Shell script automation

Use shell scripts for small, local readiness checks: confirm that a known cookie is readable, compare profile metadata, and stop before a task starts when the expected session is missing.

CAUTION

Do not enable set -x, echo cookie values, redirect them to a file, or pass them to a shared log. For CI, unattended jobs, and outgoing requests, use the service's supported token or machine-authentication flow instead.

Status-only preflight

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -u

requested_profile=${1:-}
if [ -z "$requested_profile" ]; then
  printf '%s\n' "Choose a profile from:" >&2
  get-cookie --browser chrome --list-profiles >&2
  exit 2
fi

cookie_value="$(
  get-cookie sessionid app.example.com \
    --browser chrome \
    --profile "$requested_profile" 2>/dev/null || true
)"

if [ -n "$cookie_value" ]; then
  printf '%s\n' "ready"
else
  printf '%s\n' "sign in first" >&2
  unset cookie_value
  exit 1
fi

unset cookie_value

get-cookie may produce no output when no matching cookie is available. Check for empty stdout rather than relying only on the command's exit status. The value is held only long enough to reduce it to a local readiness signal.

Target a browser or profile

List profiles first, then use an exact displayed name for a redacted metadata check:

get-cookie --browser chrome --list-profiles

get-cookie sessionid app.example.com \
  --browser chrome \
  --profile "Work" \
  --output json |
  jq 'map({name, domain, expiry, browser: .meta.browser})'

Firefox containers can be selected with --container:

get-cookie sessionid app.example.com \
  --browser firefox \
  --container work \
  --output json |
  jq 'map({name, domain, expiry, browser: .meta.browser, containerId: .meta.containerId})'

Check one cookie

Keep the cookie name explicit and reduce the result to a boolean:

cookie_value="$(get-cookie sessionid example.com)"

if [ -z "$cookie_value" ]; then
  printf '%s\n' "No session cookie found" >&2
  exit 1
fi

unset cookie_value

Why this page does not send a request

--render serializes matches as name=value pairs, but the current query result does not prove that every match applies to one exact destination path and secure context. An explicit domain can still include a child-host match, and --url parent expansion can reach public suffixes such as co.uk. Do not build a generic outgoing header from either form.

Debug without leaking values

• Use get-cookie --browser chrome --list-profiles to confirm profile names.
• Add --verbose only in a private local terminal.
• Treat --output json, --dump, and --dump-grouped as sensitive because they include cookie values.

See CLI usage for the full option list and troubleshooting for permission, profile, and decryption problems.