Forum Research (Dfinity)

Scope

This skill supports read-only research on forum.dfinity.org using authenticated browsing and Discourse JSON endpoints.

Required dependency

This skill depends on the agent-browser skill from vercel-labs. Install it first:

npx skills add https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-browser --skill agent-browser

Guardrails (strict)

Read-only only. Never post, reply, like, bookmark, or edit.
Use GET requests for all research and reading.
Exception: authentication may require a POST to the login endpoint. No other non-GET requests are allowed.
If a user asks to post or modify content, refuse and explain the read-only policy.

Browser initialization (CRITICAL)

ALWAYS call agent-browser launch first before ANY other agent-browser commands.

If you get the error "Browser not launched. Call launch first", simply call agent-browser launch and then retry your command. This is a normal part of the workflow.

Authentication (CRITICAL)

You MUST be logged in to access forum content. Most forum content is hidden without authentication.

REQUIRED workflow for every session:

Launch browser with agent-browser launch
Login IMMEDIATELY before doing any research (see Stage 1 below)
Verify login by checking the top right of any forum page:
- Logged in: Account dropdown visible in top right
- Not logged in: "Sign Up" and "Log In" buttons visible in top right
Only proceed with research tasks after confirming you're logged in

During long sessions:

Periodically check the top right of the page to verify you're still logged in
If you see "Sign Up" and "Log In" buttons instead of account dropdown, re-authenticate immediately
Sessions may expire after inactivity - re-login if needed

Error handling and persistence

When using this skill, you may encounter errors. Always persist through errors by:

Launch errors: If you see "Browser not launched", call agent-browser launch and retry.
Login errors: If credentials fail, try again or check the credential source.
Access denied / empty results: You're not logged in - complete the login process immediately.
Navigation errors: If a page fails to load, retry the navigation.
Element not found: If snapshot elements change, take a fresh snapshot and update element refs.

Do not give up after a single error. Most errors can be resolved by:

Launching the browser if not already launched
Ensuring you're logged in (check top right of page for account dropdown vs login buttons)
Retrying the failed command
Taking a fresh snapshot to update element references
Verifying you're on the expected page before interacting with it

Stage 1: Login (MANDATORY FIRST STEP)

This MUST be the first thing you do in every session. Do not skip this step.

Launch the browser with agent-browser launch (required first step).
Obtain credentials using one of the approved methods in reference.md.
Navigate to https://forum.dfinity.org/login.
Always choose the username/password option on the login page (ignore GitHub and passkey options).
Fill username and password, then submit.
Confirm login by taking a snapshot and checking the top right of the page:
- Look for an account dropdown (logged in successfully)
- If you see "Sign Up" and "Log In" buttons instead, login failed - retry the login process
Alternative verification: Open https://forum.dfinity.org/u/<username>.json - you should see your user profile data.

After login confirmation, you can proceed with research tasks.

Discourse JSON access

Discourse supports a JSON view for most pages by appending .json to the URL. Prefer JSON for structured reading:

Topic: https://forum.dfinity.org/t/<slug>/<id>.json
User: https://forum.dfinity.org/u/<username>.json
Latest: https://forum.dfinity.org/latest.json

Additional resources

Credential sourcing, prompts, and constraints: reference.md
Login examples: examples.md
Forum category structure and navigation guide: categories.md

forum-research