OpenSider: Let the Browser Drive Your Local AI Agent

Description and use

OpenSider bridges a local AI agent with the browser, providing real‑time page context and web‑automation tools, enabling seamless cross‑page tasks without leaving the browser.

Problem

Local AI agents cannot see the user’s current browser tabs and state, making it hard to perform cross‑page tasks without manual context switching.

Outcome

The extension enables seamless, in‑browser AI assistance, preserving login state, allowing real‑time page interaction, and eliminating the need for separate terminals or manual context switching.

Workflow

• Install the OpenSider extension and enable it in the browser.
• Launch the extension to connect to a local CLI agent that supports ACP (e.g., Claude Code CLI).
• Use the sidebar chat UI to give the agent a command such as "Go through the pricing pages of products A/B/C and produce a side‑by‑side comparison table."
• The agent reads the current tab content, switches tabs, extracts pricing information, and returns a comparison table—all within the browser without extra logins or terminal switches.

Evidence

OpenSider is a free, open‑source browser extension that integrates your local CLI agents into the browser sidebar, so you can work with an agent directly inside the browser window you already use.

Source

The agent automatically switches to the right tabs, reads the pricing and plan details, generates a comparison table and returns the result.

Source