Browser Automation with agent-browser

Quick start

agent-browser open <url>        # Navigate to page
agent-browser snapshot -i       # Get interactive elements with refs
agent-browser click @e1         # Click element by ref
agent-browser fill @e2 "text"   # Fill input by ref
agent-browser close             # Close browser

Core workflow

Navigate: agent-browser open <url>
Snapshot: agent-browser snapshot -i (returns elements with refs like @e1, @e2)
Interact using refs from the snapshot
Re-snapshot after navigation or significant DOM changes

Commands

Navigation

agent-browser open <url>      # Navigate to URL
agent-browser back            # Go back
agent-browser forward         # Go forward
agent-browser reload          # Reload page
agent-browser close           # Close browser

Snapshot (page analysis)

agent-browser snapshot            # Full accessibility tree
agent-browser snapshot -i         # Interactive elements only (recommended)
agent-browser snapshot -c         # Compact output
agent-browser snapshot -d 3       # Limit depth to 3
agent-browser snapshot -s "#main" # Scope to CSS selector

Interactions (use @refs from snapshot)

agent-browser click @e1           # Click
agent-browser dblclick @e1        # Double-click
agent-browser focus @e1           # Focus element
agent-browser fill @e2 "text"     # Clear and type
agent-browser type @e2 "text"     # Type without clearing
agent-browser press Enter         # Press key
agent-browser press Control+a     # Key combination
agent-browser keydown Shift       # Hold key down
agent-browser keyup Shift         # Release key
agent-browser hover @e1           # Hover
agent-browser check @e1           # Check checkbox
agent-browser uncheck @e1         # Uncheck checkbox
agent-browser select @e1 "value"  # Select dropdown
agent-browser scroll down 500     # Scroll page
agent-browser scrollintoview @e1  # Scroll element into view
agent-browser drag @e1 @e2        # Drag and drop
agent-browser upload @e1 file.pdf # Upload files

Get information

agent-browser get text @e1        # Get element text
agent-browser get html @e1        # Get innerHTML
agent-browser get value @e1       # Get input value
agent-browser get attr @e1 href   # Get attribute
agent-browser get title           # Get page title
agent-browser get url             # Get current URL
agent-browser get count ".item"   # Count matching elements
agent-browser get box @e1         # Get bounding box

Check state

agent-browser is visible @e1      # Check if visible
agent-browser is enabled @e1      # Check if enabled
agent-browser is checked @e1      # Check if checked

Screenshots & PDF

agent-browser screenshot          # Screenshot to stdout
agent-browser screenshot path.png # Save to file
agent-browser screenshot --full   # Full page
agent-browser pdf output.pdf      # Save as PDF

Video recording

agent-browser record start ./demo.webm    # Start recording (uses current URL + state)
agent-browser click @e1                   # Perform actions
agent-browser record stop                 # Stop and save video
agent-browser record restart ./take2.webm # Stop current + start new recording

Recording creates a fresh context but preserves cookies/storage from your session.

Wait

agent-browser wait @e1                     # Wait for element
agent-browser wait 2000                    # Wait milliseconds
agent-browser wait --text "Success"        # Wait for text
agent-browser wait --url "**/dashboard"    # Wait for URL pattern
agent-browser wait --load networkidle      # Wait for network idle
agent-browser wait --fn "window.ready"     # Wait for JS condition

Mouse control

agent-browser mouse move 100 200      # Move mouse
agent-browser mouse down left         # Press button
agent-browser mouse up left           # Release button
agent-browser mouse wheel 100         # Scroll wheel

Semantic locators (alternative to refs)

agent-browser find role button click --name "Submit"
agent-browser find text "Sign In" click
agent-browser find label "Email" fill "user@test.com"
agent-browser find first ".item" click
agent-browser find nth 2 "a" text

Browser settings

agent-browser set viewport 1920 1080      # Set viewport size
agent-browser set device "iPhone 14"      # Emulate device
agent-browser set geo 37.7749 -122.4194   # Set geolocation
agent-browser set offline on              # Toggle offline mode
agent-browser set headers '{"X-Key":"v"}' # Extra HTTP headers
agent-browser set credentials user pass   # HTTP basic auth
agent-browser set media dark              # Emulate color scheme

Cookies & Storage

agent-browser cookies                     # Get all cookies
agent-browser cookies set name value      # Set cookie
agent-browser cookies clear               # Clear cookies
agent-browser storage local               # Get all localStorage
agent-browser storage local key           # Get specific key
agent-browser storage local set k v       # Set value
agent-browser storage local clear         # Clear all
agent-browser storage session             # Get all sessionStorage
agent-browser storage session key         # Get specific key
agent-browser storage session set k v     # Set value
agent-browser storage session clear       # Clear all

Network

agent-browser network route <url>              # Intercept requests
agent-browser network route <url> --abort      # Block requests
agent-browser network route <url> --body '{}'  # Mock response
agent-browser network unroute [url]            # Remove routes
agent-browser network requests                 # View tracked requests
agent-browser network requests --filter api    # Filter requests

