gomoufox

gomoufox is a Go driver for Camoufox.

It gives Go programs, shell scripts, and MCP agents a typed way to launch and
control the pinned Camoufox browser stack without writing Python glue.

Use it only on sites you own, test, or have permission to automate.

Add gomoufox to an agent

Install the bundled skills and MCP server config in one step:

gomoufox setup --dry-run
gomoufox setup --target all --features skills,mcp --yes
gomoufox agents install --target all --features skills,mcp --dry-run --json
gomoufox agents install --target all --features skills,mcp

Use --target codex, claude, cursor, or gemini to install for one
agent. Use --scope project when you want repo-local MCP config. The default
writes skill files plus a stdio MCP entry that runs
gomoufox mcp --toolset core.

Run the dry run first. It prints the exact files gomoufox would write.
Reruns are safe: MCP config files are merged, and existing skill files are left
alone unless you pass --force.

At a glance

flowchart LR
  GoApp["Go app"] --> GoAPI["Go API"]
  Shell["Shell script"] --> CLI["gomoufox CLI"]
  Agent["Agent"] --> Skills["SKILL.md"]
  Skills --> MCP["gomoufox mcp"]
  GoAPI --> Sidecar["gomoufox sidecar"]
  CLI --> Sidecar
  MCP --> Sidecar
  Sidecar --> Camoufox["Pinned Camoufox"]
  Camoufox --> Web["Permitted sites"]

  classDef api fill:#00ADD8,color:#ffffff,stroke:#00758f;
  classDef agent fill:#7c3aed,color:#ffffff,stroke:#5b21b6;
  classDef browser fill:#f97316,color:#ffffff,stroke:#c2410c;
  classDef web fill:#16a34a,color:#ffffff,stroke:#15803d;
  class GoAPI,CLI api;
  class Agent,Skills,MCP agent;
  class Sidecar,Camoufox browser;
  class Web web;

Install

Library:

go get github.com/ehmo/gomoufox

CLI:

go install github.com/ehmo/gomoufox/cmd/gomoufox@latest
gomoufox -h
gomoufox install
gomoufox doctor

Homebrew:

brew tap ehmo/gomoufox https://github.com/ehmo/gomoufox
if brew commands | grep -qx trust; then
  brew trust --formula ehmo/gomoufox/gomoufox
fi
brew install gomoufox
gomoufox install
gomoufox doctor

Install through the tap. The release gomoufox.rb file is there for audit and
tap metadata; Homebrew wants formulae inside taps. Run brew trust only if your
Homebrew build still has that command.

Path	Status	Use it when
gomoufox install		You want the Go-managed node-direct runtime.
gomoufox install --runtime python		You need BrowserForge, geoip, humanize launch options, or the legacy Python sidecar.
GOMOUFOX_CAMOUFOX_PATH=/path/to/browser		You already have a compatible Camoufox browser directory.

Default Go, CLI, and MCP flows use the Go-managed node-direct runtime. The
default install fetches Playwright's Node driver, gomoufox's launch server, and
the pinned Camoufox browser archive. Persistent profiles and browser-context
locale settings use the node-direct runtime; geoip and humanize launch options
still require the Python sidecar.

Use gomoufox install --runtime python only for the explicit legacy
Python-sidecar path. That path uses hash-locked wheels and fails closed on a
missing wheel or hash mismatch.

Homebrew installs on macOS Apple Silicon and Linux amd64, because those are the
hosts where the pinned browser has an upstream binary. Other Go archives still
ship for library and CLI users.

Use GOMOUFOX_TRUST_UNVERIFIED_CAMOUFOX_PATH=1 only for a trusted local browser
build that does not match the release manifest. gomoufox doctor reports that
as a warning.

Go library

package main

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"

	gomoufox "github.com/ehmo/gomoufox"
)

func main() {
	ctx := context.Background()

	browser, err := gomoufox.New(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}
	defer browser.Close()

	page, err := browser.NewPage(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}

	if _, err := page.Goto(ctx, "https://example.com"); err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}

	text, err := page.Content(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}
	fmt.Println(text)
}

Use the library when your program owns the browser lifecycle. Use the CLI when a
shell script needs a page snapshot, screenshot, or browser-context fetch. Use MCP
when an agent needs browser tools over stdio or HTTP.

