ChatGPT Work Tool and Skill Reference

(simonw.chatgpt.site)

62 points | by ijidak 1 hour ago

7 comments

  • simonw 1 hour ago
    I think the most interesting skill here is the control-browser one: https://codex-tool-reference.simonw.chatgpt.site/skills/cont...

    It tells ChatGPT Work how to launch a Playwright instance via its Node.js REPL, and tells it to run:

      nodeRepl.write(await browser.documentation());
    
    To get further instructions.

    That method returns this text with full details about how to use the browser: https://codex-tool-reference.simonw.chatgpt.site/skills/cont...

    I'd love to know why it's defined like that, as opposed to including all of the instructions directly in the skill Markdown file.

    • lanyard-textile 16 minutes ago
      It's runtime dependent on the browser being used! A skill file wouldn't be able to have this dynamically injected for the browser that's about to be used.

      Skill file could indicate general instructions for all browsers. This provides guidance for the browser that's about to actually be used.

    • newswasboring 43 minutes ago
      I'm guessing, but can be because then the skill will always fetch the latest docs.
  • satvikpendem 5 minutes ago
    I don't get how this is different from Codex if Codex can do all the same things.
  • simonw 1 hour ago
    See this comment for background (and creation prompt): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49504625#49505116
    • owebmaster 1 hour ago
      Simon, stop using this forum to spam on every opportunity.
      • roseway4 26 minutes ago
        Simon is not the OP. He’s just commenting on his own work. How is that spam?
      • yoavm 1 hour ago
        Simon, thank you for your comments and the great content you create. I've learned a lot from your blogposts and your experiments.
      • simonw 1 hour ago
        My comment here is entirely justified in this case.

        Someone else submitted my vibe-coded slop site to the front page without any context, and it accumulated enough votes to show up at the top.

        I could have linked to my blog post about it, but instead I linked to a Hacker News comment precisely because I anticipated complaints about "spamming" if I linked to my blog.

      • NoDodgeQuestion 54 minutes ago
        You don't know, SimonW made Django Python framework?
        • rob 22 minutes ago
          Didn't he leave the project before it even had an official release?
        • Cheyana 10 minutes ago
          Chuckling at a Python reference in a comment thread arguing about spam.
      • bingemaker 1 hour ago
        I totally agree!
      • rvz 1 hour ago
        [flagged]
        • simonw 1 hour ago
          What am I "doing" here?
          • rvz 1 hour ago
            Look at the parent comment, and quit with the gaslighting.

            > Simon, stop using this forum to spam on every opportunity.

            • simonw 1 hour ago
              How is this comment "spam"? Spell it out for me.

              (I think you may be confusing "spam" with "prolific". I write a lot.)

              • infecto 30 minutes ago
                I think folks are a little too aggressive here but I know I typically have your posts muted by default for me simply because too often it was just blog spam about something you wrote before. I suspect the greater HN in net likes your work but there is a pretty wide spectrum and I would say you definitely blur the limits between spam and “prolific”.
                • rob 6 minutes ago
                  [delayed]
              • rvz 52 minutes ago
                Once again, continues to gaslight after spamming a post with another top-posted comment after having to “justify” it. In this case, You already admitted to it.

                There is just no end or need to rapidly post on every opportunity that involves “AI” or whatever that is related to it.

                • simonw 49 minutes ago
                  Seriously, what's your definition of spam?

                  Or an easier question: how am I gaslighting here? You should be able to spell that out.

                  (You do understand that the top linked site here was built by me, but has no authorship information on it at all, right? That's why I posted a comment explaining what it is.)

                  • simianwords 18 minutes ago
                    .. I know its tempting to try to reply to all these people but I'd just ignore them. A lot of them feel stressed by AI and it has nothing to do with you personally.
                    • owebmaster 5 minutes ago
                      "Am I so out of touch?"

                      "No, it's the children who are wrong".

              • nswizzle31 44 minutes ago
                Spam = excessive promotion of your work. It’s not one comment, but the entire context of all your comments.

                Gaslighting because it’s so OBVIOUS that this is what people are referring to by “spam” that you almost have to be purposely pretending to not understand. Such a prolific writer simply has to be aware of the fine line where promoting your work becomes excessive.

                Not taking sides here.

            • filmgirlcw 45 minutes ago
              Someone else posted his site to HN, not Simon. He responds with additional context and also responds to links to other HN comments he’s made rather than just linking back to his own site. The only person gaslighting here is you.
          • monster_truck 41 minutes ago
            maybe chill out dog
      • infecto 1 hour ago
        I just tune out every post that says “I wrote about this already” and then links to it. Simon is great and kudos for his self promotion but it’s interesting to see as it’s often called out for anyone else.

        The guy is good but he certainly stretches the limit. I just auto ignore his stuff but I know others enjoy!

  • enraged_camel 1 hour ago
    Meta comment: I've been wondering why AI-generated websites/artifacts/reports always have the same "look". It reminds me of Bootstrap (CSS Framework) days when every startup website looked the same.

    Are they following some sort of common guideline?

    • simonw 58 minutes ago
      In this case they really are, and you can read the guidelines that helped create the site on the site itself in the skills: https://codex-tool-reference.simonw.chatgpt.site/skills/site...

      Scroll down to the "Establish the visual direction" section.

      • tsunamifury 8 minutes ago
        This can be replaced, you just have to do the work of building a design library yourself and the guidance components. Then building skills around their use.
    • newswasboring 38 minutes ago
      I think these guideline are built into the llms. After all with llms, any decision you don't take will be taken for you. For a so called slop site (Simon's words, not mine :P) I don't think they specified a style so the llm just decided the default it knows. One day I will run experiments (when I can afford it) trying to identify the "taste" of different llms.
  • ChrisArchitect 40 minutes ago
    [dupe] Discussion on associated blog post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49504625
  • felixgallo 44 minutes ago
    Anyone using ChatGPT Work given Sam Altman's richly documented history(1), the essential elimination and/or public exit of the safety function at OpenAI(2), and the huggingface debacle's exposure of the abject operational, cultural and technical failures at OpenAI(3), is making a serious mistake.

    (1) https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/13/sam-altman-may... (2) https://thenextweb.com/news/openai-preparedness-team-disband... (3) https://thezvi.wordpress.com/2026/08/29/metr-and-redwood-off...

  • hnmu4c5zar 20 minutes ago
    [dead]