{"slug": "show-hn-lhic-deterministic-browser-automation-without-an-llm-in-the-fast-path", "title": "Show HN: LHIC – Deterministic browser automation without an LLM in the fast path", "summary": "A new open-source tool called LHIC (Local Human Intent Controller) introduces a dual-route architecture for deterministic browser automation, using a fast path that runs locally in under 35ms without LLM calls for standard web flows, and a slow path that falls back to an LLM only for complex tasks. The tool features self-healing semantic locators, enterprise-grade security, and MCP integration, aiming to address the speed, cost, and brittleness issues of existing LLM-based browser agents.", "body_md": "We built LHIC (Local Human Intent Controller) because we were frustrated by existing LLM-based browser agents. Tools like WebVoyager or ServiceNow's baseline agents are amazing, but they are: 1. Slow: Taking 20 to 40 seconds per simple form-fill step. 2. Expensive: Calling GPT or Claude for every single click. 3. Brittle: Failing the second a minor DOM class name shifts. LHIC introduces a \"Fast Path / Slow Path\" dual-route execution architecture: - Fast Path (Local, 0 LLM call): For standard web flows (logins, forms, search), LHIC matches user intents directly with pre-defined skills and resolved DOM attributes locally. It runs in under 35ms (median) with zero API call costs. - Slow Path (LLM, Fallback): Only activates for complex, open-ended tasks or when a high-risk action is flagged.\n\nKey Technical Highlights: * Self-Healing Semantic Locators: We fuzzy-match DOM structural targets using SQLite historical skill memory, achieving an 80% success rate improvement over static CSS/XPath selectors when layouts change. * Enterprise Hardening: Features KMS Ed25519 signature checks (AWS/GCP/Vault), local AES-256-GCM database encryption, OTel APM export, and a custom Docker Seccomp profile to prevent Chrome escape. * VNC Screencast: Streams real-time page updates directly via CDP frame broadcasts for manual override. * MCP Integration: Standard Model Context Protocol stdio and HTTP gateway, ready to plug into Claude Desktop, Windsurf, or Cursor.\n\nIt's entirely open-source (MIT) and written in pure TypeScript with zero C++ compilation dependencies. We'd love to hear your thoughts on the architecture and hybrid execution concept!\n\nRepo: [https://github.com/chengmatt416/LHIC](https://github.com/chengmatt416/LHIC)\nDocumentation: [https://lhic-docs.pages.dev](https://lhic-docs.pages.dev)\n\nComments URL: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48932029](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48932029)\n\nPoints: 1\n\n# Comments: 0", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/show-hn-lhic-deterministic-browser-automation-without-an-llm-in-the-fast-path", "canonical_source": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48932029", "published_at": "2026-07-16 09:01:22+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-16 09:25:41.771891+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-tools", "ai-agents", "developer-tools"], "entities": ["LHIC", "WebVoyager", "ServiceNow", "Claude", "GPT", "AWS", "GCP", "Vault"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/show-hn-lhic-deterministic-browser-automation-without-an-llm-in-the-fast-path", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/show-hn-lhic-deterministic-browser-automation-without-an-llm-in-the-fast-path.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/show-hn-lhic-deterministic-browser-automation-without-an-llm-in-the-fast-path.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/show-hn-lhic-deterministic-browser-automation-without-an-llm-in-the-fast-path.jsonld"}}