Ops Gemini Sidebar

---
name: ops-gemini-sidebar
description: >
  Operate the Chrome Gemini sidebar as an iterative design collaborator and
  assessor when the user says Gemini sidebar, Ask Gemini side panel, paste into
  Gemini sidebar, copy Gemini response, Gemini design loop, or wants Gemini to
  turn the project agent's rough Surf/DOM observations into professional
  browser-page UI updates through a repeatable sidebar copy/paste loop.
triggers:
  - gemini sidebar
  - Ask Gemini side panel
  - paste into Gemini sidebar
  - copy Gemini response
  - Gemini design loop
  - Gemini collaborative loop
  - Gemini assess current page
provides:
  - gemini-sidebar-clipboard-loop
  - browser-sidebar-coordinate-plan
  - gemini-response-copy-readback
composes:
  - surf
  - agentic-evals
complies:
  - best-practices-skills
  - best-practices-python
runtime_self_improvement: basic
taxonomy:
  - browser-automation
  - human-collaboration
  - validation
---

# Ops Gemini Sidebar

Use this when Gemini's Chrome side panel is already open and the agent needs a
repeatable copy/paste loop instead of one-off x/y guesses.

For UI/design work, Gemini is the design authority. The project agent supplies
rough structure only: Surf observations of the current browser page, DESIGN.md
constraints, exact DOM/data-qid targets, allowed files, and reference links.
Gemini supplies iterative design features, React/CSS diffs, and the acceptance
judgment (`NO_CHANGES` or another diff). Keep looping until Gemini, not the
project agent, judges the page modern and professional.

This skill does **OS-level clipboard and pointer automation**. It does not use
Surf DOM selectors for the side panel, because the Gemini sidebar is Chrome UI,
not page DOM. It does not use `$surf-qml`, because Chrome is not a Qt/QML app.

## Commands

```bash
skills/ops-gemini-sidebar/run.sh plan --composer-x 8350 --composer-y 2020 --send-x 8770 --send-y 2020
skills/ops-gemini-sidebar/run.sh submit --prompt-file /tmp/request.txt --coords /tmp/gemini-coords.json --paste-only --execute
skills/ops-gemini-sidebar/run.sh copy-response --coords /tmp/gemini-coords.json --out /tmp/gemini-response.txt
skills/ops-gemini-sidebar/run.sh self-test --json
```

## Contract

1. Verify the destination before calibrating: capture the exact Chrome window
   with **Ask Gemini** open and the sidebar's **Sharing** label naming the
   intended page. A window title containing Chrome, a coordinate filename, or
   a tool `PASS` is not provider identity. Never send to a ChatGPT page composer
   and call it Gemini. If the panel is blank, close/reopen Ask Gemini once and
   inspect it before typing; otherwise stop that submission.
2. Put prompt text on the desktop clipboard.
3. Focus the Chrome window.
4. Click the Gemini composer.
5. Paste and verify the prompt in the Gemini sidebar composer before submit;
   clipboard contents alone do not prove the destination received it.
6. With `--paste-only`, sending is deliberately withheld. After inspecting the
   draft in the verified sidebar, click its freshly calibrated Send control
   once. Do not click Send and then press a second submission key.
7. After Gemini responds, click or hover the response copy control.
8. Read clipboard back and save the copied response; confirm it is the sidebar's
   new answer, not the prompt or an answer in a different provider tab. Command
   `PASS` records desktop input dispatch only, not Gemini delivery or acceptance.

Every command emits typed JSON. `--dry-run` is the default for coordinates that
would move the pointer; pass `--execute` for live desktop effects.

## Design collaboration protocol

When Gemini sidebar is used for a browser-visible page, do not ask Gemini to
inspect local screenshot files or `/tmp/...` paths. The sidebar prompt cannot
upload files through this skill. Instead:

1. Capture the current page with `$surf` or an equivalent live browser capture.
2. Inspect the capture yourself only to produce rough observations, not final
   design judgment.
3. Send Gemini a prompt containing:
   - DESIGN.md goals and proof-boundary constraints.
   - Surf observations of what looks weak now.
   - Exact DOM targets (`data-qid`, component names, CSS classes) to alter.
   - Allowed file paths and non-negotiable wiring to preserve.
   - Reference URLs Gemini may use for inspiration.
4. Ask Gemini for one implementable round at a time: design feature updates,
   React/CSS diffs, or `NO_CHANGES`.
5. Implement Gemini's diff, rebuild, recapture the page, and ask Gemini again.
6. Stop only when Gemini returns `NO_CHANGES` or the human changes scope.

Default design-loop wording:

```text
You are the design assessor. I defer to your design direction. Use the shared
current browser page plus my Surf observations, DESIGN.md constraints, exact
DOM/data-qid targets, current source, and reference links. No screenshot uploads.
Propose useful iterative design/feature updates, not just cosmetic approval.
Return code for the next implementable round, or NO_CHANGES only after assessing
the shared page against the design goals. You, not the project agent, judge
whether it is modern and professional.
```

## Live desktop checks

`fixtures/paste_only_live.json` exercises a blank draft and an already-completed
code response without sending another prompt. Supply a freshly calibrated
`OPS_GEMINI_SIDEBAR_COORDS` plan (including the current copy icon),
`OPS_GEMINI_SIDEBAR_DISPLAY`, and, for non-cockpit responses,
`OPS_GEMINI_SIDEBAR_RESPONSE_MARKER`. Both draft and response tests poison the
clipboard before independent readback; they cannot pass on the outgoing prompt.

When agents share Chrome, keep the project tab in a dedicated browser window
(same browser/profile, not a new browser process). Use Surf `window.new` and
`tab.move <tab-id> --to-window <window-id>`, then verify `tab.list`, window
geometry and the sidebar Sharing label again. Never reuse coordinates after a
window move/resize. A different project's sidebar answer is not your verdict.

## Boundaries

- Requires an accessible desktop session with `xdotool` and `xclip`.
- Fails closed when `DISPLAY` is absent unless `--display` is supplied.
- Copy-icon coordinates are dynamic; take a fresh screenshot after the response.
  `copy-response` installs a unique pending clipboard marker and waits up to five
  seconds for its replacement before saving. Chrome's copy is asynchronous;
  an immediate clipboard read can return the outgoing prompt instead of the answer.
- Do not claim screenshot attachment to Gemini sidebar; this skill sends text
  through the composer only.
- Gemini is the design assessor in design-loop mode. Local proof remains with
  the owning skill's deterministic receipts.