acstack 0.0.0-stage → 0.47.1

package/skills/bridge/SKILL-WINDOWS.md

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+# Playwriter bridge – Windows runbook
+
+> Stop reading if you are not on Windows. This file is PowerShell-only.
+> On Linux, macOS or a VM, read [`SKILL-VM.md`](SKILL-VM.md) instead.
+
+## What the Windows side owns
+
+- The Node relay (`relay.ps1`) that speaks the Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP)
+  on `127.0.0.1:19988`.
+
+- The Playwriter Chrome extension that attaches to individual tabs.
+- One reverse SSH tunnel per VM (`tunnel.ps1 -TargetHost <host>`).
+- The document opener (`opener.ps1`) on `127.0.0.1:19989`, and its own
+  tunnel per VM. See [The document opener](#the-document-opener).
+
+- The scheduled tasks that keep those running across logons.
+- `ssh-agent` holding the key that authenticates the tunnels.
+
+## Architecture
+
+```
+WINDOWS LAPTOP                                         LINUX VM
+──────────────                                         ────────
+Chrome ("Playwriter Dev" profile)
+  + Playwriter extension (drives via chrome.debugger API)
+       │ localhost WebSocket
+       ▼
+playwriter serve --host 127.0.0.1  ◄── listens on 127.0.0.1:19988 (Node relay)
+       ▲
+       │ outbound reverse SSH from laptop
+       │ ssh -N -R 19988:127.0.0.1:19988 user@vm
+       │
+   VM sshd binds 127.0.0.1:19988
+                        │
+                        ▼
+             agent-browser --cdp http://127.0.0.1:19988
+```
+
+The bridge opens no debug port on Chrome. The laptop runs no inbound listener.
+The only laptop-to-VM connection is outbound SSH.
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+- Windows 10 / 11 laptop
+- A Linux (or similar) VM reachable by SSH from the laptop
+- Chrome installed on the laptop
+- An SSH keypair you use to reach the VM
+
+## Initial setup
+
+Run these from a normal (non-elevated) PowerShell unless a step says
+otherwise.
+
+### 1. Install Node.js LTS
+
+```powershell
+winget install OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS
+```
+
+Open a new PowerShell so `node` and `npm` are on `PATH`.
+
+### 2. Install the Playwriter CLI
+
+```powershell
+npm install -g playwriter
+playwriter --version
+```
+
+### 3. Install the Playwriter Chrome extension (dedicated profile)
+
+Create a new Chrome profile. Name it something like "Playwriter Dev".
+
+Do **not** sign in to sensitive accounts on this profile. It exists so a
+compromised VM can only drive this profile, not your real browser.
+
+In that profile, install the extension from the Chrome Web Store:
+
+```
+https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/playwriter-mcp/jfeammnjpkecdekppnclgkkffahnhfhe
+```
+
+Pin the extension to the toolbar. You click its icon once per tab that you
+want the VM to automate.
+
+### 4. Enable ssh-agent (from elevated PowerShell, once)
+
+The scheduled tasks run non-interactively. The ssh-agent service holds
+your decrypted key so the tunnel can authenticate without prompting.
+
+```powershell
+Set-Service ssh-agent -StartupType Automatic
+Start-Service ssh-agent
+```
+
+Add your key once, from any PowerShell. The command prompts for the
+passphrase:
+
+```powershell
+ssh-add $env:USERPROFILE\.ssh\id_ed25519
+```
+
+Windows OpenSSH keeps the key in `HKLM\SOFTWARE\OpenSSH\Agent\Keys`,
+encrypted with the Data Protection API (DPAPI), so it survives reboots.
