namuorg

10 ms·

1. 61.▲
   by namuorg 5y ago

   Browserflow is more low-code than it is no-code since it has support for control flow statements like "If", "Else", etc. as well as being able to execute arbitrary Javascript on the page. The no-code approach of simply r
2. 62.▲
   by namuorg 5y ago

   If you run the flow locally, it'll save locally. If you run the flow in the cloud, it'll need some place to persist it so I've chosen Google Drive to start. If there's enough demand, I'd be open to storing it on Bro
3. 63.▲
   by namuorg 5y ago

   Thanks Todd! Reflect has been a big inspiration for how smooth the user experience could be. Happy to see us both on the front page today! :)
4. 64.▲
   by namuorg 5y ago

   You're in luck! Browserflow can take screenshots and save them to Google Drive every day. :) Take a look at the "Take Screenshot" command and feel free to message me on the Browserflow Discord if you need help.
5. 65.▲
   by namuorg 5y ago

   https://developer.chrome.com/docs/extensions/reference/debug...
6. 66.▲
   by namuorg 5y ago

   I really wanted to make it run on Firefox as I do with all my other extensions (e.g. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22936742 ), but Firefox lacks the APIs that Chrome has for automating the browser. :'(
7. 67.▲
   by namuorg 5y ago

   Thanks for following along — I appreciate the support!
8. 68.▲
   by namuorg 5y ago

   For sure! I'll definitely be exploring the marketplace idea. Currently, you can share flows and import flows that others have shared, but there isn't (yet) a nice way to discover ones others have made or charge for flows you'
9. 69.▲
   by namuorg 5y ago

   Yeah, Browserflow definitely wouldn't be able to compete with specialized bots for reselling in terms of speed. I added support for residential IPs to handle sites that employ aggressive bot detection, but it's in private beta and
10. 70.▲
    by namuorg 5y ago

    Oh man, this makes me super happy to hear. Enjoy, and feel free to reach out either by email (support@browserflow.app) or on the Discord if you need any help with your automations!
11. 71.▲
    by namuorg 5y ago

    I'm loving the nice comments about the UI because it's all good ol' Bootstrap. Tools in this category usually have pretty terrible design so I guess the bar is quite low. ;) I'm using React for the Javascript!
12. 72.▲
    by namuorg 5y ago

    I built Browserflow Cloud for that purpose ;) It was a lot of work translating the extension code to work with headless browsers, but it means you can deploy your flows to the cloud and have it run automatically!
13. 73.▲
    by namuorg 5y ago

    Yup, I've tried dozens of tools in this category, and here are some of the main differentiators: - Ease of use: Most existing tools have pretty clunky UX and are hard to get started on - Reliability: I've had issues with many tool
14. 74.▲
    by namuorg 5y ago

    When you click the add button, the extension grabs the cookies for the specified domain from your desktop browser and attaches it to the flow to be used when running in the cloud. The cookies are used for as long as the user keeps them in t
15. 75.▲
    by namuorg 5y ago

    Thanks! Right now you can use it for testing by throwing an error from the flow (using the Run Script command) if the result differs from what you're looking for (e.g. an element doesn't exist, some text doesn't match the exp
16. 76.▲
    by namuorg 5y ago

    Thanks! Auth is handled when running in the cloud by adding the relevant cookies to the cloud flow.
17. 77.▲
    by namuorg 5y ago

    Hi HN, About 14 years ago, I fell in love with programming because it made me feel like a magician. I'd type in some incantations, click "Run", and voila! My lightning-powered thinking rock would do exactly as I commanded — i
18. 78.▲
    Show HN: I made a Chrome extension that can automate any website(browserflow.app)

    707 points by namuorg 5y ago|209 comments