Browser Automation with agent-browser
Core Workflow
Every browser automation follows this pattern:
- Navigate:
agent-browser open <url> - Snapshot:
agent-browser snapshot -i (get element refs like @e1, @e2) - Interact: Use refs to click, fill, select
- Re-snapshot: After navigation or DOM changes, get fresh refs
bash
agent-browser open https://example.com/form
agent-browser snapshot -i
# Output: @e1 [input type="email"], @e2 [input type="password"], @e3 [button] "Submit"
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
Command Chaining
Commands can be chained with && in a single shell invocation. The browser persists between commands via a background daemon, so chaining is safe and more efficient than separate calls.
bash
# Chain open + wait + snapshot in one call
agent-browser open https://example.com && agent-browser wait --load networkidle && agent-browser snapshot -i
# Chain multiple interactions
agent-browser fill @e1 "user@example.com" && agent-browser fill @e2 "password123" && agent-browser click @e3
# Navigate and capture
agent-browser open https://example.com && agent-browser wait --load networkidle && agent-browser screenshot page.png
When to chain: Use && when you don't need to read the output of an intermediate command before proceeding (e.g., open + wait + screenshot). Run commands separately when you need to parse the output first (e.g., snapshot to discover refs, then interact using those refs).
Essential Commands
bash
# Navigation
agent-browser open <url> # Navigate (aliases: goto, navigate)
agent-browser close # Close browser
# Snapshot
agent-browser snapshot -i # Interactive elements with refs (recommended)
agent-browser snapshot -i -C # Include cursor-interactive elements (divs with onclick, cursor:pointer)
agent-browser snapshot -s "#selector" # Scope to CSS selector
# Interaction (use @refs from snapshot)
agent-browser click @e1 # Click element
agent-browser click @e1 --new-tab # Click and open in new tab
agent-browser fill @e2 "text" # Clear and type text
agent-browser type @e2 "text" # Type without clearing
agent-browser select @e1 "option" # Select dropdown option
agent-browser check @e1 # Check checkbox
agent-browser press Enter # Press key
agent-browser keyboard type "text" # Type at current focus (no selector)
agent-browser keyboard inserttext "text" # Insert without key events
agent-browser scroll down 500 # Scroll page
agent-browser scroll down 500 --selector "div.content" # Scroll within a specific container
# Get information
agent-browser get text @e1 # Get element text
agent-browser get url # Get current URL
agent-browser get title # Get page title
# Wait
agent-browser wait @e1 # Wait for element
agent-browser wait --load networkidle # Wait for network idle
agent-browser wait --url "**/page" # Wait for URL pattern
agent-browser wait 2000 # Wait milliseconds
# Downloads
agent-browser download @e1 ./file.pdf # Click element to trigger download
agent-browser wait --download ./output.zip # Wait for any download to complete
agent-browser --download-path ./downloads open <url> # Set default download directory
# Capture
agent-browser screenshot # Screenshot to temp dir
agent-browser screenshot --full # Full page screenshot
agent-browser screenshot --annotate # Annotated screenshot with numbered element labels
agent-browser pdf output.pdf # Save as PDF
# Diff (compare page states)
agent-browser diff snapshot # Compare current vs last snapshot
agent-browser diff snapshot --baseline before.txt # Compare current vs saved file
agent-browser diff screenshot --baseline before.png # Visual pixel diff
agent-browser diff url <url1> <url2> # Compare two pages
agent-browser diff url <url1> <url2> --wait-until networkidle # Custom wait strategy
agent-browser diff url <url1> <url2> --selector "#main" # Scope to element
Common Patterns
Form Submission
bash
agent-browser open https://example.com/signup
agent-browser snapshot -i
agent-browser fill @e1 "Jane Doe"
agent-browser fill @e2 "jane@example.com"
agent-browser select @e3 "California"
agent-browser check @e4
agent-browser click @e5
agent-browser wait --load networkidle
Authentication with Auth Vault (Recommended)
bash
# Save credentials once (encrypted with AGENT_BROWSER_ENCRYPTION_KEY)
# Recommended: pipe password via stdin to avoid shell history exposure
echo "pass" | agent-browser auth save github --url https://github.com/login --username user --password-stdin