+
+### 5. Drop the bridge files in place
+
+Copy every file from the plugin into `%USERPROFILE%\playwriter-bridge\`:
+
+- `launcher-src.cs`
+- `build-launcher.ps1`
+- `relay.ps1`
+- `tunnel.ps1`
+- `opener.ps1`
+- `opener.js`
+- `register-tasks.ps1`
+- `stop.ps1`
+- `doctor.ps1`
+
+`register-tasks.ps1` refuses to run when `relay.ps1`, `tunnel.ps1`,
+`opener.ps1` or `opener.js` is missing from this directory.
+
+They live in the plugin at `plugins/acstack/assets/playwriter-bridge/`.
+The same directory holds `vm-free-port.sh`, which belongs on the VM. You
+do not need that file on Windows.
+
+### 6. Build launcher.exe (one-time)
+
+```powershell
+cd $env:USERPROFILE\playwriter-bridge
+.\build-launcher.ps1
+```
+
+This compiles `launcher-src.cs` to `launcher.exe` in the same directory. It
+uses PowerShell's built-in `Add-Type`. You install no SDK, and you need no
+admin rights.
+
+The output must be a `WindowsApplication`, not a console application. The
+shipped `build-launcher.ps1` sets that correctly. It also references
+`System.Management`, because the launcher walks the process tree through
+WMI on shutdown.
+
+### 7. Pair VM access
+
+On the VM, append your Windows public key to `~/.ssh/authorized_keys`.
+Confirm from the laptop:
+
+```powershell
+ssh -o BatchMode=yes <user>@<vm> true
+```
+
+If that fails, produce a handoff block per [`HANDOFF.md`](HANDOFF.md). Ask
+the VM-side agent to fix `authorized_keys`.
+
+### 8. Register the scheduled tasks
+
+```powershell
+.\register-tasks.ps1 -VMs @("vm1.example.com", "vm2.internal")
+```
+
+Pass every VM you want a tunnel to. Add `-TunnelUser dev` if your SSH
+username on the VMs is not the same as your Windows username.
+
+The script registers four kinds of task under `LogonType Interactive` with
+`RunLevel Limited`. Each action invokes `launcher.exe`.
+
+| Task | Runs |
+| --- | --- |
+| `Playwriter-Relay` | `relay.ps1`, one only |
+| `Playwriter-Opener` | `opener.ps1`, one only |
+| `Playwriter-Tunnel-VM<N>` | `tunnel.ps1 -TargetHost <vm>`, one per VM |
+| `Playwriter-OpenerTunnel-VM<N>` | `tunnel.ps1 -TargetHost <vm> -Port 19989` |
+
+The task restart policy is a small backstop only (2 retries, 5 min apart) –
+the scripts themselves own resilience.
+
+Fresh installs work from a regular PowerShell. `Register-ScheduledTask`
+fails with `Access is denied` when you replace tasks that you registered
+earlier from an elevated shell. Re-run the script from an elevated
+PowerShell in that case. Elevation is a property of the earlier
+registration, not of the script.
+
+To validate a change from a checkout, deploy it first:
+
+```powershell
+.\sync.ps1 -PluginRoot <checkout>
+.\register-tasks.ps1 -VMs @("vm1.example.com")
+```
+
+`register-tasks.ps1` reads `opener.ps1` and `opener.js` from the deploy
+directory, never from the checkout. Run it before `sync.ps1` and it validates
+the files still deployed rather than your change.
+
+All tasks run at user logon from now on. Logs land in
+`%LOCALAPPDATA%\playwriter-bridge\`.
+
+## Routine use
+
+### Verify the bridge is healthy
+
+```powershell
+.\doctor.ps1
+```
+
+`doctor.ps1` reports nine checks. It exits 0 when every check is green, and
+1 when any check is red. When a red row implies VM-side action,
+`doctor.ps1` prints a ready-to-paste handoff block.
+
+### Stop the bridge
+
+```powershell
+.\stop.ps1
+```
+
+`stop.ps1` stops all `Playwriter-*` tasks, which covers the opener. It kills
+lingering bridge processes. It then checks that port 19988 and port 19989 are
+both free, and prints a verdict line.
