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AI browser automation CLI for navigating pages, filling forms, clicking, screenshots, extraction, web testing, login flows, and scripted web interactions.
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| name | agent-browser |
| description | AI browser automation CLI for navigating pages, filling forms, clicking, screenshots, extraction, web testing, login flows, and scripted web interactions. |
| allowed-tools | Bash(npx agent-browser:*), Bash(agent-browser:*) |
Every browser automation follows this pattern:
agent-browser open <url>agent-browser snapshot -i (get element refs like @e1, @e2)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
Commands can be chained with && in a single shell invocation. The browser persists between commands via a background daemon, so chaining is safe and more efficient than separate calls.
# Chain open + wait + snapshot in one call
agent-browser open https://example.com && agent-browser wait --load networkidle && agent-browser snapshot -i
# Chain multiple interactions
agent-browser fill @e1 "user@example.com" && agent-browser fill @e2 "password123" && agent-browser click @e3
# Navigate and capture
agent-browser open https://example.com && agent-browser wait --load networkidle && agent-browser screenshot page.png
When to chain: Use && when you don't need to read the output of an intermediate command before proceeding (e.g., open + wait + screenshot). Run commands separately when you need to parse the output first (e.g., snapshot to discover refs, then interact using those refs).
# 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, cursor:pointer)
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 element 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
agent-browser diff url <url1> <url2> --wait-until networkidle # Custom wait strategy
agent-browser diff url <url1> <url2> --selector "#main" # Scope to element
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
# 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
# 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
# Encrypt state at rest
export AGENT_BROWSER_ENCRYPTION_KEY=$(openssl rand -hex 32)
agent-browser --session-name secure open https://app.example.com
# Manage saved states
agent-browser state list
agent-browser state show myapp-default.json
agent-browser state clear myapp
agent-browser state clean --older-than 7
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
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
# Auto-discover running Chrome with remote debugging enabled
agent-browser --auto-connect open https://example.com
agent-browser --auto-connect snapshot
# Or with explicit CDP port
agent-browser --cdp 9222 snapshot
agent-browser --headed open https://example.com
agent-browser highlight @e1 # Highlight element
agent-browser record start demo.webm # Record session
agent-browser profiler start # Start Chrome DevTools profiling
agent-browser profiler stop trace.json # Stop and save profile (path optional)
# Open local files with file:// URLs
agent-browser --allow-file-access open file:///path/to/document.pdf
agent-browser --allow-file-access open file:///path/to/page.html
agent-browser screenshot output.png
# List available iOS simulators
agent-browser device list
# Launch Safari on a specific device
agent-browser -p ios --device "iPhone 16 Pro" open https://example.com
# Same workflow as desktop - snapshot, interact, re-snapshot
agent-browser -p ios snapshot -i
agent-browser -p ios tap @e1 # Tap (alias for click)
agent-browser -p ios fill @e2 "text"
agent-browser -p ios swipe up # Mobile-specific gesture
# Take screenshot
agent-browser -p ios screenshot mobile.png
# Close session (shuts down simulator)
agent-browser -p ios close
Requirements: macOS with Xcode, Appium (npm install -g appium && appium driver install xcuitest)
Real devices: Works with physical iOS devices if pre-configured. Use --device "<UDID>" where UDID is from xcrun xctrace list devices.
Use diff snapshot after performing an action to verify it had the intended effect. This compares the current accessibility tree against the last snapshot taken in the session.
# 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 (auto-compares to last snapshot)
For visual regression testing or monitoring:
# Save a baseline screenshot, then compare later
agent-browser screenshot baseline.png
# ... time passes or changes are 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
diff snapshot output uses + for additions and - for removals, similar to git diff. diff screenshot produces a diff image with changed pixels highlighted in red, plus a mismatch percentage.
The default Playwright timeout is 60 seconds for local browsers. For slow websites or large pages, use explicit waits instead of relying on the default timeout:
# 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"
agent-browser wait @e1
# Wait for a specific URL pattern (useful after redirects)
agent-browser wait --url "**/dashboard"
# Wait for a JavaScript condition
agent-browser wait --fn "document.readyState === 'complete'"
# Wait a fixed duration (milliseconds) as a last resort
agent-browser wait 5000
When dealing with consistently slow websites, use wait --load networkidle after open to ensure the page is fully loaded before taking a snapshot. If a specific element is slow to render, wait for it directly with wait <selector> or wait @ref.
When running multiple agents or automations concurrently, always use named sessions to avoid conflicts:
# Each agent gets its own isolated session
agent-browser --session agent1 open site-a.com
agent-browser --session agent2 open site-b.com
# Check active sessions
agent-browser session list
Always close your browser session when done to avoid leaked processes:
agent-browser close # Close default session
agent-browser --session agent1 close # Close specific session
If a previous session was not closed properly, the daemon may still be running. Use agent-browser close to clean it up before starting new work.
Refs (@e1, @e2, etc.) are invalidated when the page changes. Always re-snapshot after:
agent-browser click @e5 # Navigates to new page
agent-browser snapshot -i # MUST re-snapshot
agent-browser click @e1 # Use new refs
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 you can interact with elements 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:
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
Use eval to run JavaScript in the browser context. Shell quoting can corrupt complex expressions -- use --stdin or -b to avoid issues.
# Simple expressions work with regular quoting
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
# Alternative: base64 encoding (avoids all shell escaping issues)
agent-browser eval -b "$(echo -n 'Array.from(document.querySelectorAll("a")).map(a => a.href)' | base64)"
Why this matters: When the shell processes your command, inner double quotes, ! characters (history expansion), backticks, and $() can all corrupt the JavaScript before it reaches agent-browser. The --stdin and -b flags bypass shell interpretation entirely.
Rules of thumb:
eval 'expression' with single quotes is fineeval --stdin <<'EVALEOF'eval -b with base64Create agent-browser.json in the project root for persistent settings:
{
"headed": true,
"proxy": "http://localhost:8080",
"profile": "./browser-data"
}
Priority (lowest to highest): ~/.agent-browser/config.json < ./agent-browser.json < env vars < CLI flags. Use --config <path> or AGENT_BROWSER_CONFIG env var for a custom config file (exits with error if missing/invalid). All CLI options map to camelCase keys (e.g., --executable-path -> "executablePath"). Boolean flags accept true/false values (e.g., --headed false overrides config). Extensions from user and project configs are merged, not replaced.
| Reference | When to Use |
|---|---|
| references/commands.md | Full command reference with all options |
| references/snapshot-refs.md | Ref lifecycle, invalidation rules, troubleshooting |
| references/session-management.md | Parallel sessions, state persistence, concurrent scraping |
| references/authentication.md | Login flows, OAuth, 2FA handling, state reuse |
| references/video-recording.md | Recording workflows for debugging and documentation |
| references/profiling.md | Chrome DevTools profiling for performance analysis |
| references/proxy-support.md | Proxy configuration, geo-testing, rotating proxies |
| Template | Description |
|---|---|
| templates/form-automation.sh | Form filling with validation |
| templates/authenticated-session.sh | Login once, reuse state |
| templates/capture-workflow.sh | Content extraction with screenshots |
./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