click, type, screenshot, wait, scroll, key,
left_click_drag, double_click, triple_click, zoom, scroll_to, hover

The sidepanel quick mode has a separate command DSL:

ST tabId        select tab
NT url          open new tab
LT              list tabs
C x y           click
RC x y          right-click
DC x y          double-click
TC x y          triple-click
H x y           hover
T text          type
K keys          press keys
S dir amt x y   scroll
D x1 y1 x2 y2  drag
Z x1 y1 x2 y2  zoom screenshot region
N url           navigate, back, or forward
J code          execute JavaScript
W               wait for page settle

Quick mode sends Anthropic tools: [], parses these textual commands, executes them locally, then appends synthetic tool_use / tool_result messages with a fresh screenshot.

Claude Tool Families

Family Tools
Browser/computer actions computer, navigate, resize_window
Page reading/search read_page, get_page_text, find
DOM/form/file work form_input, file_upload, upload_image, javascript_tool
Debugging read_console_messages, read_network_requests
Tabs and MCP tab groups tabs_context, tabs_create, tabs_context_mcp, tabs_create_mcp, tabs_close_mcp
Workflow and permissions update_plan, turn_answer_start
Reuse/export gif_creator, shortcuts_list, shortcuts_execute

Tool Differences

Capability WebBrain Claude Chrome
Tool granularity Many narrow tools: separate AX click/type/set-field, network, downloads, scheduler, iframe, PDF, source, progress tools. Fewer high-level tools; browser input is mostly one computer tool plus action enum.
Primary reading path get_accessibility_tree is the preferred first read and returns stable refs with pagination/auto-degradation behavior. read_page also returns an accessibility tree, but screenshot-driven coordinate control is more central, especially in quick mode.
Natural-language element lookup No standalone model-powered find; the model usually reads the AX tree and chooses refs. Has find, which runs a small model call over the accessibility tree and returns matching refs.
Page text read_page is prose/article-oriented; get_accessibility_tree is UI-oriented. Splits read_page as AX tree and get_page_text as raw/article text.
PDF reading read_pdf extracts PDF text directly. No equivalent recovered.
Raw source reading read_page_source exposes server-delivered HTML and asset URLs. No equivalent recovered.
Network fetch fetch_url / research_url, with WebBrain-specific API mutation rules and /allow-api for mutating methods. No generic fetch tool recovered. Debug network logs exist through read_network_requests.
Console/network inspection No dedicated console log reader in the core WebBrain tool list. Network shortcuts exist for API observation, but not a model-facing request-log reader in the same way. Dedicated read_console_messages and read_network_requests.
Downloads Several browser download/file tools plus dynamic download-job skill tools. downloads permission exists and gif_creator can download exports, but no general download manager equivalent was recovered.
Media download download_public_media skill first; download_social_media browser fallback. No public-media download equivalent recovered.
File upload Both browsers have upload_file. Chrome supports downloadId and absolute filePath; Firefox supports downloadId re-fetch and a sidepanel user file picker (no arbitrary local paths without CDP). file_upload directly sets local absolute paths on a file input; upload_image uploads captured/user images by ref or coordinate.
Scheduler schedule_resume and schedule_task. Scheduled task UI/prompt strings exist, but no equivalent model-callable scheduler schema was recovered in the visible tool list.
CAPTCHA solve_captcha when CapSolver is configured. Explicit security prompt says respect CAPTCHAs and never bypass; no solver tool recovered.
Persistent agent memory scratchpad_write, progress_update, progress_read. Conversation compaction exists; no equivalent scratchpad/progress tools recovered.
Form safety verify_form for important forms. form_input can set values; no dedicated verify-form tool recovered.
Iframes Dedicated get_frames, iframe_read, iframe_click, iframe_type. No dedicated iframe tools recovered; actions are likely through coordinates/JS where permitted.
Shortcuts/workflows Custom skills are Markdown plus optional tool manifests. shortcuts_list / shortcuts_execute expose saved shortcuts/workflows.
GIF/video workflow Slash-driven recording exists in WebBrain Chrome, but not as model-callable tools. gif_creator is model-callable and can record/export browser automation sessions as GIF.