+
+### Restart the tunnels
+
+```powershell
+.\stop.ps1
+Start-ScheduledTask -TaskName 'Playwriter-Relay'
+Start-ScheduledTask -TaskName 'Playwriter-Opener'
+Get-ScheduledTask -TaskName 'Playwriter-Tunnel-*','Playwriter-OpenerTunnel-*' |
+  ForEach-Object { Start-ScheduledTask -TaskName $_.TaskName }
+.\doctor.ps1
+```
+
+Do not restart one tunnel with a bare `Stop-ScheduledTask` and
+`Start-ScheduledTask`. Task Scheduler stops the task, not the process tree
+under it.
+
+The old supervisor and its `ssh.exe` stay alive, still holding the reverse
+forward, so the instance you just started never binds the port. Meanwhile
+`/health` answers 200 off the orphan, so the bridge looks healthy and drives
+nothing.
+
+Measured on `Playwriter-Tunnel-VM1` during the opener work (August 2026).
+Supervisor 38296 survived the stop. Its `ssh.exe` 5108 kept `-R 19989` open,
+so the new instance 36408 never got the port.
+
+`stop.ps1` is the only stop that reaps the tree. Reach for it even when only
+one tunnel needs restarting. It stops every `Playwriter-*` task, which is why
+the recipe starts them all again.
+
+### Updates (automatic)
+
+After initial setup you do not re-copy scripts by hand. The ACStack
+SessionStart hook runs `sync.ps1` on each Claude Code launch. `sync.ps1`
+compares the deployed scripts in `%USERPROFILE%\playwriter-bridge\` against
+the plugin cache by content hash.
+
+It copies every script that changed. It rebuilds `launcher.exe` when the
+launcher source changed. It restarts only the affected tasks.
+
+A plugin update therefore reaches the running bridge on the next launch.
+Each changed task costs at most one brief reconnect.
+
+The whole SessionStart hook is a `bash` script. Git for Windows provides
+`bash`. Put `bash` on `PATH`, or the hook never runs and auto-sync never
+fires.
+
+When `bash` is missing, re-copy the changed files per the setup step.
+Then restart the tasks.
+
+### Per-tab activation
+
+In Chrome, open the Playwriter Dev profile. Click the Playwriter toolbar
+icon on each tab you want the VM to automate.
+
+Playwriter attaches per tab. It cannot attach to `chrome://` and `about:`
+pages.
+
+## The document opener
+
+The opener shows a page from a VM in this laptop's default browser. It is a
+second service, not part of the bridge.
+
+The bridge carries CDP to a Chrome the extension drives. The opener takes a
+document and opens a tab. See `docs/adr/0006-document-opener-service.md` for
+why these stay apart.
+
+Two tasks run it:
+
+- `Playwriter-Opener` runs `opener.ps1`. That script supervises `opener.js`
+  on Node, restarts it when it exits, and logs to
+  `%LOCALAPPDATA%\playwriter-bridge\opener-supervisor.log`. `opener.js`
+  listens on `127.0.0.1:19989`.
+
+- `Playwriter-OpenerTunnel-VM<N>` runs
+  `tunnel.ps1 -TargetHost <vm> -Port 19989`. Each VM gets its own.
+
+    The opener never shares the bridge's connection, because
+    `ExitOnForwardFailure=yes` makes one wedged port fail the whole `ssh`.
+    A stuck 19989 would take the bridge down with it.
+
+### The opener token
+
+Every request from a VM carries a shared secret called the opener token.
+`register-tasks.ps1` generates it and stores it at
+`%LOCALAPPDATA%\playwriter-bridge\opener.token`. It then pushes the token over
+`ssh` to `~/.config/acstack/opener.token` on each VM.
+
+The token is not optional. The reverse tunnel makes 19989 reachable by
+anything running on the VM, and this service puts pages on your screen.
