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