OpenCLI AutoFix — Automatic Adapter Self-Repair#

When an opencli command fails because a website changed its DOM, API, or response schema, automatically diagnose, fix the adapter, and retry — don't just report the error.

Safety Boundaries#

Before starting any repair, check these hard stops:

• AUTH_REQUIRED (exit code 77) — STOP. Do not modify code. Tell the user to log into the site in Chrome.
• BROWSER_CONNECT (exit code 69) — STOP. Do not modify code. Tell the user to run opencli doctor.
• CAPTCHA / rate limiting — STOP. Not an adapter issue.

Scope constraint:

• Only modify the file at RepairContext.adapter.sourcePath — this is the authoritative adapter location (may be clis/<site>/ in repo or ~/.opencli/clis/<site>/ for npm installs)
• Never modify src/, extension/, tests/, package.json, or tsconfig.json

Retry budget: Max 3 repair rounds per failure. If 3 rounds of diagnose → fix → retry don't resolve it, stop and report what was tried.

Prerequisites#

bash

opencli doctor    # Verify extension + daemon connectivity

When to Use This Skill#

Use when opencli <site> <command> fails with repairable errors:

• SELECTOR — element not found (DOM changed)
• EMPTY_RESULT — no data returned (API response changed)
• API_ERROR / NETWORK — endpoint moved or broke
• PAGE_CHANGED — page structure no longer matches
• COMMAND_EXEC — runtime error in adapter logic
• TIMEOUT — page loads differently, adapter waits for wrong thing

Before Entering Repair: "Empty" ≠ "Broken"#

EMPTY_RESULT — and sometimes a structurally-valid SELECTOR that returns nothing — is often not an adapter bug. Platforms actively degrade results under anti-scrape heuristics, and a "not found" response from the site doesn't mean the content is actually missing. Rule this out before committing to a repair round:

• Retry with an alternative query or entry point. If opencli xiaohongshu search "X" returns 0 but opencli xiaohongshu search "X 攻略" returns 20, the adapter is fine — the platform was shaping results for the first query.
• Spot-check in a normal Chrome tab. If the data is visible in the user's own browser but the adapter comes back empty, the issue is usually authentication state, rate limiting, or a soft block — not a code bug. The fix is opencli doctor / re-login, not editing source.
• Look for soft 404s. Sites like xiaohongshu / weibo / douyin return HTTP 200 with an empty payload instead of a real 404 when an item is hidden or deleted. The snapshot will look structurally correct. A retry 2-3 seconds later often distinguishes "temporarily hidden" from "actually gone".
• "0 results" from a search is an answer. If the adapter successfully reached the search endpoint, got an HTTP 200, and the platform returned results: [], that is a valid answer — report it to the user as "no matches for this query" rather than patching the adapter.

Only proceed to Step 1 if the empty/selector-missing result is reproducible across retries and alternative entry points. Otherwise you're patching a working adapter to chase noise, and the patched version will break the next working path.

Step 1: Collect Diagnostic Context#

Run the failing command with diagnostic mode enabled:

bash

OPENCLI_DIAGNOSTIC=1 opencli <site> <command> [args...] 2>diagnostic.json

This outputs a RepairContext JSON between ___OPENCLI_DIAGNOSTIC___ markers in stderr:

json

{
  "error": {
    "code": "SELECTOR",
    "message": "Could not find element: .old-selector",
    "hint": "The page UI may have changed."
  },
  "adapter": {
    "site": "example",
    "command": "example/search",
    "sourcePath": "/path/to/clis/example/search.js",
    "source": "// full adapter source code"
  },
  "page": {
    "url": "https://example.com/search",
    "snapshot": "// DOM snapshot with [N] indices",
    "networkRequests": [],
    "consoleErrors": []
  },
  "timestamp": "2025-01-01T00:00:00.000Z"
}

Parse it:

bash

# Extract JSON between markers from stderr output
cat diagnostic.json | sed -n '/___OPENCLI_DIAGNOSTIC___/{n;p;}'

Step 2: Analyze the Failure#

Read the diagnostic context and the adapter source. Classify the root cause:

Error CodeLikely CauseRepair StrategySELECTORDOM restructured, class/id renamedExplore current DOM → find new selectorEMPTY_RESULTAPI response schema changed, or data movedCheck network → find new response pathAPI_ERROREndpoint URL changed, new params requiredDiscover new API via network interceptAUTH_REQUIREDLogin flow changed, cookies expiredSTOP — tell user to log in, do not modify codeTIMEOUTPage loads differently, spinner/lazy-loadAdd/update wait conditionsPAGE_CHANGEDMajor redesignMay need full adapter rewrite

Key questions to answer:

1. What is the adapter trying to do? (Read the source field)
2. What did the page look like when it failed? (Read the snapshot field)
3. What network requests happened? (Read networkRequests)
4. What's the gap between what the adapter expects and what the page provides?

Step 3: Explore the Current Website#

Use opencli browser to inspect the live website. Never use the broken adapter — it will just fail again.

