browser

name	browser
description	Headless browser automation via agent-browser CLI. Use for any web interaction: filling forms, clicking buttons, scraping, navigating multi-step flows.

Browser Automation (agent-browser)

Persistent daemon-based browser CLI. The browser stays alive between Bash calls within a turn, so you can chain commands without restarting.

Installation

npm install -g agent-browser
# or: pnpm add -g agent-browser

Also needs a Chromium/Chrome executable. If using Playwright's bundled Chromium:

npx playwright install chromium

Environment

Set AGENT_BROWSER_EXECUTABLE_PATH to your Chromium binary if not using the system default:

export AGENT_BROWSER_EXECUTABLE_PATH=/path/to/chrome

Example with Playwright's headless shell (path varies by platform and version):

export AGENT_BROWSER_EXECUTABLE_PATH="$HOME/.cache/ms-playwright/chromium_headless_shell-1208/chrome-linux/headless_shell"

Starting the daemon

On Linux systems without a sandbox, start with --args "--no-sandbox":

agent-browser --args "--no-sandbox" open https://example.com

Subsequent commands in the same turn don't need the flag — daemon is already running.

On macOS or systems with user namespaces, you can omit the flag:

agent-browser open https://example.com

Core workflow

agent-browser open https://example.com
agent-browser snapshot          # Get accessibility tree with refs (@e1, @e2, ...)
agent-browser click @e2         # Click by ref
agent-browser fill @e3 "text"   # Fill input by ref
agent-browser find role button click --name "Submit"   # Semantic click
agent-browser find text "Sign in" click
agent-browser wait --text "Welcome"    # Wait for text to appear
agent-browser wait --url "**/dashboard"
agent-browser get url
agent-browser get title
agent-browser screenshot /tmp/shot.png
agent-browser close

Waiting

agent-browser wait --text "First Name:"        # Wait for text on page
agent-browser wait --load networkidle          # Wait for network idle
agent-browser wait --fn "!location.href.includes('#eSafeID')"  # JS condition
agent-browser wait 2000                        # Wait 2 seconds

Batch (entire flow in one Bash call)

echo '[
  ["open", "https://example.com"],
  ["snapshot"],
  ["click", "@e1"],
  ["wait", "--text", "Done"]
]' | agent-browser batch --json

Gotchas

• Always snapshot before clicking by ref — refs are assigned fresh each time and don't persist across navigations
• --args "--no-sandbox" only works on daemon start — if daemon is already running with wrong flags, close first
• Forms with <input type="submit"> — use find role button click --name "Continue" or find text "Continue" click rather than button:has-text() selectors
• SPA navigation — after clicking something that triggers a JS navigation (not a full page load), use wait --load networkidle before snapshotting

Closing

agent-browser close

Always close at end of turn if you don't need state to persist (frees resources). If you DO need state to persist to the next turn (e.g. waiting for user action), leave it open — the daemon survives between turns.