Reddit Browser Automation

Reddit/Postmill Browser Automation Skill

This skill is based on Playwright MCP tools, providing automation capabilities for Reddit-like forum platforms (Postmill).

Core Concepts

In forum automation, we distinguish two types of operations:

1. Skill: Meaningful combinations of multiple tool calls, encapsulated as independent Python scripts
2. Basic Tools: Single function calls used for atomic operations.

---

I. Skills

1. Sign Up

Use Cases:

• Create a new account on the forum after cilcing "Sign up" button
• Register with specific username and password

Usage:

# Usage:
#   python sign_up.py      
# Example:
python sign_up.py "AIDataAnalyst2025" "SecurePass123!" e35 e43 e44 e54

---

2. Create Post

Use Cases:

• Submit a new post/submission to a forum aftering clicking "Submit" button
• Create text posts with title and body

Usage:

# Usage:
#   python create_post.py     
# Example:
python create_post.py "My Post Title" "Post body content here" e58 e63 e82

Note: The body text can contain multiple lines. Each line should start with a dash (-) for proper formatting.

---

3. Create Forum

Use Cases:

• Create a new forum/community after clicking "Create forum" button
• Set up forum name, title, description, and sidebar

Usage:

# Usage:
#   python create_forum.py         
# Example:
python create_forum.py "BudgetEuropeTravel" "Budget Travel Europe" "Community for sharing money-saving tips" "Share your best deals!" e51 e56 e61 e69 e83

---

4. Create Wiki

Use Cases:

• Create a wiki page for a forum after clicking "Create new page" button
• Set up wiki URL path, title, and content

Usage:

# Usage:
#   python create_wiki.py       
# Example:
python create_wiki.py "europe-travel-guide" "Complete Budget Travel Guide" "Wiki content here" e51 e56 e62 e69

---

II. Basic Tools (When to Use Single Functions)

Below are the basic tool functions and their use cases. These are atomic operations for flexible combination.

Note: Code should be written without line breaks.

How to Run

# Standard format (browser persists across calls)
python run_browser_ops.py -c "await browser.navigate('http://localhost:9999')"

Navigation Tools

navigate(url: str)

Use Cases:

• Open forum homepage
• Navigate to specific forum or post

Example:

python run_browser_ops.py -c "await browser.navigate('http://localhost:9999')"
python run_browser_ops.py -c "await browser.navigate('http://localhost:9999/f/MachineLearning')"

---

navigate_back()

Use Cases:

• Go back to previous page
• Return to forum listing after viewing post

Example:

python run_browser_ops.py -c "await browser.navigate_back()"

---

Interaction Tools

click(ref: str, element: Optional[str] = None)

Use Cases:

• Click navigation links (Forums, Submit, Wiki, etc.)
• Click forum links and post titles
• Click buttons (Sign up, Create, Save, Upvote, etc.)
• Click pagination links (More, Page 2, etc.)

Example:

# Click Forums link
python run_browser_ops.py -c "await browser.click(ref='e22', element='Forums link')"

# Click a post title
python run_browser_ops.py -c "await browser.click(ref='e77', element='Post title link')"

# Click Upvote button
python run_browser_ops.py -c "await browser.click(ref='e94', element='Upvote button')"

---

type_text(ref: str, text: str, element: Optional[str] = None)

Use Cases:

• Fill form fields (username, password, title, body)
• Enter search queries
• Fill wiki content

Example:

# Enter username
python run_browser_ops.py -c "await browser.type_text(ref='e35', text='MyUsername', element='Username field')"

# Enter post body
python run_browser_ops.py -c "await browser.type_text(ref='e63', text='Post content here', element='Body textbox')"

---

select_option(ref: str, element_desc: str, value: str)

Use Cases:

• Select timezone in user settings
• Select sorting options
• Select dropdown values

Example:

# Select timezone
python run_browser_ops.py -c "await browser.select_option(ref='e56', element_desc='Time zone combobox', value='Europe / Amsterdam')"

---

press_key(key: str)

Use Cases:

• Submit search queries (press Enter)
• Submit forms

Example:

python run_browser_ops.py -c "await browser.press_key('Enter')"

---

Page State Tools

snapshot()

Use Cases:

• When unsure about current page state
• Need to find ref references for elements
• Verify if operation was successful
• Count posts or comments on a page

Example:

python run_browser_ops.py -c "await browser.snapshot()"

Best Practices:

• Use snapshot after navigation to find element refs
• Use snapshot to count items on a page
• Use snapshot to verify data before submitting

---

III. Common Navigation Patterns

Forum Navigation

# Navigate to homepage
python run_browser_ops.py -c "await browser.navigate('http://localhost:9999')"

Sorting and Pagination

# Click Sort by dropdown
python run_browser_ops.py -c "await browser.click(ref='e54', element='Sort by: Hot dropdown')"

---

IV. Best Practices

Use snapshot() Liberally

Use snapshot() in the following situations:

• After navigating to a new page
• Before performing actions that require element refs
• When counting posts or analyzing content
• To verify successful completion of actions

Usage Principles

1. Navigate first: Start by navigating to http://localhost:9999
2. Use snapshot() liberally: Forum pages have dynamic refs, verify state often
3. Find refs: Always find current refs before using skills

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: MassLab-SII
• Source: MassLab-SII/open-agent-skills
• License: Apache-2.0

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.