Using ask-question CLI

Send prompts to ChatGPT via Playwright browser automation with headless operation.

Architecture

code

ask-question CLI ──► HTTP POST /ask ──► ask-question-server (daemon)
                                              │
                                              ▼
                                        Chromium (headless)
                                        + storageState session
                                              │
                                              ▼
                                        ChatGPT response

Prerequisites

•Node.js installed
•Playwright with Chromium (npm install downloads it)
•npm link run in the chatgpt-relay directory

Setup (One-Time)

bash

cd ~/Code/chatgpt-relay
npm install
npm link
ask-question-login  # Opens browser, log into ChatGPT

Starting the Daemon

bash

cd ~/Code/chatgpt-relay
npm run server:log

Keep this running in a dedicated terminal or tmux pane. It runs headless (no visible browser).

Why tee to a log file? This allows Claude Code to check logs via tail ~/.local/state/chatgpt-relay/daemon.log even when the daemon runs in a separate terminal.

Expected output:

code

[ask-question-server] Starting headless browser...
[ask-question-server] Using session: ~/.chatgpt-relay/storage-state.json
[ask-question-server] ChatGPT page opened.
[ask-question-server] Login verified.
[ask-question-server] HTTP server listening on http://127.0.0.1:3033

Usage

Direct prompt

bash

ask-question "What is the capital of France?"

From file

bash

ask-question -f question.md -o answer.md

Pipe input

bash

echo "Explain async/await in JavaScript" | ask-question

Options

Option	Description
`-f, --file <path>`	Read prompt from file
`-o, --output <path>`	Write response to file
`-t, --timeout <ms>`	Response timeout (default: 1200000 / 20 min)
`--continue`	Continue existing chat (default: start new chat)
`-h, --help`	Show help

Integration with /ask-question Slash Command

The /ask-question slash command in Claude Code uses this CLI:

•Claude drafts a Stack Exchange-formatted question
•Claude invokes: ask-question -f question.md -o answer.md
•CLI blocks while ChatGPT responds (typically 1-10 minutes)
•Claude reads the answer file and discusses

Use /ask-question draft topic to skip automation and just draft the question.

Troubleshooting

"Server not running or not responding"

Start the daemon:

bash

ask-question-server

"No session found"

Run login helper:

bash

ask-question-login

Session expired

ChatGPT sessions expire after a while. Re-run login:

bash

ask-question-login

Response timeout

Default is 20 minutes. Adjust if needed:

bash

# Shorter timeout for quick questions
ask-question -t 120000 "What is 2+2?"

# Longer timeout for complex responses
ask-question -t 1800000 "Write a comprehensive analysis..."

Debugging

Request ID Tracing

Each request gets a unique ID (e.g., [a1b2c3d4]) logged on both CLI and server sides:

code

[ask-question] [a1b2c3d4] Attempt 1/2...
[ask-question-server] [a1b2c3d4] Received (500 chars)
[ask-question-server] [a1b2c3d4] Processing...
[ask-question-server] [a1b2c3d4] Sending response (1200 chars)
[ask-question] [a1b2c3d4] Success

Use this to correlate CLI errors with server logs.

Connection Failures

The CLI automatically retries once on connection errors (fetch failed, ECONNREFUSED, etc.). If you see:

code

[ask-question] [a1b2c3d4] Error: fetch failed
[ask-question] [a1b2c3d4] Cause: ...
[ask-question] [a1b2c3d4] Cause code: UND_ERR_HEADERS_TIMEOUT

This indicates Undici's internal timeout fired. The CLI will retry automatically.

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
`ASK_QUESTION_SERVER_URL`	`http://127.0.0.1:3033`	Server URL
`ASK_QUESTION_PORT`	`3033`	Server port
`ASK_QUESTION_STORAGE_STATE_FILE`	`~/.chatgpt-relay/storage-state.json`	Session file

Files

Path	Purpose
`~/.chatgpt-relay/storage-state.json`	Saved ChatGPT session (cookies/localStorage)

Architecture Deep Dive

Components

code

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Claude Code                                                            │
│      │                                                                  │
│      ▼                                                                  │
│  /ask-question (slash command)                                          │
│      │                                                                  │
│      ▼                                                                  │
│  CLI (ask-question) ─► HTTP POST /ask ─► ask-question-server (daemon)   │
│                                               │                         │
│                                               ▼                         │
│                                         Chromium (headless)             │
│                                         + storageState session          │
│                                               │                         │
│                                               ▼                         │
│                                         ChatGPT tab                     │
│                                         (DOM automation)                │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Design Decisions

HTTP Daemon over WebSocket Connect

•launchServer() doesn't support persistent sessions
•HTTP is curl-debuggable and simpler
•Request queue handles serialization naturally
•Browser runs headless (no focus-stealing)

Headless with StorageState

•ask-question-login: One-time headed browser for manual login, saves cookies
•ask-question-server: Headless browser loads saved session
•Session persists across server restarts

Reliability Features

Feature	Description
Request ID Tracing	8-char ID correlates CLI and server logs
Automatic Retry	CLI retries once on connection failures
Network Failure Detection	Tracks streaming response via `response.finished()`
Hard Reset on Errors	Closes and recreates page on failure
Login Verification	Server verifies login state at startup

Fragile Components (Maintenance Required)

These rely on ChatGPT's DOM structure and may break when ChatGPT updates their UI:

•Composer selectors (div[contenteditable], #prompt-textarea)
•Send button selectors (button[data-testid="send-button"])
•Message extraction (copy button, innerText fallback)
•Login detection (chat history panel visibility)
•Stop button lifecycle (generation progress)

Mitigation: Multiple selector fallbacks, semantic selectors where possible, clear error messages.