+Binding to loopback, meaning an address only this laptop can reach, does not
+scope that.
+
+`register-tasks.ps1` warns and continues when a push fails. Copy the file to
+that VM by hand in this case.
+
+### What doctor.ps1 reports
+
+Three of the nine rows cover the opener:
+
+| Row | Green when |
+| --- | --- |
+| `Opener listening on 19989` | a process listens on `127.0.0.1:19989` |
+| `Opener token` | the token file exists on this laptop |
+| `Opener /health` | `opener.js` answers HTTP 200 |
+
+The token row reports only this laptop's copy. It cannot see whether a VM
+holds the same one. A VM that gets HTTP 401 has a stale copy, so re-run
+`register-tasks.ps1` to push it again.
+
+`stop.ps1` covers the opener too. It stops every `Playwriter-*` task, and it
+checks 19989 alongside 19988.
+
+## Resilience behaviour
+
+`tunnel.ps1` sorts an ssh failure into three kinds and reacts to each:
+
+- **Transient** – connection refused, timed out, unreachable, DNS failure,
+  TCP reset under a live session, or a Win32 connect `Unknown error`. The
+  tunnel backs off exponentially, 5 → 10 → 20 → 40 → 80 → 120 s cap. The
+  backoff resets when a run lasts at least 30 s.
+
+    A dropped long-lived session lands here, so the tunnel reconnects on
+    its own. Laptop sleep, a wifi roam and a VPN flap all drop a session
+    that way.
+
+- **Stuck remote port**
+  (`remote port forwarding failed for listen port 19988`).
+
+    The dropped session left an orphaned forward channel, and the VM still
+    holds the port through it. `tunnel.ps1` retries this one forever. It
+    waits 30 s, then doubles the wait to a 120 s cap. Those waits outlast
+    the VM's `sshd` reap window, so the bridge heals itself without a
+    restart.
+
+- **Auth or host-key failure** – `tunnel.ps1` writes the marker and exits
+  at once. These failures need user action. Retrying only floods the log.
+
+A port held past 8 consecutive stuck attempts, about 11 min, needs a human.
+The holder is not `sshd`, or the VM has keepalive turned off. `tunnel.ps1`
+writes `tunnel-<host>[-<port>].stuck` for `doctor.ps1` to report. It keeps
+retrying underneath it.
+
+Free the port on the VM and the next attempt binds. `tunnel.ps1` removes
+the marker once that forward stays up for 30 s.
+
+`doctor.ps1` does not wait for the marker. It turns the `Tunnel logs` row
+amber from the first `stuck-retry` line in `tunnel-*.log`, inside a 5 minute
+window. That is minutes before any marker exists.
+
+An auth failure or a host-key failure makes `tunnel.ps1` exit and lands the
+task in `Ready`. The Scheduler backstop then retries twice, 5 min apart.
+`doctor.ps1` reports which host needs attention. Neither a recoverable
+network drop nor a stuck port reaches that point: the tunnel loop keeps
+working both.
+
+## How console windows stay hidden
+
+`LogonType Interactive` allocates a desktop session. A PowerShell task that
+points directly at `powershell.exe` therefore gets a visible console window
+at logon. Two in-process tricks do not solve this on modern Windows:
+
+- `-WindowStyle Hidden` – unreliable. The window still appears on the
+  taskbar before it hides.
+
+- `Add-Type` with `ShowWindow(GetConsoleWindow(), SW_HIDE)` – this works on
+  classic `conhost`. It fails on Windows 11 22H2+, where Windows Terminal is
+  the default terminal host. There, `GetConsoleWindow()` returns a ConPTY
+  proxy handle, and `ShowWindow` on that handle does nothing to the Windows
+  Terminal window.
+
+The fix is `launcher.exe`, a small C# `WindowsApplication`. It starts the
+child with `CreateNoWindow = true`, so `CREATE_NO_WINDOW` propagates and
+Windows attaches no console.
