Use native Chrome for Reddit login handoff

src/bootstrap.ts

@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ import {
   authenticateCurrentAccount,
   type AuthenticatedAccount,
 } from './services/account-auth-context.js';
+import { ProcessNativeLoginHandoff } from './services/native-login-handoff.js';
 
 export interface AppContainer {
   config: Config;
@@ -111,7 +112,7 @@ export async function bootstrap(config: Config, logger: Logger): Promise<AppCont
   if (!loggedIn) {
     logger.warn('Session invalid or not logged in.');
 
-    if (config.reddit.username && config.reddit.password) {
+    if (!config.web.enabled && config.reddit.username && config.reddit.password) {
       logger.info('Credentials found in config/env. Attempting automated login...');
       loggedIn = await browserClient.login();
     }
@@ -327,6 +328,7 @@ export async function bootstrap(config: Config, logger: Logger): Promise<AppCont
     webServer.setStrategySelector(strategySelector);
     webServer.setBrowserClient(browserClient);
     webServer.setAccountAuthContext(accountAuth);
+    webServer.setNativeLoginHandoff(new ProcessNativeLoginHandoff());
     webServer.setOnConfigChange(() => logger.info('Runtime config updated via dashboard'));
   }
 

src/browser/client.ts

@@ -216,16 +216,8 @@ export class BrowserClient {
 
   async login(): Promise<boolean> {
     if (this.usingExternalChrome) {
-      try {
-        const page = await this.getPage();
-        await page.bringToFront();
-        await page.goto('https://www.reddit.com/login', { waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded' });
-        this.sessionState = 'login-required';
-        this.logger.warn('Interactive Reddit login required. Open the VNC page and sign in using Google Chrome.');
-      } catch (error) {
-        this.sessionState = classifyRedditSessionError(error);
-        this.logger.error('Failed to open Google Chrome for interactive login:', error);
-      }
+      this.sessionState = 'login-required';
+      this.logger.warn('Native Reddit login required. Start it from the dashboard before signing in through VNC.');
       return false;
     }
 

src/native-login-gate.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+import http, { type Server } from 'node:http';
+import { pathToFileURL } from 'node:url';
+
+export interface NativeLoginGateOptions {
+  publicVncUrl: string;
+  onComplete: () => void;
+}
+
+function escapeHtml(value: string): string {
+  return value.replace(/[&<>"']/g, (character) => ({
+    '&': '&amp;',
+    '<': '&lt;',
+    '>': '&gt;',
+    '"': '&quot;',
+    "'": '&#39;',
+  })[character] ?? character);
+}
+
+function loginPage(publicVncUrl: string): string {
+  const safeVncUrl = escapeHtml(publicVncUrl);
+  return `<!doctype html>
+<html lang="en">
+<head>
+  <meta charset="utf-8">
+  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,initial-scale=1">
+  <title>Reddit login required</title>
+  <style>
+    body { margin: 0; font: 16px system-ui, sans-serif; color: #f5f5f5; background: #111; }
+    main { max-width: 1100px; margin: 24px auto; padding: 0 20px; }
+    .notice { padding: 18px; border: 1px solid #3c765f; border-radius: 12px; background: #17251f; }
+    iframe { width: 100%; height: 70vh; margin-top: 18px; border: 1px solid #444; border-radius: 10px; background: #000; }
+    button, a { display: inline-block; margin: 14px 8px 0 0; padding: 11px 16px; border: 0; border-radius: 8px; font-weight: 700; }
+    button { color: white; background: #ff4500; cursor: pointer; }
+    a { color: white; background: #444; text-decoration: none; }
+    #status { margin-left: 8px; color: #b9dfcf; }
+  </style>
+</head>
+<body><main>
+  <section class="notice">
+    <strong>Chrome is running without automation.</strong>
+    <p>Log in to Reddit in the browser below. Only after Reddit shows you as signed in, click <em>I'm logged in - connect the bot</em>. Chrome will restart with the same profile and the bot will verify both Reddit and Matrix before any bot logic can run.</p>
+    <button id="complete" type="button">I'm logged in - connect the bot</button>
+    <a href="${safeVncUrl}" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">Open VNC in a new tab</a>
+    <span id="status"></span>
+  </section>
+  <iframe src="${safeVncUrl}" title="Reddit login browser"></iframe>
+  <script>
+    document.getElementById('complete').addEventListener('click', async () => {
+      const button = document.getElementById('complete');
+      const status = document.getElementById('status');
+      button.disabled = true;
+      status.textContent = 'Restarting Chrome and verifying your account...';
+      const response = await fetch('/complete', { method: 'POST' });
+      if (!response.ok) {
+        button.disabled = false;
+        status.textContent = 'Could not start verification. Please try again.';
+        return;
+      }
+      setTimeout(() => window.location.reload(), 3000);
+    });
+  </script>
+</main></body></html>`;
+}
+
+export function createNativeLoginGate(options: NativeLoginGateOptions): Server {
+  return http.createServer((request, response) => {
+    if (request.method === 'POST' && request.url === '/complete') {
+      response.writeHead(202, { 'content-type': 'application/json' });
+      response.end(JSON.stringify({ ok: true, restarting: true }));
+      options.onComplete();
+      return;
+    }
+
+    if (request.method !== 'GET') {
+      response.writeHead(405).end();
+      return;
+    }
+
+    response.writeHead(200, {
+      'content-type': 'text/html; charset=utf-8',
+      'cache-control': 'no-store',
+    });
+    response.end(loginPage(options.publicVncUrl));
+  });
+}
+
+function run(): void {
+  const port = Number.parseInt(process.env.WEB_PORT ?? '3000', 10);
+  const publicBase = (process.env.NOVNC_PUBLIC_URL ?? `http://localhost:${process.env.NOVNC_PORT ?? '6080'}`).replace(/\/$/, '');
+  const publicVncUrl = `${publicBase}/vnc.html?autoconnect=1&resize=scale&reconnect=1`;
+  let server: Server;
+  server = createNativeLoginGate({
+    publicVncUrl,
+    onComplete: () => setTimeout(() => server.close(() => process.exit(0)), 250).unref(),
+  });
+  server.listen(port, () => {
+    process.stdout.write(`[native-login] waiting for human login on port ${port}\n`);
+  });
+}
+
+const entryUrl = process.argv[1] ? pathToFileURL(process.argv[1]).href : '';
+if (import.meta.url === entryUrl) run();