CLI

gomoufox get https://example.com --markdown
gomoufox screenshot https://example.com --out page.png --full-page
gomoufox fetch https://api.example.com/me --navigate-first https://example.com
gomoufox open https://app.example.com --save-session state.json --wait
gomoufox fetch https://app.example.com/api/me --cookies-file state.json

Fetch responses are read through a bounded browser stream. gomoufox fetch
defaults to 512 KiB, reports truncation in JSON output, and cancels the reader
when the cap is reached.

Agent-friendly discovery:

gomoufox -h
gomoufox -v
gomoufox version
gomoufox help
gomoufox help --json --fields commands
gomoufox help skills --json
gomoufox help mcp --json
gomoufox skills list --json
gomoufox skills show core
gomoufox mcp --help

Automation tips:

• Use --json for machine-readable output and keep status logs on stderr.
• Use --timeout <dur> for bounded shell jobs.
• Use open --save-session for human login, then reuse the state with
  --cookies-file.
• Use --profile <dir> when a workflow needs full persistent browser state.
• Keep the default URL policy for normal work. Use --allow-private-ips only
  when you need local or private network targets.

Skills

gomoufox ships versioned agent skills in the binary and as checked SKILL.md
files. Skills give agents a compact operating guide for the Go API, CLI, and MCP
tools. They do not install npm packages, run npx, or call the network.

Inspect the embedded skills:

gomoufox skills list --json
gomoufox skills show core
gomoufox skills show mcp

Export installable copies:

gomoufox skills export --out ./skills
gomoufox skills export --out ./skills --force

Install skill files only for Codex:

gomoufox skills install --target codex --dry-run --json
gomoufox skills install --target codex

By default, the Codex target writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills or
~/.codex/skills. Use --dir <path> to choose another skill directory. The
installer writes:

• gomoufox/SKILL.md
• gomoufox/agents/openai.yaml
• gomoufox-mcp/SKILL.md
• gomoufox-mcp/agents/openai.yaml

list and show read from the embedded skill bodies, so agents can discover
the right instructions even when no skill directory exists yet. export and
install write the same checked bodies that ship in the repo. Existing files are
left alone unless you pass --force.

Install skills plus MCP configuration for a specific agent or project:

gomoufox agents install --target all --dry-run --json
gomoufox agents install --target cursor --scope project --features skills,mcp

agents install supports codex, claude, cursor, gemini, or all, with
--scope user|project and --features skills,mcp. MCP entries use stdio and
default to gomoufox mcp --toolset core. Use --toolset full for the full MCP
surface. Reserve repeated --mcp-arg <arg> for extra MCP server flags. Use
--force only when you want to replace existing skill files or rewrite merged
MCP config.

Dry-run output shows the exact absolute paths that would be written.

MCP

Run browser tools over stdio:

gomoufox mcp

Claude Code example:

claude mcp add gomoufox -- gomoufox mcp

HTTP transport requires a bearer token:

gomoufox mcp --transport http --auth-token "$TOKEN"

MCP defaults:

