← Back to catalogue
Research draft

web browser

vr.tr.web-browser · PHY.OBJ

Enable an agent to recognise a web browser, assess its ability to access and present web content, and determine which browsing actions are supported and authorised.

Thing Registry Physical world and living systems

Research draft, second pass

A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.

recalled by Codex without web access - no source was read

Researched by: Codex

Purpose and description

Enable an agent to recognise a web browser, assess its ability to access and present web content, and determine which browsing actions are supported and authorised.

A web browser is a software application that retrieves, interprets and presents web resources, enabling users to navigate linked documents and interact with web applications.

It can be Open, navigate, reload and close identified browsing contexts.; Inspect presented content and interact with page controls through supported interfaces.; Evaluate whether required web capabilities are available in the active configuration.; Inspect and, when authorised, change site permissions, extensions and stored browsing data.; Transfer files through browser upload or download flows within the user's authorised scope.; Diagnose loading failures, resource pressure and compatibility problems using browser-visible evidence..

Distinguishing features

Provides navigation among web resources and interaction with their content; a search engine supplies discovery results and is accessed through a client.

Mediates document presentation, navigation and browser state; a rendering engine supplies only part of that functionality.

Acts as a web user agent with document interaction semantics; a basic HTTP client can retrieve responses without providing a browsing environment.

Supports browsing as its primary role; an embedded web view operates within a host application's controls and scope.

Runs as software on a host device; it is not the physical computer or display despite the registry's PHY / PHY.OBJ assignment.

Scope

+ Navigation to web resources and management of tabs, windows and browsing history

+ Presentation of web documents and execution of supported web application behaviour

+ Browser profiles, sessions and persistence of site data

+ Origin boundaries, site permissions and browser-mediated security decisions

+ Extensions, automation interfaces, compatibility and software support state

- Host device hardware, power supply and operating system administration

- Website content, application business logic and server operation

- Search engine indexing, ranking and search results

- Network infrastructure and connectivity services

- Standalone rendering engines and embedded web views considered independently

- User identity, account ownership and authorisation policies maintained outside the browser

Characteristics

Browser interaction mode
graphical, text-based, headless, other, unknown Determines how users or agents observe content and issue browsing actions.
Product and release identity
browser product, version, release channel and distribution provider Connects observed behaviour to a specific implementation without treating the product as the browser kind.
Engine configuration
rendering engine and script engine identities and versions where discoverable Helps explain compatibility differences while allowing for platform-dependent configurations.
Web capability support
per capability: supported, partial, disabled, unsupported, untested Determines whether a particular document or web application can function.
Browsing context state
per tab or equivalent context: loading, interactive, suspended, failed, closed, unknown Prevents actions against a stale, unavailable or unintended context.
Profile and persistence mode
profile reference; regular, private, temporary or implementation-specific mode Identifies which browsing data and sessions an action may read or change.
Effective site permission
per origin and capability: allowed, blocked, prompt, policy-controlled, unknown Exposes whether a site can access a browser-mediated capability.
Resource footprint
memory in MiB and processor utilisation in percent, with workload, interval and measurement scope Supports diagnosis of slow or unstable browsing without assuming a universal capacity.
Update and support state
installed version, latest verified applicable version, support status and verification date Supports assessment of maintenance needs and known compatibility or security limitations.
Automation access
interface identity, enabled state, reachable contexts and granted control scope Separates technical control capability from permission to perform a particular action.

Also called

site-specific browsertext-based web browsertextboard browsermulti-accounting browserAI browserInternet Explorer 11agentic browserweb browser based on Firefoxsurfheadless browserNetscapevoice browsermobile browseraddress baragentic AI browserFull browser

Where this came from

wikidata · CC0 1.0

Source repository Registry entry point

Drafted structure

Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 6 bundles · 11 layers · 17 findings · 27 questions.

Browser identity and boundaries Establishes what counts as the browser and which implementation an observation concerns.

Browser kind, branded product, engine and running instance have different identities and must not be conflated.

User agent role

Identifies the browsing role independently of interface style or product name.

Browser membership

Record evidence of navigation, document presentation and interaction, including limitations of text-based or headless operation.

  1. Which capabilities establish that this is a browser rather than a search service, HTTP client or document viewer? definition
  2. Is the observed component an independent browser or an embedded web view controlled by another application? boundary

Implementation identity

Connects observations to products, releases, engines and host platforms.

Implementation provenance

Record the actual browser build and its engine configuration without assuming branding or an advertised user-agent string fully identifies them.

  1. What inspected evidence identifies the product, version, release channel and distribution provider? provenance
  2. Which rendering and script engines does this build use on the observed host platform? provenance
Web content processing Describes the browser's ability to retrieve, interpret and expose web content.

Retrieving a resource does not establish that its layout, scripts, media or interaction will work.

Document and runtime capabilities

Records support for the features a particular web task requires.

Required feature compatibility

Assess relevant document, styling, scripting and media capabilities against the active build and settings.

  1. Which HTML, CSS, scripting, media or other web capabilities does the intended task require? definition
  2. Which requirements have been tested, and which are partial, disabled or unsupported in this configuration? measurement

Presentation and access

Distinguishes received content from what a user or agent can perceive and operate.

Observable content and controls

Record the available visual, textual and accessibility representations and the input methods that can operate page controls.

  1. Which content and controls are observable through the available viewport, document or accessibility interface? measurement
  2. Which supported input method can activate the intended control, and how can the resulting page state be verified? action
Navigation and browsing state Tracks browsing contexts, navigation outcomes and continuity of local sessions.

Browser actions depend on the active context and retained state, not just the requested URL.

