Introduction
# Browser Automation with agent-browser
## Quick start
```bash 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
1. Navigate: `agent-browser open <url>` 2. Snapshot: `agent-browser snapshot -i` (returns elements with refs like `@e1`, `@e2`) 3. Interact using refs from the snapshot 4. Re-snapshot after navigation or significant DOM changes
## Commands
### Navigation
```bash agent-browser open <url> # Navigate to URL (aliases: goto, navigate) # Supports: https://, http://, file://, about:, data:// # Auto-prepends https:// if no protocol given agent-browser back # Go back agent-browser forward # Go forward agent-browser reload # Reload page agent-browser close # Close browser (aliases: quit, exit) agent-browser connect 9222 # Connect to browser via CDP port ```
### Snapshot (page analysis)
```bash 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)
```bash 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 (alias: 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 option agent-browser select @e1 "a" "b" # Select multiple options agent-browser scroll down 500 # Scroll page (default: down 300px) agent-browser scrollintoview @e1 # Scroll element into view (alias: scrollinto) agent-browser drag @e1 @e2 # Drag and drop agent-browser upload @e1 file.pdf # Upload files ```
### Get information
```bash 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 agent-browser get styles @e1 # Get computed styles (font, color, bg, etc.) ```
### Check state
```bash 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
```bash agent-browser screenshot # Save to a temporary directory agent-browser screenshot path.png # Save to a specific path agent-browser screenshot --full # Full page agent-browser pdf output.pdf # Save as PDF ```
### Video recording
```bash 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. If no URL is provided, it automatically returns to your current page. For smooth demos, explore first, then start recording.
### Wait
```bash agent-browser wait @e1 # Wait for element agent-browser wait 2000 # Wait milliseconds agent-browser wait --text "Success" # Wait for text (or -t) agent-browser wait --url "**/dashboard" # Wait for URL pattern (or -u) agent-browser wait --load networkidle # Wait for network idle (or -l) agent-browser wait --fn "window.ready" # Wait for JS condition (or -f) ```
### Mouse control
```bash 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)
```bash agent-browser find role button click --name "Submit" agent-browser find text "Sign In" click agent-browser find text "Sign In" click --exact # Exact match only agent-browser find label "Email" fill "[email protected]" agent-browser find placeholder "Search" type "query" agent-browser find alt "Logo" click agent-browser find title "Close" click agent-browser find testid "submit-btn" click agent-browser find first ".item" click agent-browser find last ".item" click agent-browser find nth 2 "a" hover ```
### Browser settings
```bash 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 (alias: 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 (alias: auth) agent-browser set media dark # Emulate color scheme agent-browser set media light reduced-motion # Light mode + reduced motion ```
### Cookies & Storage
```bash 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 ```
### Network
```bash 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
```bash agent-browser tab # List tabs agent-browser tab new [url] # New tab agent-browser tab 2 # Switch to tab by index agent-browser tab close # Close current tab agent-browser tab close 2 # Close tab by index agent-browser window new # New window ```
### Frames
```bash agent-browser frame "#iframe" # Switch to iframe agent-browser frame main # Back to main frame ```
### Dialogs
```bash agent-browser dialog accept [text] # Accept dialog agent-browser dialog dismiss # Dismiss dialog ```
### JavaScript
```bash agent-browser eval "document.title" # Run JavaScript ```
## Global options
```bash agent-browser --session <name> ... # Isolated browser session agent-browser --json ... # JSON output for parsing agent-browser --headed ... # Show browser window (not headless) agent-browser --full ... # Full page screenshot (-f) agent-browser --cdp <port> ... # Connect via Chrome DevTools Protocol agent-browser -p <provider> ... # Cloud browser provider (--provider) agent-browser --proxy <url> ... # Use proxy server agent-browser --headers <json> ... # HTTP headers scoped to URL's origin agent-browser --executable-path <p> # Custom browser executable agent-browser --extension <path> ... # Load browser extension (repeatable) agent-browser --help # Show help (-h) agent-browser --version # Show version (-V) agent-browser <command> --help # Show detailed help for a command ```
### Proxy support
```bash agent-browser --proxy http://proxy.com:8080 open example.com agent-browser --proxy http://user:[email protected]:8080 open example.com agent-browser --proxy socks5://proxy.com:1080 open example.com ```
## Environment variables
```bash AGENT_BROWSER_SESSION="mysession" # Default session name AGENT_BROWSER_EXECUTABLE_PATH="/path/chrome" # Custom browser path AGENT_BROWSER_EXTENSIONS="/ext1,/ext2" # Comma-separated extension paths AGENT_BROWSER_PROVIDER="your-cloud-browser-provider" # Cloud browser provider (select browseruse or browserbase) AGENT_BROWSER_STREAM_PORT="9223" # WebSocket streaming port AGENT_BROWSER_HOME="/path/to/agent-browser" # Custom install location (for daemon.js) ```
## Example: Form submission
```bash 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 "[email protected]" 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
```bash # 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 ```
## Sessions (parallel browsers)
```bash agent-browser --session test1 open site-a.com agent-browser --session test2 open site-b.com agent-browser session list ```
## JSON output (for parsing)
Add `--json` for machine-readable output:
```bash agent-browser snapshot -i --json agent-browser get text @e1 --json ```
## Debugging
```bash agent-browser --headed open example.com # Show browser window agent-browser --cdp 9222 snapshot # Connect via CDP port agent-browser connect 9222 # Alternative: connect command agent-browser console # View console messages agent-browser console --clear # Clear console agent-browser errors # View page errors 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 agent-browser record start ./debug.webm # Record video from current page agent-browser record stop # Save recording ```
## Deep-dive documentation
For detailed patterns and best practices, see:
| Reference | Description | |-----------|-------------| | [references/snapshot-refs.md](references/snapshot-refs.md) | Ref lifecycle, invalidation rules, troubleshooting | | [references/session-management.md](references/session-management.md) | Parallel sessions, state persistence, concurrent scraping | | [references/authentication.md](references/authentication.md) | Login flows, OAuth, 2FA handling, state reuse | | [references/video-recording.md](references/video-recording.md) | Recording workflows for debugging and documentation | | [references/proxy-support.md](references/proxy-support.md) | Proxy configuration, geo-testing, rotating proxies |
## Ready-to-use templates
Executable workflow scripts for common patterns:
| Template | Description | |----------|-------------| | [templates/form-automation.sh](templates/form-automation.sh) | Form filling with validation | | [templates/authenticated-session.sh](templates/authenticated-session.sh) | Login once, reuse state | | [templates/capture-workflow.sh](templates/capture-workflow.sh) | Content extraction with screenshots |
Usage: ```bash ./templates/form-automation.sh https://example.com/form ./templates/authenticated-session.sh https://app.example.com/login ./templates/capture-workflow.sh https://example.com ./output ```
## HTTPS Certificate Errors
For sites with self-signed or invalid certificates: ```bash agent-browser open https://localhost:8443 --ignore-https-errors ```