• Use gomoufox mcp --toolset core for a smaller agent tool surface. It keeps
  navigation, snapshots/content, common form actions, sessions, and skill tools.
  The default full toolset keeps diagnostics, eval, fetch, cookies, storage,
  upload, and other gated tools available.
• file://, private IP ranges, link-local addresses, and metadata hosts are
  blocked.
• JavaScript evaluation is disabled unless you start MCP with --enable-eval.
• Response sizes are capped.
• MCP-owned helper scripts use a startup-probed internal helper evaluation path
  and do not install a page-visible helper object.
• Browser-derived MCP responses include provenance.trust: "untrusted" so
  agents can separate website content from trusted instructions. This label helps
  agent policy. It is not a sandbox.
• Console, page-error, network, and performance diagnosis tools are bounded,
  redacted, and clearable where they keep event buffers. Network summaries do
  not include request or response bodies.
• Ref-based interaction tools cover click, type, key press, hover, scroll,
  select option, checkbox/radio state, dialog policy, and bounded form batches.
• browser_snapshot form values stay redacted unless you start MCP with
  --allow-snapshot-values and the tool call sets include_values: true.
• Browser-context fetches, cookie values, cookie mutation, session export,
  session import, session proxy use, file upload, and file download stay
  disabled unless you enable their matching operator flags.
• To reuse a CLI login in MCP, save state with gomoufox open --save-session,
  place the file under --session-dir, start MCP with --allow-session-import,
  then call session_create with storage_state_path or session_load with
  path.
• browser_upload_file requires --allow-file-upload; paths must resolve under
  --session-dir, and responses do not echo file paths.
• browser_download requires --allow-file-download; destination paths must
  resolve under --session-dir. Suggested filenames from the browser are
  returned as metadata only and are never used as write paths.
• browser_fetch requires --allow-browser-fetch plus at least one
  --allowed-origins or --allowed-hosts entry. It still uses gomoufox network
  policy, so private and metadata destinations stay blocked.

Benchmarks

The benchmark answers one question: did the Go path stay close to Python
Camoufox without producing Go-only failures?

Latest checked evidence:
docs/BENCHMARKS.md,
Python-sidecar artifact, and
node-direct artifact.

Bold means best in that column. The sidecar row comes from the previous extended
release-gate artifact; node-direct comes from the readiness artifact.
Use the table for direction, not single-run timing claims.

Latest extended validation: 100 targets, 60s timeout, commit wait, 3s settle,
no screenshots, reused browser, compact Go report, 0s extra load-state wait, and
250,000-byte classification cap.
gomoufox passed 96, blocked 4, failed 0. Python Camoufox passed 95, blocked 5,
failed 0. The run had 0 Go-only regressions and 1 Python-only outcome
difference. See
docs/benchmarks/2026-06-24-node-direct-readiness.json.

Wall time stayed at parity. Node-direct used less RSS, less CPU, and produced a
much smaller agent report. Treat a report-token ratio above 0.50 as a regression.
Release gates use --unsafe-direct-network, block reproducible outcome mismatch,
and give a new shared block, failure, or performance outlier one focused retry.

scripts/benchmark-realpass.py --mode smoke
scripts/benchmark-realpass.py --mode smoke --loops 2 --run-order alternate
scripts/benchmark-realpass.py --mode extended --list-targets
scripts/fingerprint-audit.py

Use --run-order alternate for timing work. Run scripts/fingerprint-audit.py
after browser pin, launch option, WebGL, locale, timezone, font, canvas, or
runtime changes. It compares Python Camoufox, gomoufox with the Python sidecar,
and gomoufox node-direct on a local fingerprint page.

The no-Python canary checks the consumer path:

scripts/no-python-consumer-canary.sh --gomoufox ./gomoufox --json-out dist/node-direct-consumer-readiness.json
python3 scripts/check-python-removal-readiness.py --artifact dist/node-direct-consumer-readiness.json

More detail:

• Benchmark rules and target matrix
• Release verification
• Python tooling policy
• Public consumer canary

Release verification

Each public release ships deterministic archives, checksums.txt,
checksums.json, a Homebrew formula, release-provenance.json, and
sbom.spdx.json. The public workflow also creates GitHub artifact attestations.

gh release download vX.Y.Z --repo ehmo/gomoufox --dir /tmp/gomoufox-vX.Y.Z
cd /tmp/gomoufox-vX.Y.Z
shasum -a 256 -c checksums.txt
gh attestation verify gomoufox_X.Y.Z_darwin_arm64.tar.gz -R ehmo/gomoufox

Run the public consumer canary when you want one command that checks the release
asset layout, checksums, host archive extraction, CLI help, MCP core handshake,
skills listing, and skills install dry-run:

bash scripts/public-consumer-canary.sh --version vX.Y.Z --repo ehmo/gomoufox --brew-mode inspect

Add --verify-attestations, --go-install, or --brew-mode install when you
need those slower paths. The default canary avoids browser launch work. Add
--browser-smoke-url https://example.com/ when you also want to prove the
managed runtime is installed and usable on that machine.

