remove the --profile flag on windows open and add opening a new window with a url

README.md

@@ -223,7 +223,7 @@ browser-cli group move 42 --backward         # move group left
 ```sh
 browser-cli windows list                     # list all windows
 browser-cli windows open                     # open a new window
-browser-cli windows open --profile Default   # request a specific Chrome profile name
+browser-cli windows open https://example.com # open a new window on a URL
 browser-cli windows rename 1 "work"          # give a window a local alias
 browser-cli windows close 1                  # close a window
 ```
@@ -326,6 +326,7 @@ b.group_count()               # int, or BrowserCounts(...) in multi-browser mode
 windows = b.windows_list()    # in multi-browser mode each dict has a "browser" key
 b.windows_rename(1, "work")
 b.windows_open()
+b.windows_open("https://example.com")
 b.windows_close(1)
 
 # DOM  (active tab must be http/https)
@@ -400,7 +401,6 @@ bash examples/demo.sh
 ## Limitations
 
 - **Chrome internal pages** (`chrome://`, `brave://`, `about:`) cannot be scripted. DOM and extract commands only work on regular `http://` and `https://` pages.
-- **Profile switching** via `windows open --profile` depends on browser support and does not replace launching a separate browser profile externally with `--profile-directory`.
 - **Multiple browser instances can be auto-distinguished, but generated aliases are temporary**. Unaliased browsers get UUID aliases from the native host, which avoids collisions but is less ergonomic than setting a stable alias with `browser-cli rename-profile --browser <current-alias> <new-alias>`.
 - **Supported install targets are explicit, not “all Chromium browsers”**. The installer currently supports Chrome, Chromium, Brave, Edge, and Vivaldi. Other Chromium-based browsers may use different or shared native messaging manifest locations, so they need browser-specific verification before being added safely.
 - **Linux and macOS only** — Windows native messaging paths are not yet handled.

browser_cli/__init__.py

@@ -293,8 +293,9 @@ class BrowserCLI:
     def windows_close(self, window_id: int) -> None:
         self._cmd("windows.close", {"windowId": window_id})
 
-    def windows_open(self, profile: str | None = None) -> dict:
+    def windows_open(self, url: str | None = None) -> dict:
-        return self._cmd("windows.open", {"profile": profile})
+        """Open a new browser window, optionally on a URL."""
+        return self._cmd("windows.open", {"url": url})
 
     # ── DOM ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 

browser_cli/commands/windows.py

@@ -100,9 +100,9 @@ def windows_close(window_id):
 
 
 @windows_group.command("open")
-@click.option("--profile", default=None, help="Open with a specific Chrome profile name")
+@click.argument("url", required=False)
-def windows_open(profile):
+def windows_open(url):
     """Open a new browser window."""
-    result = _handle("windows.open", {"profile": profile})
+    result = _handle("windows.open", {"url": url})
     wid = result.get("id") if isinstance(result, dict) else result
-    console.print(f"[green]Opened new window[/green] (id: {wid})" + (f" with profile '{profile}'" if profile else ""))
+    console.print(f"[green]Opened new window[/green] (id: {wid})" + (f" with {url}" if url else ""))

extension/background.js

@@ -545,10 +545,10 @@ async function windowsClose({ windowId }) {
   return { windowId };
 }
 
-async function windowsOpen({ profile }) {
+async function windowsOpen({ url }) {
-  // profile support requires launching Chrome with --profile-directory which
+  const createData = { focused: true };
-  // isn't possible from within an extension — we open a plain new window.
+  if (url) createData.url = url;
-  const w = await chrome.windows.create({ focused: true });
+  const w = await chrome.windows.create(createData);
   return { id: w.id };
 }
 

extension/manifest.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "manifest_version": 3,
   "name": "browser-cli",
-  "version": "0.5.4",
+  "version": "0.5.5",
   "description": "Control your browser from the terminal via browser-cli",
   "permissions": [
     "tabs",

pyproject.toml

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [project]
 name = "browser-cli"
-version = "0.5.4"
+version = "0.5.5"
 description = "Control your real running browser from the terminal via a Chrome extension"
 requires-python = ">=3.10"
 dependencies = [

tests/test_api.py

@@ -471,6 +471,22 @@ class TestWindows:
             {"id": 2, "tabCount": 3, "state": "maximized", "browser": "work"},
         ]
 
+    def test_windows_open_without_url(self, b, mock_send):
+        mock_send.return_value = {"id": 5}
+
+        result = b.windows_open()
+
+        assert result == {"id": 5}
+        mock_send.assert_called_once_with("windows.open", {"url": None}, profile=None)
+
+    def test_windows_open_with_url(self, b, mock_send):
+        mock_send.return_value = {"id": 9}
+
+        result = b.windows_open("https://example.com")
+
+        assert result == {"id": 9}
+        mock_send.assert_called_once_with("windows.open", {"url": "https://example.com"}, profile=None)
+
 
 # ── Tab model ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 

tests/test_cli.py

@@ -203,6 +203,15 @@ def test_windows_list_multi_browser_shows_browser_column():
     assert "uuid-1" in result.output
     assert "work" in result.output
 
+
+def test_windows_open_passes_url():
+    with patch("browser_cli.commands.windows.send_command", return_value={"id": 7}) as send_command:
+        result = CliRunner().invoke(main, ["windows", "open", "https://example.com"])
+
+    assert result.exit_code == 0
+    assert "https://example.com" in result.output
+    send_command.assert_called_once_with("windows.open", {"url": "https://example.com"}, profile=None)
+
 def test_extract_markdown_command():
     with patch("browser_cli.commands.extract.send_command", return_value="# Title\n") as send_command:
         result = CliRunner().invoke(main, ["extract", "markdown"])