# Login using saved profile (LLM never sees password)
agent-browser auth login github
# List/show/delete profiles
agent-browser auth list
agent-browser auth show github
agent-browser auth delete github
Authentication with State Persistence
bash
# Login once and save state
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
# Reuse in future sessions
agent-browser state load auth.json
agent-browser open https://app.example.com/dashboard
Session Persistence
bash
# Auto-save/restore cookies and localStorage across browser restarts
agent-browser --session-name myapp open https://app.example.com/login
# ... login flow ...
agent-browser close # State auto-saved to ~/.agent-browser/sessions/
# Next time, state is auto-loaded
agent-browser --session-name myapp open https://app.example.com/dashboard
# Encrypt state at rest
export AGENT_BROWSER_ENCRYPTION_KEY=$(openssl rand -hex 32)
agent-browser --session-name secure open https://app.example.com
# Manage saved states
agent-browser state list
agent-browser state show myapp-default.json
agent-browser state clear myapp
agent-browser state clean --older-than 7
Data Extraction
bash
agent-browser open https://example.com/products
agent-browser snapshot -i
agent-browser get text @e5 # Get specific element text
agent-browser get text body > page.txt # Get all page text
# JSON output for parsing
agent-browser snapshot -i --json
agent-browser get text @e1 --json
Parallel Sessions
bash
agent-browser --session site1 open https://site-a.com
agent-browser --session site2 open https://site-b.com
agent-browser --session site1 snapshot -i
agent-browser --session site2 snapshot -i
agent-browser session list
Connect to Existing Chrome
bash
# Auto-discover running Chrome with remote debugging enabled
agent-browser --auto-connect open https://example.com
agent-browser --auto-connect snapshot
# Or with explicit CDP port
agent-browser --cdp 9222 snapshot
Color Scheme (Dark Mode)
bash
# Persistent dark mode via flag (applies to all pages and new tabs)
agent-browser --color-scheme dark open https://example.com
# Or via environment variable
AGENT_BROWSER_COLOR_SCHEME=dark agent-browser open https://example.com
# Or set during session (persists for subsequent commands)
agent-browser set media dark
Visual Browser (Debugging)
bash
agent-browser --headed open https://example.com
agent-browser highlight @e1 # Highlight element
agent-browser record start demo.webm # Record session
agent-browser profiler start # Start Chrome DevTools profiling
agent-browser profiler stop trace.json # Stop and save profile (path optional)
Use AGENT_BROWSER_HEADED=1 to enable headed mode via environment variable. Browser extensions work in both headed and headless mode.
Local Files (PDFs, HTML)
bash
# Open local files with file:// URLs
agent-browser --allow-file-access open file:///path/to/document.pdf
agent-browser --allow-file-access open file:///path/to/page.html
agent-browser screenshot output.png
iOS Simulator (Mobile Safari)
bash
# List available iOS simulators
agent-browser device list
# Launch Safari on a specific device
agent-browser -p ios --device "iPhone 16 Pro" open https://example.com
# Same workflow as desktop - snapshot, interact, re-snapshot
agent-browser -p ios snapshot -i
agent-browser -p ios tap @e1 # Tap (alias for click)
agent-browser -p ios fill @e2 "text"
agent-browser -p ios swipe up # Mobile-specific gesture
# Take screenshot
agent-browser -p ios screenshot mobile.png
# Close session (shuts down simulator)
agent-browser -p ios close
Requirements: macOS with Xcode, Appium (npm install -g appium && appium driver install xcuitest)
Real devices: Works with physical iOS devices if pre-configured. Use --device "<UDID>" where UDID is from xcrun xctrace list devices.
Security
All security features are opt-in. By default, agent-browser imposes no restrictions on navigation, actions, or output.
Content Boundaries (Recommended for AI Agents)
Enable --content-boundaries to wrap page-sourced output in markers that help LLMs distinguish tool output from untrusted page content:
bash
export AGENT_BROWSER_CONTENT_BOUNDARIES=1
agent-browser snapshot
# Output:
# --- AGENT_BROWSER_PAGE_CONTENT nonce=<hex> origin=https://example.com ---
# [accessibility tree]
# --- END_AGENT_BROWSER_PAGE_CONTENT nonce=<hex> ---
Domain Allowlist
Restrict navigation to trusted domains. Wildcards like *.example.com also match the bare domain example.com. Sub-resource requests, WebSocket, and EventSource connections to non-allowed domains are also blocked. Include CDN domains your target pages depend on:
bash
export AGENT_BROWSER_ALLOWED_DOMAINS="example.com,*.example.com"
agent-browser open https://example.com # OK
agent-browser open https://malicious.com # Blocked
Action Policy
Use a policy file to gate destructive actions:
bash
export AGENT_BROWSER_ACTION_POLICY=./policy.json
Example policy.json:
json
{"default": "deny", "allow": ["navigate", "snapshot", "click", "scroll", "wait", "get"]}
Auth vault operations (auth login, etc.) bypass action policy but domain allowlist still applies.
Output Limits
Prevent context flooding from large pages:
bash
export AGENT_BROWSER_MAX_OUTPUT=50000
Diffing (Verifying Changes)
Use diff snapshot after performing an action to verify it had the intended effect. This compares the current accessibility tree against the last snapshot taken in the session.
bash
# Typical workflow: snapshot -> action -> diff
agent-browser snapshot -i # Take baseline snapshot
agent-browser click @e2 # Perform action
agent-browser diff snapshot # See what changed (auto-compares to last snapshot)
For visual regression testing or monitoring:
bash
# Save a baseline screenshot, then compare later
agent-browser screenshot baseline.png
# ... time passes or changes are made ...
agent-browser diff screenshot --baseline baseline.png
# Compare staging vs production
agent-browser diff url https://staging.example.com https://prod.example.com --screenshot
diff snapshot output uses + for additions and - for removals, similar to git diff. diff screenshot produces a diff image with changed pixels highlighted in red, plus a mismatch percentage.
Timeouts and Slow Pages
The default Playwright timeout is 25 seconds for local browsers. This can be overridden with the AGENT_BROWSER_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT environment variable (value in milliseconds). For slow websites or large pages, use explicit waits instead of relying on the default timeout: