Agent skill
perf-lighthouse
Run Lighthouse audits locally via CLI or Node API, parse and interpret reports, and set performance budgets. Use when measuring site performance, understanding Lighthouse scores, setting up budgets, or integrating audits into CI. Triggers on: lighthouse, run lighthouse, lighthouse score, performance audit, performance budget. Do NOT use for fixing specific performance issues (use perf-web-optimization or core-web-vitals) or Astro-specific optimization (use perf-astro).
Install this agent skill to your Project
npx add-skill https://github.com/tech-leads-club/agent-skills/tree/main/packages/skills-catalog/skills/(performance)/perf-lighthouse
SKILL.md
Lighthouse Audits
CLI Quick Start
# Install
npm install -g lighthouse
# Basic audit
lighthouse https://example.com
# Mobile performance only (faster)
lighthouse https://example.com --preset=perf --form-factor=mobile
# Output JSON for parsing
lighthouse https://example.com --output=json --output-path=./report.json
# Output HTML report
lighthouse https://example.com --output=html --output-path=./report.html
Common Flags
--preset=perf # Performance only (skip accessibility, SEO, etc.)
--form-factor=mobile # Mobile device emulation (default)
--form-factor=desktop # Desktop
--throttling-method=devtools # More accurate throttling
--only-categories=performance,accessibility # Specific categories
--chrome-flags="--headless" # Headless Chrome
Performance Budgets
Create budget.json:
[
{
"resourceSizes": [
{ "resourceType": "script", "budget": 200 },
{ "resourceType": "image", "budget": 300 },
{ "resourceType": "stylesheet", "budget": 50 },
{ "resourceType": "total", "budget": 500 }
],
"resourceCounts": [{ "resourceType": "third-party", "budget": 5 }],
"timings": [
{ "metric": "interactive", "budget": 3000 },
{ "metric": "first-contentful-paint", "budget": 1500 },
{ "metric": "largest-contentful-paint", "budget": 2500 }
]
}
]
Run with budget:
lighthouse https://example.com --budget-path=./budget.json
Node API
import lighthouse from 'lighthouse'
import * as chromeLauncher from 'chrome-launcher'
async function runAudit(url) {
const chrome = await chromeLauncher.launch({ chromeFlags: ['--headless'] })
const result = await lighthouse(url, {
port: chrome.port,
onlyCategories: ['performance'],
formFactor: 'mobile',
throttling: {
cpuSlowdownMultiplier: 4,
},
})
await chrome.kill()
const { performance } = result.lhr.categories
const { 'largest-contentful-paint': lcp } = result.lhr.audits
return {
score: Math.round(performance.score * 100),
lcp: lcp.numericValue,
}
}
GitHub Actions
# .github/workflows/lighthouse.yml
name: Lighthouse
on:
pull_request:
push:
branches: [main]
jobs:
lighthouse:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- name: Build site
run: npm ci && npm run build
- name: Run Lighthouse
uses: treosh/lighthouse-ci-action@v11
with:
urls: |
http://localhost:3000
http://localhost:3000/about
budgetPath: ./budget.json
uploadArtifacts: true
temporaryPublicStorage: true
env:
LHCI_GITHUB_APP_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.LHCI_GITHUB_APP_TOKEN }}
Lighthouse CI (LHCI)
For full CI integration with historical tracking:
# Install
npm install -g @lhci/cli
# Initialize config
lhci wizard
Creates lighthouserc.js:
module.exports = {
ci: {
collect: {
url: ['http://localhost:3000/', 'http://localhost:3000/about'],
startServerCommand: 'npm run start',
numberOfRuns: 3,
},
assert: {
assertions: {
'categories:performance': ['error', { minScore: 0.9 }],
'categories:accessibility': ['warn', { minScore: 0.9 }],
'first-contentful-paint': ['error', { maxNumericValue: 1500 }],
'largest-contentful-paint': ['error', { maxNumericValue: 2500 }],
'cumulative-layout-shift': ['error', { maxNumericValue: 0.1 }],
},
},
upload: {
target: 'temporary-public-storage', // or 'lhci' for self-hosted
},
},
}
Run:
lhci autorun
Parse JSON Report
import fs from 'fs'
const report = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync('./report.json'))
// Overall scores (0-1, multiply by 100 for percentage)
const scores = {
performance: report.categories.performance.score,
accessibility: report.categories.accessibility.score,
seo: report.categories.seo.score,
}
// Core Web Vitals
const vitals = {
lcp: report.audits['largest-contentful-paint'].numericValue,
cls: report.audits['cumulative-layout-shift'].numericValue,
fcp: report.audits['first-contentful-paint'].numericValue,
tbt: report.audits['total-blocking-time'].numericValue,
}
// Failed audits
const failed = Object.values(report.audits)
.filter((a) => a.score !== null && a.score < 0.9)
.map((a) => ({ id: a.id, score: a.score, title: a.title }))
Compare Builds
# Save baseline
lighthouse https://prod.example.com --output=json --output-path=baseline.json
# Run on PR
lighthouse https://preview.example.com --output=json --output-path=pr.json
# Compare (custom script)
node compare-reports.js baseline.json pr.json
Simple comparison script:
const baseline = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(process.argv[2]))
const pr = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(process.argv[3]))
const metrics = ['largest-contentful-paint', 'cumulative-layout-shift', 'total-blocking-time']
metrics.forEach((metric) => {
const base = baseline.audits[metric].numericValue
const current = pr.audits[metric].numericValue
const diff = (((current - base) / base) * 100).toFixed(1)
const emoji = current <= base ? '✅' : '❌'
console.log(`${emoji} ${metric}: ${diff}% (${base.toFixed(0)} → ${current.toFixed(0)})`)
})
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Inconsistent scores | Run multiple times (--number-of-runs=3), use median |
| Chrome not found | Set CHROME_PATH env var |
| Timeouts | Increase with --max-wait-for-load=60000 |
| Auth required | Use --extra-headers or puppeteer script |
Recommended Agent Skills
Expand your agent's capabilities with these related and highly-rated skills.
seo
Optimize for search engine visibility and ranking. Use when asked to "improve SEO", "optimize for search", "fix meta tags", "add structured data", "sitemap optimization", or "search engine optimization". Do NOT use for accessibility (use web-accessibility), performance (use core-web-vitals), or comprehensive site audits covering multiple areas (use web-quality-audit).
web-quality-audit
Comprehensive web quality audit covering performance, accessibility, SEO, and best practices in a single review. Use when asked to "audit my site", "review web quality", "run lighthouse audit", "check page quality", or "optimize my website" across multiple areas at once. Orchestrates specialized skills for depth. Do NOT use for single-area audits — prefer core-web-vitals, web-accessibility, seo, or web-best-practices for focused work.
accessibility
Audit and improve web accessibility following WCAG 2.1 guidelines. Use when asked to "improve accessibility", "a11y audit", "WCAG compliance", "screen reader support", "keyboard navigation", or "make accessible". Do NOT use for SEO (use seo), performance (use core-web-vitals), or comprehensive site audits covering multiple areas (use web-quality-audit).
react-best-practices
React and Next.js performance optimization guidelines from Vercel Engineering. Use when writing, reviewing, or refactoring React/Next.js code to ensure optimal performance patterns. Triggers on tasks involving React components, Next.js pages, data fetching, bundle optimization, or performance improvements. Do NOT use for component API architecture or composition patterns (use react-composition-patterns instead).
best-practices
Apply modern web development best practices for security, compatibility, and code quality. Use when asked to "apply best practices", "security audit", "modernize code", "code quality review", or "check for vulnerabilities". Do NOT use for accessibility (use web-accessibility), SEO (use seo), performance (use core-web-vitals), or comprehensive multi-area audits (use web-quality-audit).
perf-astro
Astro-specific performance optimizations for 95+ Lighthouse scores. Covers critical CSS inlining, compression, font loading, and LCP optimization. Use when optimizing Astro site performance, improving Astro Lighthouse scores, or configuring astro-critters. Do NOT use for non-Astro sites (use perf-web-optimization or core-web-vitals) or running Lighthouse audits (use perf-lighthouse).
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