CLI tools like gh auth login, gcloud auth login, and aws sso login all share a pattern: they print a URL or open the system browser for OAuth authentication, wait for the callback, and then continue in the terminal. When running these commands inside Worklayer’s terminal panels, the browser opens externally and the user has to leave the app to complete the flow.
When Claude Code uses the Playwright MCP server, it opens a separate Chromium window. This window floats outside of Worklayer, disconnected from the workspace. I wanted Playwright-controlled pages to appear inside a web panel so the user can watch the AI work without Alt-Tabbing to a different window.
I wanted find-in-page search for web panels in Worklayer. Electron provides webview.findInPage() which highlights matches and handles navigation between them. Simple enough. Except after the first character is typed into the search input, all subsequent keystrokes disappear into the void.
When using Claude Code inside Worklayer’s terminal panel, I wanted it to be able to interact with web pages displayed in adjacent web panels. The standard approach would be to use the Playwright MCP server, but that spawns a separate Chromium instance outside the app. The page Playwright controls and the page the user sees are two different browser sessions with no shared state.
I spend most of my working day jumping between a terminal, a browser, and an editor. Usually multiple instances of each, spread across different virtual desktops or hidden behind other windows. Every time I switch context between projects, there is a cost. I have to remember which terminal is running which service, which browser tab has the right dashboard, and which editor window has the file I was working on. The state is scattered.