fix(auth): avoid CSRF challenges during OTP login

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -5,6 +5,13 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [0.2.2] - 2026-06-22
+
+### Fixed
+
+- Route email OTP authentication requests through the Bun-backed Perplexity fetch path to avoid CSRF 403 failures under Node/jiti.
+- Send browser-like auth headers and include response previews in OTP HTTP errors.
+
 ## [0.2.1] - 2026-05-11
 
 ### Changed

README.md

@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ Queries default to `is_incognito: true`, but you can override that per call or v
 
 The extension calls Perplexity's internal SSE endpoint (`perplexity_ask`) using your subscription credentials obtained from the macOS app or via email OTP. Responses stream as incremental events that are merged into a final result.
 
-When pi loads extensions under Node/jiti, direct `fetch` to Perplexity gets Cloudflare-challenged, so the search client shells out to a Bun subprocess — that's the only reason Bun is required.
+When pi loads extensions under Node/jiti, direct `fetch` to Perplexity can get Cloudflare-challenged, so Perplexity network calls shell out to a Bun subprocess — that's the only reason Bun is required.
 
 ## Development
 

package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "pi-perplexity",
-  "version": "0.2.1",
+  "version": "0.2.2",
   "description": "Perplexity web search for pi — uses your Pro/Max subscription, no API credits needed",
   "keywords": [
     "pi-package",

src/auth/login.ts

@@ -5,6 +5,10 @@ import { AuthError } from "../search/types.js";
 import { errorMessage } from "../render/util.js";
 import { loadToken, saveToken } from "./storage.js";
 import { PERPLEXITY_USER_AGENT, PERPLEXITY_API_VERSION } from "../constants.js";
+import {
+  perplexityFetchText as fetchAuth,
+  type PerplexityFetchResponse as AuthFetchResponse,
+} from "../perplexity-fetch.js";
 
 const DESKTOP_AUTH_HELP =
   "Install the Perplexity desktop app and sign in, or set PI_AUTH_NO_BORROW=1 to skip desktop token borrowing.";
@@ -29,11 +33,32 @@ function buildAuthHeaders(includeJsonContentType = false): Record<string, string
   return {
     Accept: "application/json",
     ...(includeJsonContentType ? { "Content-Type": "application/json" } : {}),
+    Origin: "https://www.perplexity.ai",
+    Referer: "https://www.perplexity.ai/",
     "User-Agent": PERPLEXITY_USER_AGENT,
+    "X-App-ApiClient": "default",
     "X-App-ApiVersion": PERPLEXITY_API_VERSION,
   };
 }
 
+function parseJsonResponse(response: AuthFetchResponse): unknown {
+  try {
+    return JSON.parse(response.bodyText) as unknown;
+  } catch {
+    return null;
+  }
+}
+
+function formatHttpFailure(action: string, response: AuthFetchResponse): string {
+  const bodyPreview = response.bodyText.trim().replace(/\s+/g, " ").slice(0, 160);
+  const suffix = bodyPreview ? `: ${bodyPreview}` : "";
+  return `${action} (HTTP ${response.status}${suffix}).`;
+}
+
+function cookieHeaderFrom(cookies: string[]): string {
+  return cookies.map((cookie) => cookie.split(";")[0]).join("; ");
+}
+
 function extractTokenFromPayload(payload: unknown): string | null {
   if (!payload || typeof payload !== "object" || Array.isArray(payload)) return null;
   const obj = payload as Record<string, unknown>;
@@ -46,31 +71,23 @@ function extractTokenFromPayload(payload: unknown): string | null {
   return null;
 }
 
-async function readJsonResponse(response: Response): Promise<unknown> {
-  try {
-    return (await response.json()) as unknown;
-  } catch {
-    return null;
-  }
-}
-
 async function loginWithEmailOtp(
   email: string,
   options: AuthenticateOptions,
 ): Promise<string> {
   const signal = options.signal ?? null;
 
-  const csrfResponse = await fetch(`${AUTH_BASE_URL}/csrf`, {
+  const csrfResponse = await fetchAuth(`${AUTH_BASE_URL}/csrf`, {
     method: "GET",
     headers: buildAuthHeaders(),
     signal,
   });
 
   if (!csrfResponse.ok) {
-    throw new Error(`Failed to fetch CSRF token (HTTP ${csrfResponse.status}).`);
+    throw new Error(formatHttpFailure("Failed to fetch CSRF token", csrfResponse));
   }
 