+
+The launcher also waits for the child. It propagates the child's exit code.
+When it shuts down on its own it kills the descendant process tree through
+WMI.
+
+That last part does not fire under `Stop-ScheduledTask`, measured twice. Task
+Scheduler force-terminates `launcher.exe`, so the `ProcessExit` handler never
+runs, the WMI kill never happens, and the children outlive the task.
+
+`stop.ps1`, `sync.ps1` and `register-tasks.ps1` each reap the tree themselves
+for that reason. Anything you stop by hand has to go through `stop.ps1` too.
+
+The plugin ships the launcher as source on purpose, not as a prebuilt
+binary. Each user compiles their own, so no unsigned third-party `.exe`
+reaches the machine.
+
+The bridge stores no password anywhere. The tasks run as your user's SID.
+Windows puts the ssh-agent named pipe behind an access control list for that
+SID, so the tasks can reach it.
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+`doctor.ps1` covers most issues. The items below cover the cases it does not
+report.
+
+- **`Empty reply from server`** on `curl /json/version` – the relay is up
+  but the extension has not attached to any tab yet. Click the Playwriter
+  icon on a normal web page. This is harmless, and `doctor.ps1` reports it
+  as amber, not red.
+
+- **`Register-ScheduledTask : Access is denied`** – the tasks already
+  exist, and you registered them from an elevated PowerShell. A non-admin
+  shell cannot replace them.
+
+    Right-click PowerShell and choose Run as Administrator. Then retry.
+    Fresh installs do not need admin.
+
+- **Console windows appear at logon and stay visible** – the scheduled
+  task action points at `powershell.exe` directly instead of at
+  `launcher.exe`. Inspect one task:
+
+  ```powershell
+  (Get-ScheduledTask Playwriter-Relay).Actions | Format-List Execute, Arguments
+  ```
+
+  `Execute` should end in `launcher.exe`. If it ends in `powershell.exe`,
+  someone registered the tasks before `launcher.exe` was in place.
+
+  Re-run `build-launcher.ps1`, then `register-tasks.ps1`. Use an elevated
+  PowerShell if the tasks already exist.
+
+- **Tasks show `LastTaskResult: 267011` and `LastRunTime: 1999`** (epoch) –
+  the task is ready, but Windows never launched it. The most common cause
+  on a domain-joined laptop is a task under `LogonType S4U` without
+  reachable Kerberos infrastructure at logon. The shipped
+  `register-tasks.ps1` uses `LogonType Interactive` to avoid this.
+
+    When you see this result, check that the registered tasks are
+    Interactive. Re-register them if they are not:
+
+  ```powershell
+  Get-ScheduledTask Playwriter-* |
+    Select-Object TaskName, @{n='LogonType';e={$_.Principal.LogonType}}
+  ```
+
+- **Passphrase prompted at every boot** – the ssh-agent service does not
+  start automatically. Check `Get-Service ssh-agent`. If `StartType` is not
+  `Automatic`, re-run step 4 from an elevated shell.
+
+- **Endpoint security flags a scheduled task on first run** – this happens
+  once on some endpoints. Confirm the task is one of the `Playwriter-*`
+  tasks you just registered. Then allowlist it per your local procedure.
+
+- **Endpoint security logs each reconnect on a public-IP tunnel** – some
+  endpoint products log an event each time you spawn `ssh.exe` with a
+  reverse forward. They log the event and never block it, and they stay
+  quiet for RFC1918 targets. That log is a detection record, not a
+  mitigation.
+
+    A steady-state bridge produces no further events. If your endpoint
+    product starts *blocking* the ssh spawn rather than logging it,
+    escalate to whoever owns endpoint policy at your site. Ask them for a
+    behavioural exclusion, or one scoped to the process arguments
+    `ssh.exe -R 19988:127.0.0.1:19988`.
