Agent Browser

Browser Automation with agent-browser

Overview

Automate browser interactions using the agent-browser CLI tool. Every automation follows a consistent navigate → snapshot → interact → re-snapshot pattern. The browser persists between commands via a background daemon, making command chaining efficient.

Setup — run this FIRST (self-installing)

The agent-browser CLI is not preinstalled. This skill ships bootstrap.sh, which is idempotent — run it at the start of every task; it no-ops if already set up:

# install the CLI + ensure Chromium, and export PATH/PNPM_HOME/PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH
source "$(dirname "$0")/bootstrap.sh" 2>/dev/null || source ./bootstrap.sh
# (the skill dir is printed by `agent-browser skills path` once installed)

If you only need the binary on PATH (no env persistence), run it as a subprocess: bash <skill-dir>/bootstrap.sh.

What bootstrap handles (and why — validated 2026-06-10)

• Install with pnpm, not npm. The bundled npm (Python nodejs_wheel) is broken here. pnpm add -g agent-browser (public npm registry) works. pnpm prints "Ignored build scripts" — harmless. The bin lands in $PNPM_HOME (default ~/.local/share/pnpm), which bootstrap adds to PATH.
• Playwright Chromium is usually already cached at ~/.cache/ms-playwright (PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH). Bootstrap only downloads it if absent.

Headless and managed environments

• Headless is the default — do not pass --headed on a server with no display.
• Container sandboxing is policy-owned. Keep Chromium's sandbox enabled unless the AgentConfig browser profile explicitly selects an already-isolated container runtime that requires a different setting. Do not embed runtime flags in the skill.
• Private endpoints are reference-driven. Resolve the target URL and TLS profile from AgentConfig. Install the referenced complete CA bundle and keep HTTPS upgrade, certificate, and hostname verification enabled. A plain-HTTP development endpoint requires an explicit transport policy and must not become a stored default.
• Connection flags are profile-owned. When a managed CDP browser is required, use the browser connection reference supplied by the runtime. Do not retain its address, user-data path, or launch command.

Daemon hygiene

• Reset the persistent browser with agent-browser close --all.
• Do NOT pkill -f agent-browser — the pattern matches your own shell/command line and kills the session (seen as exit 144). Kill a pre-launched Chromium by its unique --user-data-dir path instead (e.g. pkill -f /tmp/agent-browser-prof).
• A stale daemon is a common cause of Multiple targets are not supported in headless mode; close --all (and, if needed, killing the CDP Chromium) clears it.

Core Workflow

Every browser automation task follows this pattern:

1. Navigate: agent-browser open <url>
2. Snapshot: agent-browser snapshot -i (get interactive element refs like @e1, @e2)
3. Interact: Use refs to click, fill, select
4. Re-snapshot: After navigation or DOM changes, get fresh refs

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 Reference

# 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)
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 scroll down 500         # Scroll page

# 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

# Capture
agent-browser screenshot              # Screenshot to temp dir
agent-browser screenshot --full       # Full page screenshot
agent-browser screenshot --annotate   # Annotated screenshot with numbered 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

Common Patterns

Form Submission

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 State Persistence

# 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

# 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

Data Extraction

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

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

Command Chaining

Commands can be chained with && in a single shell invocation. The browser persists between commands, so chaining is safe and efficient.

# Chain open + wait + snapshot in one call
agent-browser open https://example.com && agent-browser wait --load networkidle && agent-browser snapshot -i

# Navigate and capture
agent-browser open https://example.com && agent-browser wait --load networkidle && agent-browser screenshot page.png

When to chain: Use && when intermediate output isn't needed (e.g., open + wait + screenshot). Run commands separately when parsing output first (e.g., snapshot to discover refs, then interact using those refs).

Ref Lifecycle

Refs (@e1, @e2, etc.) are invalidated when the page changes. Always re-snapshot after:

• Clicking links or buttons that navigate
• Form submissions
• Dynamic content loading (dropdowns, modals)

agent-browser click @e5              # Navigates to new page
agent-browser snapshot -i            # MUST re-snapshot
agent-browser click @e1              # Use new refs

Annotated Screenshots (Vision Mode)

Use --annotate to take a screenshot with numbered labels overlaid on interactive elements. Each label [N] maps to ref @eN. This also caches refs, so interactions can begin immediately without a separate snapshot.

agent-browser screenshot --annotate
# Output includes the image path and a legend:
#   [1] @e1 button "Submit"
#   [2] @e2 link "Home"
#   [3] @e3 textbox "Email"
agent-browser click @e2              # Click using ref from annotated screenshot

Use annotated screenshots when:

• The page has unlabeled icon buttons or visual-only elements
• Canvas or chart elements are present (invisible to text snapshots)
• Spatial reasoning about element positions is needed

Semantic Locators (Alternative to Refs)

When refs are unavailable or unreliable, use semantic locators:

agent-browser find text "Sign In" click
agent-browser find label "Email" fill "user@test.com"
agent-browser find role button click --name "Submit"
agent-browser find placeholder "Search" type "query"
agent-browser find testid "submit-btn" click

JavaScript Evaluation

Use eval to run JavaScript in the browser context. Use --stdin or -b for complex expressions to avoid shell quoting issues.

# Simple expressions
agent-browser eval 'document.title'
agent-browser eval 'document.querySelectorAll("img").length'

# Complex JS: use --stdin with heredoc (recommended)
agent-browser eval --stdin <<'EVALEOF'
JSON.stringify(
  Array.from(document.querySelectorAll("img"))
    .filter(i => !i.alt)
    .map(i => ({ src: i.src.split("/").pop(), width: i.width }))
)
EVALEOF

# Base64 encoding (avoids all shell escaping issues)
agent-browser eval -b "$(echo -n 'Array.from(document.querySelectorAll("a")).map(a => a.href)' | base64)"

Timeouts and Slow Pages

# Wait for network activity to settle (best for slow pages)
agent-browser wait --load networkidle

# Wait for a specific element to appear
agent-browser wait "#content"

# Wait for a URL pattern (useful after redirects)
agent-browser wait --url "**/dashboard"

# Wait for a JavaScript condition
agent-browser wait --fn "document.readyState === 'complete'"

# Fixed duration as a last resort
agent-browser wait 5000

Diffing (Verifying Changes)

Use diff snapshot after an action to verify it had the intended effect:

# 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

# Visual regression testing
agent-browser screenshot baseline.png
# ... changes 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

Best Practices

• Always re-snapshot after navigation — refs become invalid when the page changes
• Use wait --load networkidle after opening slow or SPA-based pages
• Use named sessions when running concurrent agents to avoid conflicts
• Always close sessions when done to avoid leaked browser processes
• Prefer --stdin for complex JavaScript to avoid shell escaping issues