-  const csrfPayload = (await readJsonResponse(csrfResponse)) as { csrfToken?: unknown } | null;
+  const csrfPayload = parseJsonResponse(csrfResponse) as { csrfToken?: unknown } | null;
   const csrfToken =
     csrfPayload && typeof csrfPayload.csrfToken === "string" ? csrfPayload.csrfToken : null;
 
@@ -78,15 +95,14 @@ async function loginWithEmailOtp(
     throw new Error("CSRF token missing from Perplexity auth response.");
   }
 
-  const cookies = csrfResponse.headers.getSetCookie?.() ?? [];
+  const cookieHeader = cookieHeaderFrom(csrfResponse.cookies);
-  const cookieHeader = cookies.map((c) => c.split(";")[0]).join("; ");
 
   const emailHeaders = buildAuthHeaders(true);
   if (cookieHeader) {
     emailHeaders.Cookie = cookieHeader;
   }
 
-  const emailResponse = await fetch(`${AUTH_BASE_URL}/signin-email`, {
+  const emailResponse = await fetchAuth(`${AUTH_BASE_URL}/signin-email`, {
     method: "POST",
     headers: emailHeaders,
     body: JSON.stringify({ email, csrfToken }),
@@ -94,7 +110,7 @@ async function loginWithEmailOtp(
   });
 
   if (!emailResponse.ok) {
-    throw new Error(`Failed to send OTP email (HTTP ${emailResponse.status}).`);
+    throw new Error(formatHttpFailure("Failed to send OTP email", emailResponse));
   }
 
   const otp =
@@ -113,7 +129,7 @@ async function loginWithEmailOtp(
     otpHeaders.Cookie = cookieHeader;
   }
 
-  const otpResponse = await fetch(`${AUTH_BASE_URL}/signin-otp`, {
+  const otpResponse = await fetchAuth(`${AUTH_BASE_URL}/signin-otp`, {
     method: "POST",
     headers: otpHeaders,
     body: JSON.stringify({ email, otp, csrfToken }),
@@ -121,10 +137,10 @@ async function loginWithEmailOtp(
   });
 
   if (!otpResponse.ok) {
-    throw new Error(`OTP verification failed (HTTP ${otpResponse.status}).`);
+    throw new Error(formatHttpFailure("OTP verification failed", otpResponse));
   }
 
-  const otpPayload = await readJsonResponse(otpResponse);
+  const otpPayload = parseJsonResponse(otpResponse);
   const token = extractTokenFromPayload(otpPayload);
   if (!token) {
     throw new Error("Perplexity OTP response did not include a token.");

