grocer

Grocer — Local Store Product Finder

Browse real retailer websites via Playwright MCP to build shopping lists with actual prices, stock status, and clickable links. Prefer local stores over online.

Workflow

digraph grocer {
  "User shares items" -> "Create list file in ~/dev/grocer/";
  "Create list file in ~/dev/grocer/" -> "Dispatch parallel agents per store";
  "Dispatch parallel agents per store" -> "Item found?" [label="per item"];
  "Item found?" -> "Record: name, price, URL, stock" [label="yes"];
  "Item found?" -> "Try alternate keywords (3-5 variations)" [label="no"];
  "Try alternate keywords (3-5 variations)" -> "Item found?" [label="retry"];
  "Try alternate keywords (3-5 variations)" -> "Try other stores / Google fallback" [label="exhausted"];
  "Try other stores / Google fallback" -> "Suggest DIY alternatives or online last resort";
  "Suggest DIY alternatives or online last resort" -> "Update list";
  "Record: name, price, URL, stock" -> "Update list";
  "Update list" -> "Present organized by store";
}

Setup

1. Use ~/dev/grocer/ folder — create if missing
2. Read ~/dev/grocer/config/preferences.md for user's location, favorite stores, language, and measurement preferences
3. Read ~/dev/grocer/config/stores/*.md for any store-specific tips the user has taught
4. Create {project}-list.md with items, specs, and status
5. Search stores in the user's preferred order from config
6. Dispatch parallel Task agents per store to avoid context bloat — each writes to grocer/sessions/{store}-{item}.md
7. Main session consolidates into the final list

Browsing Retailers with Playwright MCP

Most retailer sites are JS-rendered — WebFetch returns empty HTML. Use Playwright MCP.

1. browser_navigate → store search URL
2. browser_snapshot → read search results
3. Extract: product name, price, URL, product code, stock status
4. browser_click → product page if needed for details
5. browser_snapshot → read product details

If Playwright fails or site blocks automation, fall back to Google: "PRODUCT" site:RETAILER.ca

Key Patterns

Every product listing MUST include

• Product name (full, as shown on site)
• Clickable URL (full https:// link — codes alone are useless)
• Price in local currency
• Stock status at user's local store
• Product code (for reference at store)

Keyword Strategy — Try 3-5 Variations Per Item

1. Local language AND English terms
2. Technical AND common names
3. Imperial AND metric measurements
4. Brand names if known
5. Google with site: as last resort

When items aren't found locally

1. Try varied keywords (3-5 per item)
2. Search alternate local stores
3. Suggest practical DIY alternatives (often cheaper than shipping small parts)
4. Only suggest online as last resort — flag when shipping > item cost

Parallel Agents for Throughput

• One Task agent per store or per item category
• Each agent writes results to grocer/{store}-{item}.md
• Main session reads results and consolidates
• Avoid running multiple Playwright agents on the same browser simultaneously

List File Format

# Shopping List (DATE)

## Project: description

---

## BOUGHT
### Item Name — PURCHASED
- [**Product Name — price**](https://full-url)
  - Specs, notes

---

## STILL NEED — STORE NAME (location)
### Item Name
- **Spec:** detailed requirements
- [**Product — price** ✓ PICK THIS](https://full-url)
- [Alternative — price](https://full-url) (why it's backup)

---

## SUMMARY
| # | Item | Where | Price | Status |
|---|------|-------|-------|--------|
| 1 | Item | [Store](url) | $X.XX | BOUGHT/NEED/CONFIRMED |

Common Mistakes

• Forgetting actual URLs (just listing product codes is useless)
• Searching only one keyword variation (try 3-5 per item)
• Ordering small cheap parts online when a hardware store alternative exists
• Using WebFetch on JS-rendered sites (use Playwright)
• Not converting between metric and imperial when needed