| name | Browser Automation |
| description | Automate web browser interactions using natural language via CLI commands. Use when the user asks to browse websites, navigate web pages, extract data from websites, take screenshots, fill forms, click buttons, or interact with web applications. Triggers include "browse", "navigate to", "go to website", "extract data from webpage", "screenshot", "web scraping", "fill out form", "click on", "search for on the web". When taking actions be as specific as possible. |
| allowed-tools | Bash |
Browser Automation
Automate browser interactions using Stagehand CLI with Claude. This skill provides natural language control over a Chrome browser through command-line tools for navigation, interaction, data extraction, and screenshots.
Overview
This skill uses a CLI-based approach where Claude Code calls browser automation commands via bash. The browser stays open between commands for faster sequential operations and preserves browser state (cookies, sessions, etc.).
Setup Verification
IMPORTANT: Before using any browser commands, you MUST check setup.json in this directory.
First-Time Setup Check
- Read
setup.json (located in .claude/skills/browser-automation/setup.json)
- Check
setupComplete field:
- If
true: All prerequisites are met, proceed with browser commands
- If
false: Setup required - follow the steps below
If Setup is Required (setupComplete: false)
Run these commands in the plugin directory:
npm install
npm link
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"
cp .env.example .env
browser navigate https://example.com
Prerequisites Summary
- ✅ Google Chrome installed on your system
- ✅ Node.js dependencies installed and TypeScript built (
npm install runs build automatically)
- ✅ Browser command globally available (
npm link creates the global symlink)
- ✅ Anthropic API key configured (exported as
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY environment variable or in .env file)
DO NOT attempt to use browser commands if setupComplete: false in setup.json. Guide the user through setup first.
Available Commands
Navigate to URLs
browser navigate <url>
When to use: Opening any website, loading a specific URL, going to a web page.
Example usage:
browser navigate https://example.combrowser navigate https://news.ycombinator.com
Output: JSON with success status, message, and screenshot path
Interact with Pages
browser act "<action>"
When to use: Clicking buttons, filling forms, scrolling, selecting options, typing text.
Example usage:
browser act "click the Sign In button"browser act "fill in the email field with test@example.com"browser act "scroll down to the footer"browser act "type 'laptop' in the search box and press enter"
Important: Be as specific as possible - details make a world of difference. When filling fields, you don't need to combine 'click and type'; the tool will perform a fill similar to Playwright's fill function.
Output: JSON with success status, message, and screenshot path
Extract Data
browser extract "<instruction>" ['{"field": "type"}']
When to use: Scraping data, getting specific information, collecting structured content.
Schema format (optional): JSON object where keys are field names and values are types:
"string" for text"number" for numeric values"boolean" for true/false values
Note: The schema parameter is optional. If omitted or if schema validation fails, extraction will proceed without type validation.
Example usage:
browser extract "get the product title and price" '{"title": "string", "price": "number"}'browser extract "get all article headlines" '{"headlines": "string"}'browser extract "get the page title" (no schema)
Output: JSON with success status, extracted data, and screenshot path
Discover Elements
browser observe "<query>"
When to use: Understanding page structure, finding what's clickable, discovering form fields.
Example usage:
browser observe "find all clickable buttons"browser observe "find all form fields"browser observe "find all navigation links"
Output: JSON with success status, discovered elements, and screenshot path
Take Screenshots
browser screenshot
When to use: Visual verification, documenting page state, debugging, creating records.
Notes:
- Screenshots are saved to the plugin directory's
agent/browser_screenshots/ folder
- Images larger than 2000x2000 pixels are automatically resized
- Filename includes timestamp for uniqueness
Output: JSON with success status and screenshot path
Clean Up
browser close
When to use: After completing all browser interactions, to free up resources.
Output: JSON with success status and message
Browser Behavior
Persistent Browser: The browser stays open between commands for faster sequential operations and to preserve browser state (cookies, sessions, etc.).
Reuse Existing: If Chrome is already running on port 9222, it will reuse that instance.
Minimized Launch: Chrome opens off-screen (position -9999,-9999) to avoid disrupting workflow.
Safe Cleanup: The browser only closes when you explicitly call the close command.
Best Practices
- Always navigate first: Before interacting with a page, navigate to the URL
- 📸 Always view screenshots: After each command (navigate, act, extract, observe), use the Read tool to view the screenshot and verify the command worked correctly
- Use natural language: Describe actions as you would instruct a human
- Extract with clear schemas: Define field names and types explicitly in JSON
- Handle errors gracefully: Check the
success field in JSON output; if an action fails, view the screenshot and try using observe to understand the page better
- Close when done: Always clean up browser resources after completing tasks
- Be specific: Use precise selectors in natural language ("the blue Submit button" vs "the button")
- Chain commands: Run multiple commands sequentially without reopening the browser
Common Patterns
Simple browsing task
browser navigate https://example.com
browser act "click the login button"
browser screenshot
browser close
Data extraction task
browser navigate https://example.com/products
browser act "wait for page to load"
browser extract "get all products" '{"name": "string", "price": "number"}'
browser close
Multi-step interaction
browser navigate https://example.com/login
browser act "fill in email with user@example.com"
browser act "fill in password with mypassword"
browser act "click the submit button"
browser screenshot
browser close
Debugging workflow
browser navigate https://example.com
browser screenshot
browser observe "find all buttons"
browser act "click the specific button"
browser screenshot
browser close
Troubleshooting
Page not loading: Wait a few seconds after navigation before acting. You can explicitly: browser act "wait for the page to fully load"
Element not found: Use observe to discover what elements are actually available on the page
Action fails: Be more specific in natural language description. Instead of "click the button", try "click the blue Submit button in the form"
Screenshots missing: Check the plugin directory's agent/browser_screenshots/ folder for saved files
Chrome not found: Install Google Chrome or the CLI will show an error with installation instructions
Port 9222 in use: Another Chrome debugging session is running. Close it or wait for timeout
For detailed examples, see EXAMPLES.md.
For API reference and technical details, see REFERENCE.md.
Dependencies
To use this skill, install these dependencies only if they aren't already present:
npm install
pnpm install
bun install