+
+- **Endpoint security logs on `build-launcher.ps1`** – the
+  `Add-Type -OutputAssembly` call invokes `csc.exe` from the .NET Framework
+  to compile `launcher-src.cs`. Some endpoint products flag any `csc.exe`
+  that PowerShell spawns, because malicious PowerShell often compiles
+  payloads at runtime. One alert per build is normal in that environment.
+
+    The built `launcher.exe` runs clean from then on. If that alert
+    disrupts your site, the alternative is to ship a prebuilt
+    `launcher.exe` with a checksum and skip `csc.exe`. Raise that change
+    with the plugin maintainer rather than patching locally.
+
+- **`tunnel-<host>.stuck` marker present** – `tunnel.ps1` saw a fatal
+  classification and exited. Read the marker file for the reason and the
+  fix. Running `doctor.ps1` also prints this verbatim, and emits the right
+  handoff block.
+
+## Cross-device handoffs
+
+Some steps need VM-side action – fix `authorized_keys`, free a stuck port,
+or check host keys. Format any such request using
+[`HANDOFF.md`](HANDOFF.md).
+
+The `doctor.ps1` script does this automatically for its own red rows. When
+you need a handoff block by hand, copy the shape verbatim.
+
+## Security notes
+
+- **Dedicated Chrome profile** with no sensitive logins. VM compromise means
+  an attacker on the VM can drive the attached profile through the bridge.
+  Limit the damage by keeping that profile disposable.
+
+- **Scheduled tasks run with `RunLevel Limited`.** They cannot elevate,
+  so a compromised relay or tunnel process has only the normal user's
+  rights.
+
+- **Optional token authentication.** Playwriter supports `--token <secret>`
+  on `serve` and a matching header on CDP clients. Enable it if you want a
+  second control on top of the localhost-only binding.
+
+## What the bridge deliberately does not do
+
+- **No `--remote-debugging-port` on your real Chrome.** The bridge exists
+  so that the extension API drives Chrome instead. Do not "simplify" the
+  design by opening a debug port.
+
+- **No piggybacking on an editor's SSH session.** Win32-OpenSSH does not
+  implement `ControlMaster`. The Git-for-Windows `ssh` implements it, but
+  breaks when an editor pipes `cmd.exe` around it. Dedicated
+  scheduled-task tunnels stay independent.
+
+- **No relay on the VM.** The Playwriter extension hard-codes
+  `localhost`. The relay must run next to Chrome.

package/skills/bridge/SKILL.md

@@ -0,0 +1,121 @@
+---
+name: bridge
+description: Set up, diagnose, and operate the Playwriter bridge – the reverse-SSH setup that lets a coding agent on a Linux VM drive a real Chrome browser on a user's Windows laptop. Any bridge work spans two devices, so this skill routes you to the right platform-specific runbook and establishes the handoff convention for cross-device work. ALWAYS invoke before touching bridge scripts, diagnosing connection issues to the user's browser, or responding to questions about the CDP tunnel on port 19988.
+---
+
+# Playwriter bridge
+
+## What this skill covers
+
+The Playwriter bridge is a cross-device setup.
+
+A Node relay + Chrome extension run on the user's Windows laptop. A
+reverse SSH tunnel makes that relay reachable at `127.0.0.1:19988` on one
+or more Linux VMs. A coding agent on the VM uses `agent-browser` against
+that endpoint to drive the user's real browser.
+
+Because the setup spans two machines, any real bridge work usually needs
+two coding agents – one on each device. This skill gives both agents a
+shared vocabulary and a structured way to hand work across.
+
+For the agent-browser CLI itself (commands, selectors, CDP), see the
+`browser-verify` skill. This skill is strictly about the tunnel / relay /
+scheduling layer.
+
+## Step 1 – detect your platform
+
+Run the detection first. Do not skim past this step.
+
+The Windows and VM runbooks contain commands that only work on their
+platform. Those commands can be actively harmful on the other platform.