src/perplexity-fetch.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,136 @@
+const MAX_BUN_STDOUT = 50 * 1024 * 1024;
+
+export interface PerplexityFetchOptions {
+  method: "GET" | "POST";
+  headers: Record<string, string>;
+  body?: string;
+  signal?: AbortSignal | null;
+}
+
+export interface PerplexityFetchResponse {
+  status: number;
+  ok: boolean;
+  bodyText: string;
+  cookies: string[];
+}
+
+/**
+ * Perplexity's Cloudflare edge can challenge Node/jiti fetch.
+ * Use native fetch under Bun (tests/direct scripts), otherwise shell out to Bun for its TLS fingerprint.
+ */
+export async function perplexityFetchText(
+  url: string,
+  options: PerplexityFetchOptions,
+): Promise<PerplexityFetchResponse> {
+  if (typeof Bun === "undefined") {
+    return fetchViaBunRuntime(url, options);
+  }
+
+  const fetchOptions: RequestInit = {
+    method: options.method,
+    headers: options.headers,
+    signal: options.signal ?? null,
+  };
+  if (options.body !== undefined) {
+    fetchOptions.body = options.body;
+  }
+
+  const response = await fetch(url, fetchOptions);
+
+  return {
+    status: response.status,
+    ok: response.ok,
+    bodyText: await response.text(),
+    cookies: response.headers.getSetCookie?.() ?? [],
+  };
+}
+
+async function fetchViaBunRuntime(
+  url: string,
+  options: PerplexityFetchOptions,
+): Promise<PerplexityFetchResponse> {
+  const script = `
+const c = JSON.parse(await Bun.stdin.text());
+try {
+  const r = await fetch(c.url, {
+    method: c.method,
+    headers: c.headers,
+    body: c.body,
+  });
+  const t = await r.text();
+  process.stdout.write(JSON.stringify({
+    s: r.status,
+    b: t,
+    c: r.headers.getSetCookie?.() ?? [],
+  }));
+} catch (e) {
+  process.stdout.write(JSON.stringify({ s: 0, b: String(e?.message ?? e), c: [] }));
+}
+`;
+
+  const { spawn } = await import("node:child_process");
+
+  const stdout = await new Promise<string>((resolve, reject) => {
+    const child = spawn("bun", ["-e", script], {
+      stdio: ["pipe", "pipe", "ignore"],
+      env: { HOME: process.env.HOME, PATH: process.env.PATH },
+    });
+
+    const onAbort = () => child.kill();
+    if (options.signal) {
+      options.signal.addEventListener("abort", onAbort, { once: true });
+      child.on("close", () => options.signal?.removeEventListener("abort", onAbort));
+    }
+
+    if (!child.stdin || !child.stdout) {
+      reject(new Error("Failed to open subprocess pipes"));
+      return;
+    }
+
+    child.stdin.write(
+      JSON.stringify({
+        url,
+        method: options.method,
+        headers: options.headers,
+        body: options.body,
+      }),
+    );
+    child.stdin.end();
+
+    const chunks: Buffer[] = [];
+    let totalLen = 0;
+    child.stdout.on("data", (chunk: Buffer) => {
+      totalLen += chunk.length;
+      if (totalLen <= MAX_BUN_STDOUT) {
+        chunks.push(chunk);
+      }
+    });
+
+    child.on("close", () => resolve(Buffer.concat(chunks).toString("utf8")));
+    child.on("error", reject);
+  });
+
+  let parsed: unknown;
+  try {
+    parsed = JSON.parse(stdout);
+  } catch {
+    throw new Error(`Bun subprocess returned invalid output: ${stdout.slice(0, 200)}`);
+  }
+
+  if (!parsed || typeof parsed !== "object" || Array.isArray(parsed)) {
+    throw new Error("Bun subprocess response is not an object.");
+  }
+
+  const obj = parsed as Record<string, unknown>;
+  if (typeof obj.s !== "number" || typeof obj.b !== "string" || !Array.isArray(obj.c)) {
+    throw new Error("Bun subprocess response missing required fields.");
+  }
+
+  const cookies = obj.c.filter((cookie): cookie is string => typeof cookie === "string");
+  return {
+    status: obj.s,
+    ok: obj.s >= 200 && obj.s < 300,
+    bodyText: obj.b,
+    cookies,
+  };
+}

src/search/client.ts

@@ -3,10 +3,10 @@ import type { SearchResult, StreamEvent, WebResult } from "./types.js";
 import { SearchError } from "./types.js";
 import { errorMessage } from "../render/util.js";
 import { PERPLEXITY_USER_AGENT, PERPLEXITY_API_VERSION } from "../constants.js";
+import { perplexityFetchText } from "../perplexity-fetch.js";
 
 const PERPLEXITY_ENDPOINT = "https://www.perplexity.ai/rest/sse/perplexity_ask";
 
-
 function streamFromText(text: string): ReadableStream<Uint8Array> {
   const bytes = new TextEncoder().encode(text);
   return new ReadableStream<Uint8Array>({
@@ -17,90 +17,6 @@ function streamFromText(text: string): ReadableStream<Uint8Array> {
   });
 }
 
