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
agent-browser back            # Go back
agent-browser forward         # Go forward
agent-browser reload          # Reload page
agent-browser close           # Close browser

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 fill @e2 "text"     # Clear and type
agent-browser type @e2 "text"     # Type without clearing
agent-browser press Enter         # Press 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 scroll down 500     # Scroll page
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

Screenshots & PDF

bash
agent-browser screenshot          # Save to temp directory
agent-browser screenshot path.png # Save to specific path
agent-browser screenshot --full   # Full page
agent-browser pdf output.pdf      # Save as PDF

Wait

bash
agent-browser wait @e1                     # Wait for element
agent-browser wait 2000                    # Wait milliseconds
agent-browser wait --text "Success"        # Wait for text
agent-browser wait --url "**/dashboard"    # Wait for URL pattern
agent-browser wait --load networkidle      # Wait for network idle

Waiting for a custom condition — ALWAYS bound it

Prefer the built-in wait subcommands above. Only fall back to eval-polling when you must wait on a custom JS condition (e.g. a spinner disappearing or a "Send" button re-enabling in a chat UI).

Never write an unbounded wait loop. A bare until … do sleep; done that polls a page condition will loop forever if the condition never becomes true (page failed to load, selector changed, network stalled). That does not just fail the command — it wedges the entire agent turn: the runner keeps the model stream open, later messages get silently swallowed, and the container can hang for hours without the host's stuck-detection firing.

Always cap the wait with BOTH a wall-clock timeout and a max-attempts counter, and always exit the loop (never leave a sleep loop as the last thing running):

bash
# Bounded wait: succeeds when the condition is met, gives up after ~90s.
timeout 90 bash -c '
  for i in $(seq 1 30); do
    if agent-browser eval "document.querySelector(\".loading\") === null" 2>/dev/null | grep -q true; then
      echo READY; exit 0
    fi
    sleep 3
  done
  echo TIMEOUT; exit 1
'
# Check the exit status / output: on TIMEOUT, snapshot the page and decide —
# do NOT re-enter another unbounded wait.

If the wait times out, treat it as a real failure: take a snapshot -i or screenshot to see the actual page state, report what you found, and move on. Retrying the same unbounded wait is what causes the hang.

Semantic locators (alternative to refs)

bash
agent-browser find role button click --name "Submit"
agent-browser find text "Sign In" click
agent-browser find label "Email" fill "user@test.com"
agent-browser find placeholder "Search" type "query"

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: load saved state
agent-browser state load auth.json
agent-browser open https://app.example.com/dashboard

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 localStorage
agent-browser storage local set k v       # Set value

JavaScript

bash
agent-browser eval "document.title"   # Run JavaScript

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 "user@example.com"
agent-browser fill @e2 "password123"
agent-browser click @e3
agent-browser wait --load networkidle
agent-browser snapshot -i  # Check result

Example: Data extraction

bash
agent-browser open https://example.com/products
agent-browser snapshot -i
agent-browser get text @e1  # Get product title
agent-browser get attr @e2 href  # Get link URL
agent-browser screenshot products.png