Browse the web using `assistant browser` CLI commands
compatibility
Designed for Vellum personal assistants
metadata
{"emoji":"🌐","vellum":{"category":"browsing","display-name":"Browser","activation-hints":["Load first if you need to browse the web (navigating, clicking, extracting web content) via `assistant browser` commands"]}}
Use this skill to browse the web. All browser operations are executed through the assistant browser CLI, invoked via bash or host_bash. Each operation is a subcommand:
Command
Description
assistant browser navigate
Navigate to a URL
assistant browser snapshot
List interactive elements on the current page
assistant browser screenshot
Take a visual screenshot
assistant browser click
Click an element
assistant browser type
Type text into an input
assistant browser press-key
Press a keyboard key
assistant browser scroll
Scroll the page or a specific element
assistant browser select-option
Select an option from a native <select> element
assistant browser hover
Hover over an element to reveal menus/tooltips
assistant browser wait-for
Wait for a condition
assistant browser extract
Extract page text content
assistant browser wait-for-download
Wait for a file download to complete
assistant browser fill-credential
Fill a stored credential into a form field
assistant browser attach
Attach the Chrome debugger to the active tab
assistant browser detach
Detach the Chrome debugger from the active tab
assistant browser close
Close the browser page
assistant browser status
Diagnose browser backend readiness and setup steps
Getting Started — Check Browser Readiness
Before using any browser commands, run assistant browser --json status first to check which browser backends are available. The status command returns JSON with readiness information for each backend mode:
assistant browser --json status
The response includes:
recommendedMode — the best available backend (use this)
modes[] — per-mode status with available, summary, and userActions (remediation steps)
Browser Modes
Use --browser-mode <mode> on the assistant browser parent command to pin the browser backend:
Value
Backend
Description
auto
Automatic
Default. Picks the best available backend based on context.
extension
Chrome extension
Routes through the user's Chrome browser via the extension debugger.
cdp-inspect
CDP inspect
Connects to an already-running Chrome instance via DevTools Protocol.
local
Playwright
Drives a dedicated Playwright-managed Chromium instance.
Open the extension in Chrome and pair it with the assistant.
The status response's userActions array for the extension mode provides these same steps when the extension is not connected.
Fallback Modes
If the user declines to install the extension:
cdp-inspect — Connects to an already-running Chrome instance via DevTools Protocol (Chrome 146+). Requires enabling remote debugging in Chrome settings.
local — Drives a dedicated Playwright-managed Chromium instance. Last resort — does not use the user's browser profile.
Only fall back to these if the user explicitly indicates they do not want to install the extension. Prefer cdp-inspect over local.
Targeting a Specific Client
When multiple clients support host_browser (e.g. two Chrome profiles, a macOS client and a Chrome extension), use --target-client-id <id> on the assistant browser parent command to pin all operations in the invocation to one specific client:
Omit --target-client-id when only one client is connected — the default interface-preference order (chrome-extension first, then macos) picks the best available client automatically.
Tab Handling (Chrome extension)
On the Chrome extension backend, navigate opens a dedicated tab the first time it runs in a conversation and pins subsequent operations to it, so browsing never disturbs the tab the user is on (often the tab they're chatting with the assistant from). Later navigates reuse that pinned tab.
--new-tab — force a brand-new tab even when one is already pinned.
--use-active-tab — navigate the user's currently-active tab instead of a dedicated one.
Both flags are ignored on the local and cdp-inspect backends, which manage their own browser context.
Session Management
Use --session <id> on the assistant browser parent command to group sequential operations so they share browser state (same page, cookies, etc.). Different session IDs create independent browser contexts.
The response includes a screenshots array with mediaType and data (base64) fields.
Typical Workflow
assistant browser --json status to check backend readiness — if the extension is not available, help the user install it
(Optional) assistant browser attach to establish the session
assistant browser navigate --url <url> to load a page
assistant browser snapshot to discover interactive elements
Use click, type, press-key, scroll, select-option, or hover to interact
assistant browser extract or assistant browser screenshot --output <path> to capture results
Alwaysassistant browser detach when you are done — this releases the debugger so the user can browse freely
Interaction Strategies
Date pickers / calendars: Click the date input to open the picker, re-snapshot to see calendar controls, click month navigation arrows to reach the target month, then click the target date. For <input type="date">, use type with YYYY-MM-DD format.
Native <select> elements: Use select-option with --value, --label, or --index. Do not try to click individual <option> elements.
ARIA / custom dropdowns: Click to open, take a new snapshot, then click the desired option by --element-id.
Autocomplete inputs: Type the search text, wait 500-1000ms (wait-for --duration), re-snapshot for suggestions, then click the suggestion or use press-key --key ArrowDown + press-key --key Enter.
Multi-step forms: Complete each step, wait for the next section to load, re-snapshot to discover new elements, then proceed.
Dynamic content: After interactions that change the page, use wait-for (with --selector or --text) or re-snapshot to see updated elements before continuing.
Scrolling: Use scroll --direction down to reveal below-the-fold content before snapshotting. Long pages may require multiple scrolls.
Hover menus / tooltips: Use hover to reveal hidden menus or tooltips, then re-snapshot to see newly revealed elements.
Verification
After critical actions (form submission, booking confirmation, checkout), take a screenshot and then read the saved image to visually verify results before reporting success to the user:
Then read the saved image to inspect it before reporting success. Use file_read if the screenshot was taken via bash, or host_file_read if it was taken via host_bash.