# Browser > Automates web browser interactions via the browse CLI, including navigation, form filling, screenshots, and scraping, with support for local and remote Browserbase sessions. - Skill: `auto-skiller/browser` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 5 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add auto-skiller/browser` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/auto-skiller/browser/raw - Safety review: CAUTION (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Web & Frontend, Coding & Dev Tools, Browser Automation, Dev Tooling - Tags: Browser, Browserbase, Captcha Solving, Cli, Residential Proxies, Stealth Mode, Web Scraping - License: MIT - Author: Auto-Skiller (https://skillmd.com/u/auto-skiller) - Updated: 2026-08-22 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/auto-skiller/browser --- # Browser Automation Automate browser interactions using the browse CLI with Claude. ## Setup check Before running any browser commands, verify the CLI is available: ```bash which browse || npm install -g @browserbasehq/browse-cli ``` ## Environment Selection (Local vs Remote) The CLI supports explicit per-session environment overrides. If you do nothing, the next session defaults to Browserbase when `BROWSERBASE_API_KEY` is set and to local otherwise. ### Local mode - `browse env local` starts a clean isolated local browser - `browse env local --auto-connect` reuses an already-running debuggable Chrome and falls back to isolated if nothing is available - `browse env local ` attaches to a specific CDP target - Best for: development, localhost, trusted sites, and reproducible runs ### Remote mode (Browserbase) - `browse env remote` switches the current session to Browserbase - Without a local override, Browserbase is also the default when `BROWSERBASE_API_KEY` is set - Provides: anti-bot stealth, automatic CAPTCHA solving, residential proxies, session persistence - **Use remote mode when:** the target site has bot detection, CAPTCHAs, IP rate limiting, Cloudflare protection, or requires geo-specific access - Get credentials at https://browserbase.com/settings ### When to choose which - **Repeatable local testing / clean state**: `browse env local` - **Reuse your local login/cookies**: `browse env local --auto-connect` - **Simple browsing** (docs, wikis, public APIs): local mode is fine - **Protected sites** (login walls, CAPTCHAs, anti-scraping): use remote mode - **If local mode fails** with bot detection or access denied: switch to remote mode ## Commands All commands work identically in both modes. The daemon auto-starts on first command. ### Navigation ```bash browse open # Go to URL (aliases: goto) browse open --context-id # Load Browserbase context (remote only) browse open --context-id --persist # Load context + save changes back browse reload # Reload current page browse back # Go back in history browse forward # Go forward in history ``` ### Page state (prefer snapshot over screenshot) ```bash browse snapshot # Get accessibility tree with element refs (fast, structured) browse screenshot [path] # Take visual screenshot (slow, uses vision tokens) browse get url # Get current URL browse get title # Get page title browse get text # Get text content (use "body" for all text) browse get html # Get HTML content of element browse get value # Get form field value ``` Use `browse snapshot` as your default for understanding page state — it returns the accessibility tree with element refs you can use to interact. Only use `browse screenshot` when you need visual context (layout, images, debugging). ### Interaction ```bash browse click # Click element by ref from snapshot (e.g., @0-5) browse type # Type text into focused element browse fill # Fill input and press Enter browse select # Select dropdown option(s) browse press # Press key (Enter, Tab, Escape, Cmd+A, etc.) browse drag # Drag from one point to another browse scroll # Scroll at coordinates browse highlight # Highlight element on page browse is visible # Check if element is visible browse is checked # Check if element is checked browse wait [arg] # Wait for: load, selector, timeout ``` ### Session management ```bash browse stop # Stop the browser daemon (also clears env override) browse status # Check daemon status (includes env) browse env # Show current environment (local or remote) browse env local # Use clean isolated local browser browse env local --auto-connect # Reuse existing Chrome, fallback to isolated browse env local # Attach to a specific CDP target browse env remote # Switch to Browserbase (requires API keys) browse pages # List all open tabs browse tab_switch # Switch to tab by index browse tab_close [index] # Close tab ``` ### Typical workflow If the environment matters, set it first with `browse env local`, `browse env local --auto-connect`, or `browse env remote`. 1. `browse open ` — navigate to the page 2. `browse snapshot` — read the accessibility tree to understand page structure and get element refs 3. `browse click ` / `browse type ` / `browse fill ` — interact using refs from snapshot 4. `browse snapshot` — confirm the action worked 5. Repeat 3-4 as needed 6. `browse stop` — close the browser when done ## Quick Example ```bash browse open https://example.com browse snapshot # see page structure + element refs browse click @0-5 # click element with ref 0-5 browse get title browse stop ``` ## Mode Comparison | Feature | Local | Browserbase | |---------|-------|-------------| | Speed | Faster | Slightly slower | | Setup | Chrome required | API key required | | Reuse existing local cookies | With `browse env local --auto-connect` | N/A | | Stealth mode | No | Yes (custom Chromium, anti-bot fingerprinting) | | CAPTCHA solving | No | Yes (automatic reCAPTCHA/hCaptcha) | | Residential proxies | No | Yes (201 countries, geo-targeting) | | Session persistence | No | Yes (cookies/auth persist via contexts) | | Best for | Development/simple pages | Protected sites, bot detection, production scraping | ## Best Practices 1. **Choose the local strategy deliberately**: use `browse env local` for clean state, `browse env local --auto-connect` for existing local credentials, and `browse env remote` for protected sites 2. **Always `browse open` first** before interacting 3. **Use `browse snapshot`** to check page state — it's fast and gives you element refs 4. **Only screenshot when visual context is needed** (layout checks, images, debugging) 5. **Use refs from snapshot** to click/interact — e.g., `browse click @0-5` 6. **`browse stop`** when done to clean up the browser session and clear the env override ## Troubleshooting - **"No active page"**: Run `browse stop`, then check `browse status`. If it still says running, kill the zombie daemon with `pkill -f "browse.*daemon"`, then retry `browse open` - **Chrome not found**: Install Chrome, use `browse env local --auto-connect` if you already have a debuggable Chrome running, or switch to `browse env remote` - **Action fails**: Run `browse snapshot` to see available elements and their refs - **Browserbase fails**: Verify API key is set ## Switching to Remote Mode Switch to remote when you detect: CAPTCHAs (reCAPTCHA, hCaptcha, Turnstile), bot detection pages ("Checking your browser..."), HTTP 403/429, empty pages on sites that should have content, or the user asks for it. Don't switch for simple sites (docs, wikis, public APIs, localhost). ```bash browse env local # clean isolated local browser browse env local --auto-connect # reuse existing Chrome state browse env remote # switch to Browserbase ``` Overrides are scoped per session and stay in effect until you switch again or run `browse stop`. After `browse stop`, the next start falls back to env-var-based auto detection. Use `browse status` to inspect the resolved local strategy while the daemon is running. For detailed examples, see [EXAMPLES.md](EXAMPLES.md). For API reference, see [REFERENCE.md](REFERENCE.md).