Maintainers also run the bundled public audit after publication:

python3 scripts/audit-public-release.py \
  --version vX.Y.Z \
  --repo ehmo/gomoufox \
  --verify-attestations \
  --brew-mode inspect

Common questions

Where is Python still used?

Default install and ordinary node-direct flows do not need Python at runtime.
Python remains for explicit legacy Python-sidecar mode, geoip/humanize
launch-option flows, upstream Python Camoufox comparison benchmarks, and
maintainer release/dev scripts listed in scripts/python-tooling-policy.json.

The audit path still exists for upstream parity work:

go run ./cmd/gomoufox-launchplan --scenario all --out dist/launch-plan/latest

That command dumps gomoufox's Go launch input beside the Python Camoufox launch
payload. It can also compare an optional candidate payload with
--candidate <json> and fails on drift.

Why use gomoufox instead of Python Camoufox directly?

Use gomoufox when you need a typed Go API, a scriptable CLI, MCP tools for
agents, release-gated Go/Python parity checks, and local URL guardrails. Use
Python Camoufox directly when your project is already Python-first and does not
need those surfaces.

Will every protected site work?

No. gomoufox tests against Python Camoufox on the same target set. A Go-only
block or failure is a gomoufox regression. A shared block means both stacks saw
the same site behavior during that run. Site policy, traffic reputation, browser
changes, and upstream Camoufox changes can still affect results.

Where does browser state live?

Temporary sessions use temporary profile data. Persistent sessions use the
directory you pass with --profile. MCP session import, export, proxy use, and
file upload stay disabled until you start MCP with the matching operator flags.
Portable storage_state files from open --save-session contain cookies and
localStorage only; reuse them with CLI --cookies-file or MCP session import.

Does MCP trust page content?

No. Browser-derived MCP responses carry provenance.trust: "untrusted". Agents
should treat page text as data from the site, not instructions from the operator.

Can I run headful on Linux?

Yes, if a display exists. Set GOMOUFOX_AUTO_DISPLAY=1 when you want gomoufox to
use an automatic display helper.

How do I debug install issues?

Run:

gomoufox doctor
gomoufox doctor --json
gomoufox --verbose doctor

Check GOMOUFOX_CAMOUFOX_PATH only when you intentionally bypass the managed
runtime. Offline browser paths are manifest-verified unless
GOMOUFOX_TRUST_UNVERIFIED_CAMOUFOX_PATH=1 is set for a trusted local build.

Compatibility

gomoufox pins the browser stack. Upgrade these pieces together.

Auto-fetch support is verified for macOS arm64. Other platforms may work with a
pre-provisioned browser directory through GOMOUFOX_CAMOUFOX_PATH.

Headful Linux runs need an existing display or GOMOUFOX_AUTO_DISPLAY=1.

Development

These Python commands are development tooling, not runtime prerequisites:

go test -count=1 ./...
go test -race -count=1 ./...
go vet ./...
python3 scripts/check-agent-contracts.py
python3 scripts/format-doc-numbers.py
go run golang.org/x/vuln/cmd/[email protected] ./...

Normal CI keeps to cheap deterministic checks: public export consistency,
docs-number formatting, unit tests, agent contracts, go vet, and the public
consumer canary in dry-run mode. Public tag releases run the heavier coverage,
vulnerability, package, attestation, and post-release audit checks.

Agent-facing CLI and MCP discovery snapshots live in docs/agent-contracts/.
When CLI help or MCP tool schemas change, run
python3 scripts/check-agent-contracts.py --update and review the diff.

Run python3 scripts/format-doc-numbers.py --write after editing docs with
large displayed numbers.

The public repo is generated. Do not edit generated public files by hand.

License

gomoufox is MIT licensed.

Camoufox is MPL-2.0. gomoufox starts Camoufox as a subprocess and downloads its
browser binary at runtime. gomoufox does not vendor or modify Camoufox.