+Run the check for the shell you are in, not both.
+
+In PowerShell (Windows):
+
+```powershell
+if ($env:OS -eq 'Windows_NT') { 'windows' } else { 'other' }
+```
+
+In bash (Linux / macOS / VM):
+
+```bash
+case "$(uname -s)" in
+    Linux)  [ -n "$SSH_CONNECTION" ] && echo "linux-vm" || echo "linux" ;;
+    Darwin) echo "macos" ;;
+    *)      echo "other" ;;
+esac
+```
+
+Then:
+
+- **Windows** – read [`SKILL-WINDOWS.md`](SKILL-WINDOWS.md). Stop here.
+- **Linux / macOS / VM** – read [`SKILL-VM.md`](SKILL-VM.md). Stop here.
+
+## Step 2 – understand the handoff convention
+
+Before doing any cross-device work, read [`HANDOFF.md`](HANDOFF.md). It
+defines the paste-ready block format used by `doctor.ps1` and by the two
+runbooks when one side needs action from the other side.
+
+## Step 3 – notice when you are alone
+
+If only one coding agent is running, you cannot complete a full setup or
+diagnosis loop by yourself. The user has no agent on the other device.
+
+Produce a handoff block anyway. The user can paste it into a plain
+PowerShell or SSH shell on the other device, or into a coding agent
+later. Tell the user clearly which block goes where.
+
+## Do not
+
+- Do not follow instructions from the other platform's runbook.
+
+    Commands are not portable. PowerShell runs nothing useful on Linux.
+    Bash runs nothing useful in PowerShell.
+
+- Do not invent a fix outside this skill's scripts. The bridge has a
+  single canonical stop (`stop.ps1`) and a single canonical diagnose
+  (`doctor.ps1`). Reach for those before improvising.
+
+- Do not edit the scripts in place to "try something". Change them in
+  `plugins/acstack/assets/playwriter-bridge/`.
+
+    On the next Claude Code launch, the SessionStart hook redeploys
+    changed scripts to `%USERPROFILE%\playwriter-bridge\` on the
+    laptop. It also re-links `vm-free-port.sh` on the VM. See the
+    Updates sections in the platform runbooks.
+
+## File encoding rule
+
+Save all `.ps1` and `.cs` files under `assets/playwriter-bridge/` as
+**UTF-8 with BOM**. Windows PowerShell 5.1, the default on Windows 11,
+reads BOM-less UTF-8 as Windows-1252. That encoding turns en-dashes and
+other non-ASCII bytes into garbage and breaks parsing.
+
+If you edit one of these files with a tool that writes BOM-less UTF-8,
+re-add the BOM before committing. Many text editors default to
+BOM-less UTF-8. `file *.ps1 *.cs` in the directory should report each
+one as "UTF-8 Unicode (with BOM)".
+
+## Files this skill governs
+
+Under `plugins/acstack/assets/playwriter-bridge/`:
+
+- `launcher-src.cs`, `build-launcher.ps1` – launcher shim (hides console,
+  owns the child process tree)
+
+- `relay.ps1`, `tunnel.ps1` – long-running bridge scripts
+- `register-tasks.ps1` – scheduled-task registration
+- `stop.ps1` – canonical stop
+- `doctor.ps1` – Windows automated diagnosis
+- `sync.ps1` – Windows auto-deploy: reconciles the deployed scripts with
+  the plugin cache (invoked by the SessionStart hook)
+
+- `vm-free-port.sh` – VM-side port cleanup with guardrails
+
+The user installs the scripts once into `%USERPROFILE%\playwriter-bridge\`
+(Windows) during setup. After that, the SessionStart hook keeps them
+current with the plugin cache automatically. It uses `sync.ps1` on
+Windows, and a symlink for `vm-free-port.sh` on the VM.
+
+Plugin updates then reach the running bridge without a manual re-copy.