Website-Specific Adapters

WebBrain

WebBrain has a real site-adapter system:

  • Adapter files live in both src/chrome/src/agent/adapters.js and src/firefox/src/agent/adapters.js.
  • getActiveAdapter(url) returns the first matching adapter.
  • Only one adapter fires at a time.
  • Adapter notes inject into the first user message.
  • If navigation moves to a different matching adapter mid-conversation, WebBrain injects a new [Site context changed ...] user message.
  • UNIVERSAL_PREAMBLE is added to the system prompt when adapters are enabled. It covers cookie/consent banners, paywalls, and PDF-tab behavior.
  • Finance adapters carry high-stakes wording and must precede finance-generic.
  • Chrome and Firefox adapter changes should stay mirrored.

Current adapter inventory from listAdapters():

github, gitlab, stackoverflow, hackernews, gmail, google-docs,
google-calendar, slack, notion, jira, twitter, linkedin, reddit, youtube,
medium, substack, wordpress, amazon, aws, gcp, cloudflare, vercel, nytimes,
wsj, ft, bloomberg, economist, washingtonpost, stripe, coinbase, robinhood,
tradingview, finance-generic, airbnb, booking, expedia, google-maps,
google-flights, kayak, opentable, ebay, walmart, target, etsy, sahibinden,
trendyol, apple, outlook, google-sheets, trello, instagram, tiktok, facebook,
leetcode, hackerrank, greenhouse, workday, discord, whatsapp-web, telegram,
mastodon

Notable adapter behavior:

  • Adapters encode page-shape guidance, not brittle selectors.
  • WordPress is host-agnostic over /wp-admin and /wp-login.php.
  • Mastodon uses a large known-host set plus conservative URL matching to avoid claiming every generic /@user path on the web.
  • Finance precedence matters: broad finance matching can shadow specific adapters unless exclusions/order are maintained.

Claude Chrome

The deobfuscated Claude tree has settings UI that claims "Site adapters":

  • settings.html exposes a "Site adapters" toggle.
  • settings.js reads and writes useSiteAdapters.

However, no backing adapter registry, getActiveAdapter equivalent, universal preamble injection, or site-specific guidance injection path was found in the inspected Claude tree. Searches for WebBrain-style adapter markers only found the settings label/storage path.

The closest Claude equivalents are not website adapters:

  • Domain permission modes and domain-transition prompts.
  • Managed policy / domain block handling.
  • Domain skills metadata in tab-context reminders.
  • MCP/Gmail/Google-style integration labels elsewhere in the UI bundle.

So the practical adapter difference is:

  • WebBrain has website-specific prompt augmentation as a first-class browser agent feature.
  • Claude Chrome, in this deobfuscated tree, appears to rely on screenshots, find, domain permissions, and tab/domain context rather than per-site adapter notes.

Ideas Worth Borrowing

Potentially useful Claude ideas for WebBrain:

  • A find tool that uses a small/fast model over the AX tree to return candidate refs for vague element descriptions.
  • Model-facing console and network request readers for debugging web apps.
  • A GIF/workflow export tool if model-callable recording/export is desired.
  • Shortcut/workflow list and execution primitives, if WebBrain wants a reusable workflow layer separate from Markdown skills.
  • Direct image upload by captured screenshot/image ID, if sidepanel image attachment workflows grow.

Ideas to avoid copying directly:

  • A settings-only "site adapters" surface without a backing registry and injection path.
  • Collapsing too many deterministic browser operations into one computer schema if WebBrain wants to preserve its current narrow, auditable tool semantics.
  • Treating screenshot/coordinate control as the primary path when stable AX refs are available.

Documentation Follow-Ups

If this comparison becomes user-facing docs:

  • Update counts from src/chrome/src/agent/tools.js and src/firefox/src/agent/tools.js before publishing.
  • Re-run listAdapters() to avoid stale adapter inventory.
  • Treat Claude details as local reverse-engineering, not an upstream product contract.
  • If the Claude tree is refreshed, re-check whether useSiteAdapters gained a backing adapter registry.