Aider

Agent prompt

Fetch and follow https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agentrhq/webcmd/main/start.md to set up Webcmd end to end.

Manual

Requirements

Node.js 20.6+
The webcmd npm CLI, installed globally or in the project
Aider (aider), installed and configured with an LLM
A browser runtime; confirm with webcmd doctor before browser work

Install and configure

Aider has no skills system. Install Webcmd and load its skill instructions as read-only context:

npm install -g @agentrhq/webcmd
webcmd doctor
webcmd skills add

When webcmd skills add prompts, choose the agents provider. It installs into ~/.agents/skills/ (user) or .agents/skills/ (project). Then add the skill file to Aider’s read list in .aider.conf.yml at your repo root or home directory:

read:
  - ~/.agents/skills/webcmd-browser/SKILL.md

Aider loads read files at startup as read-only reference and caches them when prompt caching is enabled. Restart Aider after changing config. For a project-scoped setup, use .agents/skills/ paths relative to the repo:

read:
  - .agents/skills/webcmd-browser/SKILL.md

Override default tools

Aider’s built-in tools are file editing, git, linting, and shell access through /run (alias !). It has no search tool and no browser automation tool. The overlap is /web, which scrapes a URL into markdown using httpx or Playwright. That is a one-shot fetch — it does not handle JavaScript-heavy pages, authenticated sessions, or multi-step workflows the way Webcmd does. Prefer /run webcmd ... instead. Add this to your conventions file (for example CONVENTIONS.md) and include it in the read list alongside the Webcmd skills:

# Webcmd for the open web

When a task needs web content, authenticated sites, or browser automation:

- Create a named Webcmd Session and inspect the live page before acting.
- Use `/run webcmd ...` (or `!webcmd ...`) to drive Webcmd from the shell.
- For interactive browser work, create a named session: `webcmd --profile work session create "Work Project"`, then pass its readable ID to later commands.
- For login walls, use Webcmd's human handoff; never type passwords, OTPs, cookies, or credentials.

Do not use `/web` when Webcmd can handle the task. `/web` is a lossy scrape; Webcmd returns real page content and supports sessions.

To stop Aider from auto-offering /web when it detects URLs in your messages, set in .aider.conf.yml:

detect-urls: false

Aider has no search index. When you need to discover URLs, find them yourself or pipe search results into the chat — Webcmd reads the pages that search finds.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	What to try
`webcmd doctor` is red	Fix the browser runtime first; browser commands depend on it.
Aider ignores Webcmd instructions	Confirm the skill files are in the `read` list in `.aider.conf.yml`, then restart Aider.
Aider still uses `/web`	Add the conventions guidance above; set `detect-urls: false` to stop URL auto-detection.
`/web` keeps prompting for Playwright	Expected on JS-heavy sites. Use Webcmd instead, or install Playwright per Aider’s optional setup.
`webcmd` not found in `/run`	Confirm `webcmd` is on the PATH in the shell Aider uses; restart the terminal session.
Browser Session idles or loses its window	Keep its immutable, Profile-scoped ID; `webcmd --profile work --session work-project-k7 browser tabs` reopens it. Use `webcmd --profile work session list` to inspect it and `webcmd --profile work session close work-project-k7` when finished.

Start

Agent Harnesses

Understand Webcmd

Build and Share

Use Cases

Reference and Support

Agent prompt

Manual

Requirements

Install and configure

Override default tools

Troubleshooting

See also

​Agent prompt

​Manual

​Requirements

​Install and configure

​Override default tools

​Troubleshooting

​See also

Agent prompt

Manual

Requirements

Install and configure

Override default tools

Troubleshooting

See also