src/services/native-login-handoff.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+export interface NativeLoginHandoff {
+  request(): void;
+}
+
+export interface ProcessNativeLoginHandoffOptions {
+  exitCode?: number;
+  delayMs?: number;
+  exit?: (code: number) => void;
+}
+
+export class ProcessNativeLoginHandoff implements NativeLoginHandoff {
+  private requested = false;
+  private readonly exitCode: number;
+  private readonly delayMs: number;
+  private readonly exit: (code: number) => void;
+
+  constructor(options: ProcessNativeLoginHandoffOptions = {}) {
+    this.exitCode = options.exitCode ?? 75;
+    this.delayMs = options.delayMs ?? 250;
+    this.exit = options.exit ?? ((code) => process.exit(code));
+  }
+
+  request(): void {
+    if (this.requested) return;
+    this.requested = true;
+    setTimeout(() => this.exit(this.exitCode), this.delayMs).unref();
+  }
+}

src/web/context.ts

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import type { OpenRouterClient } from '../ai/openrouter.js';
 import type { StrategySelector } from '../services/strategy-selector.js';
 import type { BrowserClient } from '../browser/client.js';
 import type { AccountAuthContext } from '../services/account-auth-context.js';
+import type { NativeLoginHandoff } from '../services/native-login-handoff.js';
 import type { ActivityLog } from './activity-log.js';
 import type { LogBroadcaster } from './log-broadcaster.js';
 import type { RuntimeConfig } from './types.js';
@@ -42,6 +43,7 @@ export interface WebContext {
     strategySelector?: StrategySelector;
     browser?: BrowserClient;
     accountAuth?: AccountAuthContext;
+    nativeLogin?: NativeLoginHandoff;
   };
 
   /** Bot pause/resume toggle read by the main loop. */

src/web/routes/login.ts

@@ -41,24 +41,22 @@ export function createLoginRouter(ctx: WebContext): Router {
     }
   });
 
-  // Navigate the headed Chromium running under Xvfb to reddit.com/login so
-  // the human watching the noVNC stream can complete the flow.
+  // Restart into a completely native Chrome process. The container supervisor
+  // does not enable DevTools until the human explicitly completes the handoff.
   router.post('/login/start', async (_req, res) => {
-    const browser = ctx.services.browser;
-    if (!browser) {
-      res.status(503).json({ ok: false, error: 'browser not initialised' });
+    const nativeLogin = ctx.services.nativeLogin;
+    if (!nativeLogin) {
+      res.status(503).json({ ok: false, error: 'native login unavailable' });
       return;
     }
     try {
-      ctx.services.accountAuth?.invalidate('Interactive Reddit login requested');
-      const page = await browser.getPage();
-      await page.bringToFront().catch(() => undefined);
-      await page.goto('https://www.reddit.com/login', { waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded' });
-      ctx.logger.info('Opened Reddit login page for human completion via VNC');
-      res.json({ ok: true });
+      ctx.services.accountAuth?.invalidate('Native Reddit login requested');
+      nativeLogin.request();
+      ctx.logger.info('Restarting into native Chrome login mode; bot logic remains locked');
+      res.status(202).json({ ok: true, restarting: true });
     } catch (error) {
-      ctx.logger.error('Failed to open login page:', error);
-      res.status(500).json({ ok: false, error: 'navigation failed' });
+      ctx.logger.error('Failed to start native login mode:', error);
+      res.status(500).json({ ok: false, error: 'handoff failed' });
     }
   });
 

src/web/server.ts

@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import type { OpenRouterClient } from '../ai/openrouter.js';
 import type { StrategySelector } from '../services/strategy-selector.js';
 import type { BrowserClient } from '../browser/client.js';
 import type { AccountAuthContext } from '../services/account-auth-context.js';
+import type { NativeLoginHandoff } from '../services/native-login-handoff.js';
 import { ActivityLog } from './activity-log.js';
 import { LogBroadcaster } from './log-broadcaster.js';
 import type { WebContext } from './context.js';
@@ -180,6 +181,10 @@ export class WebServer {
     this.services.accountAuth = accountAuth;
   }
 
+  setNativeLoginHandoff(nativeLogin: NativeLoginHandoff): void {
+    this.services.nativeLogin = nativeLogin;
+  }
+
   logActivity(type: ActivityItem['type'], message: string, recipient?: string, imageUrl?: string): void {
     this.activity.push(type, message, recipient, imageUrl);
   }