dvcrn Steel Browser Skill
Cloud browser-use via Steel.dev + Playwright Python SDK. Ideal for web automation, scraping, form filling, and AI agent browser loops.
Prerequisites
pip install steel-sdk playwright
export STEEL_API_KEY=your_key_here
Get your API key at https://app.steel.dev → Settings → API Keys (free: 100 browser hours).
Steel API key should be set in OpenClaw config or environment:
openclaw config set env.STEEL_API_KEY "your_key"
State Management
start_session.shsaves session ID to~/.steel_state- All scripts auto-load it from there
- Override anytime with
export STEEL_SESSION_ID=<id> - Sessions persist until
release_session.shor timeout
Scripts
| Script | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
start_session.sh |
[--proxy] [--captcha] [--timeout MS] |
Create session; prints SESSION_ID + VIEWER_URL |
release_session.sh |
[SESSION_ID] |
Release session |
list_sessions.sh |
(none) | List active sessions |
navigate.sh |
URL [--wait-until networkidle] |
Go to URL |
screenshot.sh |
[OUTPUT.png] [--full-page] |
Take screenshot |
click.sh |
SELECTOR |
Click by CSS/text/aria selector |
click_coords.sh |
X Y [--right] [--double] |
Click at pixel coords (fallback) |
type.sh |
SELECTOR "text" |
Fill input field |
press_key.sh |
KEY |
Press key (e.g. Enter, Control+a) |
scroll.sh |
AMOUNT|--to-bottom|--to-top|SELECTOR |
Scroll page |
hover.sh |
SELECTOR |
Hover over element |
select.sh |
SELECTOR VALUE |
Select dropdown option |
get_content.sh |
[--html] [SELECTOR] |
Extract page text or HTML |
eval_js.sh |
"js expression" |
Execute JavaScript, print result |
wait_for.sh |
SELECTOR [TIMEOUT_MS] |
Wait for element to appear |
get_url.sh |
(none) | Print current URL and page title |
Selector Examples
Steel uses Playwright selectors — much more powerful than pixel coords:
# By CSS
click.sh "#submit-button"
click.sh ".nav-link:first-child"
# By text content
click.sh "text=Sign in"
click.sh "button:has-text('Continue')"
# By aria label
click.sh "[aria-label='Search']"
click.sh "[placeholder='Email address']"
# XPath
click.sh "xpath=//button[@type='submit']"
Browser-Use Agent Loop Pattern
SCRIPTS="skills/steel-browser/scripts"
# 1. Start session (add --proxy --captcha for tough sites)
source <($SCRIPTS/start_session.sh)
echo "Session: $SESSION_ID"
echo "Watch at: $VIEWER_URL"
# 2. Navigate
$SCRIPTS/navigate.sh "https://example.com"
# 3. Agent loop
while true; do
$SCRIPTS/screenshot.sh /tmp/screen.png
# Get page text for LLM context
CONTENT=$($SCRIPTS/get_content.sh)
# LLM decides action...
ACTION=$(echo "$CONTENT" | llm_decide /tmp/screen.png)
case "$ACTION_TYPE" in
click) $SCRIPTS/click.sh "$SELECTOR" ;;
type) $SCRIPTS/type.sh "$SELECTOR" "$TEXT" ;;
navigate) $SCRIPTS/navigate.sh "$URL" ;;
done) break ;;
esac
done
# 4. Release
$SCRIPTS/release_session.sh
vs E2B Desktop
| Feature | Steel Browser | E2B Desktop |
|---|---|---|
| Selectors | Playwright CSS/text/aria ✅ | Pixel coords only |
| Proxy support | ✅ Residential proxies | ❌ |
| CAPTCHA solving | ✅ Built-in | ❌ |
| Non-browser tasks | ❌ | ✅ Desktop apps, terminal |
| Session viewer | ✅ Live URL | ✅ VNC stream |
Use Steel for web automation. Use E2B Desktop for desktop apps / full OS control.