-const MAX_BUN_STDOUT = 50 * 1024 * 1024;
-
-/**
- * Execute a Perplexity request via a Bun subprocess.
- * Pi loads extensions under Node/jiti whose fetch gets Cloudflare-challenged.
- * Bun's native fetch has a different TLS fingerprint that passes.
- */
-async function fetchViaBunRuntime(
-  url: string,
-  headers: Record<string, string>,
-  body: string,
-  signal?: AbortSignal,
-): Promise<{ status: number; bodyText: string }> {
-  const script = `
-const c = JSON.parse(await Bun.stdin.text());
-try {
-  const r = await fetch(c.url, { method: "POST", headers: c.headers, body: c.body });
-  const t = await r.text();
-  process.stdout.write(JSON.stringify({ s: r.status, b: t }));
-} catch (e) {
-  process.stdout.write(JSON.stringify({ s: 0, b: String(e?.message ?? e) }));
-}
-`;
-
-  // Dynamic import: spawn is only needed under Node/jiti (not Bun),
-  // and Bun's node:child_process polyfill may not export it.
-  const { spawn } = await import("node:child_process");
-
-  const stdout = await new Promise<string>((resolve, reject) => {
-    const child = spawn("bun", ["-e", script], {
-      stdio: ["pipe", "pipe", "ignore"],
-      env: { HOME: process.env.HOME, PATH: process.env.PATH },
-    });
-
-    if (signal) {
-      const onAbort = () => child.kill();
-      signal.addEventListener("abort", onAbort, { once: true });
-      child.on("close", () => signal.removeEventListener("abort", onAbort));
-    }
-
-    if (!child.stdin || !child.stdout) {
-      reject(new Error("Failed to open subprocess pipes"));
-      return;
-    }
-
-    child.stdin.write(JSON.stringify({ url, headers, body }));
-    child.stdin.end();
-
-    const chunks: Buffer[] = [];
-    let totalLen = 0;
-    child.stdout.on("data", (chunk: Buffer) => {
-      totalLen += chunk.length;
-      if (totalLen <= MAX_BUN_STDOUT) {
-        chunks.push(chunk);
-      }
-    });
-
-    child.on("close", () => resolve(Buffer.concat(chunks).toString("utf8")));
-    child.on("error", reject);
-  });
-
-  let parsed: unknown;
-  try {
-    parsed = JSON.parse(stdout);
-  } catch {
-    throw new Error(`Bun subprocess returned invalid output: ${stdout.slice(0, 200)}`);
-  }
-
-  if (
-    !parsed ||
-    typeof parsed !== "object" ||
-    Array.isArray(parsed)
-  ) {
-    throw new Error("Bun subprocess response is not an object.");
-  }
-
-  const obj = parsed as Record<string, unknown>;
-  if (typeof obj.s !== "number" || typeof obj.b !== "string") {
-    throw new Error("Bun subprocess response missing required fields.");
-  }
-
-  return { status: obj.s, bodyText: obj.b };
-}
-
 export interface SearchParams {
   query: string;
   recency?: "hour" | "day" | "week" | "month" | "year";
@@ -274,20 +190,15 @@ export async function searchPerplexity(
 
   let eventStream: ReadableStream<Uint8Array>;
 
-  // Bun's native fetch passes Cloudflare; Node/jiti's fetch gets challenged.
+  if (typeof Bun === "undefined") {
-  // Use native fetch when running under Bun (tests, direct scripts),
+    let response: { status: number; bodyText: string };
-  // subprocess fallback when running under Node/jiti (pi extension runtime).
-  const useBunSubprocess = typeof Bun === "undefined";
-
-  if (useBunSubprocess) {
-    let bunResult: { status: number; bodyText: string };
     try {
-      bunResult = await fetchViaBunRuntime(
+      response = await perplexityFetchText(PERPLEXITY_ENDPOINT, {
-        PERPLEXITY_ENDPOINT,
+        method: "POST",
-        requestHeaders,
+        headers: requestHeaders,
-        JSON.stringify(requestBody),
+        body: JSON.stringify(requestBody),
-        signal,
+        signal: signal ?? null,
-      );
+      });
     } catch (error) {
       if (signal?.aborted) {
         throw new SearchError("NETWORK", "Perplexity request was cancelled.");
@@ -298,17 +209,18 @@ export async function searchPerplexity(
         `Could not connect to Perplexity. ${errorMessage(error)}`,
       );
     }
-    if (bunResult.status === 0) {
+
-      throw new SearchError("NETWORK", bunResult.bodyText);
+    if (response.status === 0) {
+      throw new SearchError("NETWORK", response.bodyText);
     }
-    if (bunResult.status !== 200) {
+    if (response.status !== 200) {
-      throw mapHttpError(bunResult.status);
+      throw mapHttpError(response.status);
     }
-    if (!bunResult.bodyText) {
+    if (!response.bodyText) {
       throw new SearchError("STREAM", "Perplexity returned an empty response.");
     }
 
-    eventStream = streamFromText(bunResult.bodyText);
+    eventStream = streamFromText(response.bodyText);
   } else {
     let response: Response;
     try {