Tabs & Windows

agent-browser tab                 # List tabs
agent-browser tab new [url]       # New tab
agent-browser tab 2               # Switch to tab
agent-browser tab close           # Close tab
agent-browser window new          # New window

Frames

agent-browser frame "#iframe"     # Switch to iframe
agent-browser frame main          # Back to main frame

Dialogs

agent-browser dialog accept [text]  # Accept dialog
agent-browser dialog dismiss        # Dismiss dialog

JavaScript

agent-browser eval "document.title"   # Run JavaScript

Global Options

Option	Description
`--session <name>`	Isolated browser session (`AGENT_BROWSER_SESSION` env)
`--profile <path>`	Persistent browser profile (`AGENT_BROWSER_PROFILE` env)
`--headers <json>`	HTTP headers scoped to URL's origin
`--executable-path <path>`	Custom browser binary (`AGENT_BROWSER_EXECUTABLE_PATH` env)
`--args <args>`	Browser launch args (`AGENT_BROWSER_ARGS` env)
`--user-agent <ua>`	Custom User-Agent (`AGENT_BROWSER_USER_AGENT` env)
`--proxy <url>`	Proxy server (`AGENT_BROWSER_PROXY` env)
`--proxy-bypass <hosts>`	Hosts to bypass proxy (`AGENT_BROWSER_PROXY_BYPASS` env)
`-p, --provider <name>`	Cloud browser provider (`AGENT_BROWSER_PROVIDER` env)
`--json`	Machine-readable JSON output
`--headed`	Show browser window (not headless)
`--cdp <port\|wss://url>`	Connect via Chrome DevTools Protocol
`--debug`	Debug output

Example: Form submission

agent-browser open https://example.com/form
agent-browser snapshot -i
# Output shows: textbox "Email" [ref=e1], textbox "Password" [ref=e2], button "Submit" [ref=e3]

agent-browser fill @e1 "user@example.com"
agent-browser fill @e2 "password123"
agent-browser click @e3
agent-browser wait --load networkidle
agent-browser snapshot -i  # Check result

Example: Authentication with saved state

# Login once
agent-browser open https://app.example.com/login
agent-browser snapshot -i
agent-browser fill @e1 "username"
agent-browser fill @e2 "password"
agent-browser click @e3
agent-browser wait --url "**/dashboard"
agent-browser state save auth.json

# Later sessions: load saved state
agent-browser state load auth.json
agent-browser open https://app.example.com/dashboard

Header-based Auth (Skip login flows)

# Headers scoped to api.example.com only
agent-browser open api.example.com --headers '{"Authorization": "Bearer <token>"}'
# Navigate to another domain - headers NOT sent (safe)
agent-browser open other-site.com
# Global headers (all domains)
agent-browser set headers '{"X-Custom-Header": "value"}'

Sessions & Persistent Profiles

Sessions (parallel browsers)

agent-browser --session test1 open site-a.com
agent-browser --session test2 open site-b.com
agent-browser session list

Persistent Profiles

Persists cookies, localStorage, IndexedDB, service workers, cache, login sessions across browser restarts.

agent-browser --profile ~/.myapp-profile open myapp.com
# Or via env var
AGENT_BROWSER_PROFILE=~/.myapp-profile agent-browser open myapp.com

Use different profile paths for different projects
Login once → restart browser → still logged in
Stores: cookies, localStorage, IndexedDB, service workers, browser cache

JSON output (for parsing)

Add --json for machine-readable output:

agent-browser snapshot -i --json
agent-browser get text @e1 --json

Debugging

agent-browser open example.com --headed              # Show browser window
agent-browser console                                # View console messages
agent-browser errors                                 # View page errors
agent-browser record start ./debug.webm              # Record from current page
agent-browser record stop                            # Save recording
agent-browser connect 9222                           # Local CDP port
agent-browser --cdp "wss://browser-service.com/cdp?token=..." snapshot  # Remote via WebSocket
agent-browser console --clear                        # Clear console
agent-browser errors --clear                         # Clear errors
agent-browser highlight @e1                          # Highlight element
agent-browser trace start                            # Start recording trace
agent-browser trace stop trace.zip                   # Stop and save trace

Installation

Step 1: Install agent-browser CLI

bun add -g agent-browser

Step 2: Install Playwright browsers

IMPORTANT: agent-browser install may fail on some platforms (e.g., darwin-arm64) with "No binary found" error. In that case, install Playwright browsers directly:

# Create a temp project and install playwright
cd /tmp && bun init -y && bun add playwright

# Install Chromium browser
bun playwright install chromium

This downloads Chrome for Testing to ~/Library/Caches/ms-playwright/.

Verify installation

agent-browser open https://example.com --headed

If the browser opens successfully, installation is complete.

Troubleshooting

Error	Solution
`No binary found for darwin-arm64`	Run `bun playwright install chromium` in a project with playwright dependency
`Executable doesn't exist at .../chromium-XXXX`	Re-run `bun playwright install chromium`
Browser doesn't open	Ensure `--headed` flag is used for visible browser

Run agent-browser --help for all commands. Repo: https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-browser