DOM changed (SELECTOR errors)#

bash

# Open the page and inspect current DOM
opencli browser open https://example.com/target-page && opencli browser state

# Look for elements that match the adapter's intent
# Compare the snapshot with what the adapter expects

API changed (API_ERROR, EMPTY_RESULT)#

bash

# Open page with network interceptor, then trigger the action manually
opencli browser open https://example.com/target-page && opencli browser state

# Interact to trigger API calls
opencli browser click <N> && opencli browser network

# Narrow to the request you care about by the fields its body should have
opencli browser network --filter author,text,likes

# Inspect specific API response (key is the `key` field from the default JSON output)
opencli browser network --detail <key>

Step 4: Patch the Adapter#

Read the adapter source file at the path from RepairContext.adapter.sourcePath and make targeted fixes. This path is authoritative — it may be in the repo ( clis/) or user-local ( ~/.opencli/clis/).

bash

# Read the adapter (use the exact path from diagnostic)
cat <RepairContext.adapter.sourcePath>

Common Fixes#

Selector update:

typescript

// Before: page.evaluate('document.querySelector(".old-class")...')
// After:  page.evaluate('document.querySelector(".new-class")...')

API endpoint change:

typescript

// Before: const resp = await page.evaluate(`fetch('/api/v1/old-endpoint')...`)
// After:  const resp = await page.evaluate(`fetch('/api/v2/new-endpoint')...`)

Response schema change:

typescript

// Before: const items = data.results
// After:  const items = data.data.items  // API now nests under "data"

Wait condition update:

typescript

// Before: await page.wait({ selector: '.loading-spinner', hidden: true })
// After:  await page.wait({ selector: '[data-loaded="true"]' })

Rules for Patching#

1. Make minimal changes — fix only what's broken, don't refactor
2. Keep the same output structure — columns and return format must stay compatible
3. Prefer API over DOM scraping — if you discover a JSON API during exploration, switch to it
4. Use @jackwener/opencli/* imports only — never add third-party package imports
5. Test after patching — run the command again to verify
6. Never relax verify/<cmd>.json fixtures to silence a failure. A failing patterns / notEmpty / mustNotContain / mustBeTruthy rule means the adapter's output is broken. Tighten the adapter so it produces correct values; do not loosen the fixture to accept the broken values. The one legitimate reason to edit a fixture during repair is when the site itself changed shape (e.g. URL format migration) — in that case update the fixture and note the change in ~/.opencli/sites/<site>/notes.md. Otherwise editing the fixture is covering up a silent correctness regression.

Step 5: Verify the Fix#

bash

# Run the command normally (without diagnostic mode)
opencli <site> <command> [args...]

If it still fails, go back to Step 1 and collect fresh diagnostics. You have a budget of 3 repair rounds (diagnose → fix → retry). If the same error persists after a fix, try a different approach. After 3 rounds, stop and report what was tried.

Step 6: File an Upstream Issue#

If the retry passes, the local adapter has drifted from upstream. File a GitHub issue so the fix flows back to jackwener/OpenCLI.

Do NOT file for:

• AUTH_REQUIRED, BROWSER_CONNECT, ARGUMENT, CONFIG — environment/usage issues, not adapter bugs
• CAPTCHA or rate limiting — not fixable upstream
• Failures you couldn't actually fix (3 rounds exhausted)

Only file after a verified local fix — the retry must pass first.

Procedure:

1. Prepare the issue content from the RepairContext you already have:
   • Title: [autofix] <site>/<command>: <error_code> (e.g. [autofix] zhihu/hot: SELECTOR)
   • Body (use this template):

markdown

## Summary
OpenCLI autofix repaired this adapter locally, and the retry passed.

## Adapter
- Site: `<site>`
- Command: `<command>`
- OpenCLI version: `<version from opencli --version>`

## Original failure
- Error code: `<error_code>`

~~~
<error_message>
~~~

## Local fix summary

~~~
<1-2 sentence description of what you changed and why>
~~~

_Issue filed by OpenCLI autofix after a verified local repair._

1. Ask the user before filing. Show them the draft title and body. Only proceed if they confirm.

2. If the user approves and gh auth status succeeds:

bash

gh issue create --repo jackwener/OpenCLI \
  --title "[autofix] <site>/<command>: <error_code>" \
  --body "<the body above>"

If gh is not installed or not authenticated, tell the user and skip — do not error out.

When to Stop#

Hard stops (do not modify code):

• AUTH_REQUIRED / BROWSER_CONNECT — environment issue, not adapter bug
• Site requires CAPTCHA — can't automate this
• Rate limited / IP blocked — not an adapter issue

Soft stops (report after attempting):

• 3 repair rounds exhausted — stop, report what was tried and what failed
• Feature completely removed — the data no longer exists
• Major redesign — needs full adapter rewrite via opencli-adapter-author skill

In all stop cases, clearly communicate the situation to the user rather than making futile patches.

Example Repair Session#

text

1. User runs: opencli zhihu hot
   → Fails: SELECTOR "Could not find element: .HotList-item"

2. AI runs: OPENCLI_DIAGNOSTIC=1 opencli zhihu hot 2>diag.json
   → Gets RepairContext with DOM snapshot showing page loaded

3. AI reads diagnostic: snapshot shows the page loaded but uses ".HotItem" instead of ".HotList-item"

4. AI explores: opencli browser open https://www.zhihu.com/hot && opencli browser state
   → Confirms new class name ".HotItem" with child ".HotItem-content"

5. AI patches: Edit adapter at RepairContext.adapter.sourcePath — replace ".HotList-item" with ".HotItem"

6. AI verifies: opencli zhihu hot
   → Success: returns hot topics

7. AI prepares upstream issue draft, shows it to the user

8. User approves → AI runs: gh issue create --repo jackwener/OpenCLI --title "[autofix] zhihu/hot: SELECTOR" --body "..."