Contexts and navigation

Identifies tabs, windows and frames and distinguishes requested destinations from loaded resources.

Navigation target and readiness

Record the target context, requested and resulting URL, redirects and evidence that the intended interaction is ready.

  1. Which tab, window or frame is the action targeting, and what URL and origin are currently loaded there? boundary
  2. What observation establishes completion, failure or readiness for the next action after navigation? measurement

Profiles and retained data

Locates session continuity and stored data within the browser's profile and persistence boundaries.

Session and storage scope

Record which profile and browsing mode hold cookies, site storage, history and other retained data relevant to the task.

  1. Which profile, storage partition and persistence mode contain the current site's session state? boundary
  2. What data would closing the context, ending the session or clearing site data remove, and what would remain? action
Web trust and permissions Captures browser-mediated boundaries between sites, local capabilities and user-authorised actions.

A browser processes remote content while controlling access to sensitive capabilities and local state.

Origin and connection boundaries

Separates resource identity and connection evidence from claims that a site or its content is trustworthy.

Origin and connection evidence

Record the relevant origins, browser-reported connection state and any security warnings affecting the current resource.

  1. Which origins supply the top-level document and the frames involved in the intended action? boundary
  2. What connection or certificate warnings does the browser report, and which resource does each warning concern? measurement

Capability grants and user intent

Relates site permissions and browser prompts to the authority required for a concrete action.

Effective permission and action authority

Record effective grants for capabilities such as location, camera, microphone and clipboard, together with the user's authorisation for their use.

  1. What effective permission applies to the requesting origin, and is it limited by browser settings, host controls or managed policy? boundary
  2. Does the intended capability use, file transfer or external submission fall within the user's authorised action? action
Browser operation and control Covers configuration changes, automation, maintenance and diagnosis of browser-specific failures.

Extensions, control interfaces, build support and runtime condition can change both browser behaviour and the reliability of agent actions.

Extensions and automation

Identifies added browser capabilities and the interfaces through which an agent can control them.

Effective control surface

Record enabled extensions and automation interfaces, their permissions and the contexts they can observe or modify.

  1. Which extensions or managed settings can alter the target page, request handling or browser interaction? provenance
  2. Which automation interface is available, what contexts can it control, and how will the agent verify it is acting in the intended one? action

Health and maintenance

Assesses browser failures and maintenance needs using versioned and workload-specific evidence.

Failure diagnosis and recovery

Record symptoms, resource use, update status and recovery options while distinguishing browser faults from site or network failures.

  1. What evidence separates a browser crash, extension conflict or resource limit from a website error or network failure? measurement
  2. Which recovery or update action is appropriate, and what unsaved page state or active session could it disrupt? action
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.

A model that cannot be lined up against existing standards, identifiers and practice cannot be adopted by anyone who already uses them.

Reported evidence

Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.

Check these first

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

  • This describes the software-application sense; the supplied PHY.OBJ classification should be checked because a browser is not itself a physical device.
  • Standards support varies by browser, engine, version and operating environment; listing a standard does not imply complete conformance.
  • No universal capacity, dimension or performance range characterizes browsers; meaningful measurements require a specified workload, hardware configuration and version.
  1. Which of these check these first hold for the sense of web browser this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance

Kinds and varieties

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

  • Desktop browser
  • Mobile browser
  • Text-based browser
  • Headless browser
  1. Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of web browser this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance

Identifiers and schemes

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

  • HTTP User-Agent product tokens - product/version - Browser requests may include multiple product tokens and compatibility claims; these do not reliably identify the actual browser or its exact version.
  1. Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of web browser this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance

Standards and regulation

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

  • HTML Living Standard - WHATWG
  • URL Standard - WHATWG
  • Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) specifications - W3C
  • ECMAScript language specification, ECMA-262 - Ecma International
  • HTTP Semantics, RFC 9110 - IETF
  1. Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of web browser this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance

Real-world use

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

  • Reading and navigating websites
  • Running interactive web applications
  • Playing web-delivered audio and video
  • Downloading and uploading files
  • Testing and debugging websites, including automated testing with headless browsers
  1. Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of web browser this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance

Failure modes and hazards

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

  • Rendering or scripting incompatibilities can make pages display incorrectly or prevent interactions.
  • Malicious pages can exploit browser vulnerabilities, potentially compromising data or the host system.
  • Phishing pages and deceptive interface elements can induce users to disclose credentials or authorize unwanted actions.
  • Extensions with broad permissions can expose browsing activity or modify page content.
  • Resource-intensive pages can exhaust memory, consume processor time or cause tabs to become unresponsive.
  1. Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of web browser this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance

Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

  • Search engine - A search engine finds and ranks resources; a browser retrieves and presents resources, including search-engine interfaces.
  • Browser engine - A browser engine implements core content-processing and rendering functions; a browser integrates such components with navigation, user controls and other application functions.
  • Web server - A web server serves resources in response to requests; a browser generally acts as the client requesting and presenting them.
  • HTTP client - An HTTP client exchanges HTTP messages; a browser additionally interprets and presents web content and supports navigation.
  • WebView - A WebView embeds browser capabilities inside another application, typically without the full independent browsing interface.
  1. Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of web browser this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance

What the second pass must settle

  • Should the registry's PHY / PHY.OBJ placement be retained as a tool classification or revised to reflect that the browser is software?
  • Does the registry already link this concept to a world model that should remain its single source of truth?
  • Where should the authoritative boundary lie between independent browsers, headless browser runtimes and embedded web views?
  • Which primary specifications and conformance tests should ground the researched model, and which requirements vary by implementation?
  • What implementation-specific retention, storage partitioning and permission behaviour must be verified before describing private browsing or profile isolation?
Draft as JSON