Browser Automation with agent-browser
When to reach for agent-browser: CLI-first headless CDP automation — no browser extension, no pixel-level screenshots. Use it for scripted web workflows, CI-friendly browser testing, and session-based scraping where you want shell commands over GUI interaction.
Quick start
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
- Navigate:
agent-browser open <url> - Snapshot:
agent-browser snapshot -i(returns elements with refs like@e1,@e2) - Interact using refs from the snapshot
- Re-snapshot after navigation or significant DOM changes
Commands
Navigation
agent-browser open <url> # Navigate to URL (aliases: goto, navigate)
# Supports: https://, http://, file://, about:, data://
# Auto-prepends https:// if no protocol given
agent-browser back # Go back
agent-browser forward # Go forward
agent-browser reload # Reload page
agent-browser close # Close browser (aliases: quit, exit)
agent-browser connect 9222 # Connect to browser via CDP port
Snapshot (page analysis)
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)
agent-browser click @e1 # Click
agent-browser dblclick @e1 # Double-click
agent-browser focus @e1 # Focus element
agent-browser fill @e2 "text" # Clear and type
agent-browser type @e2 "text" # Type without clearing
agent-browser press Enter # Press key (alias: key)
agent-browser press Control+a # Key combination
agent-browser keydown Shift # Hold key down
agent-browser keyup Shift # Release 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 select @e1 "a" "b" # Select multiple options
agent-browser scroll down 500 # Scroll page (default: down 300px)
agent-browser scrollintoview @e1 # Scroll element into view (alias: scrollinto)
agent-browser drag @e1 @e2 # Drag and drop
agent-browser upload @e1 file.pdf # Upload files
Get information
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
agent-browser get box @e1 # Get bounding box
agent-browser get styles @e1 # Get computed styles (font, color, bg, etc.)
Check state
agent-browser is visible @e1 # Check if visible
agent-browser is enabled @e1 # Check if enabled
agent-browser is checked @e1 # Check if checked
Screenshots & PDF
agent-browser screenshot "body" path.png # Viewport screenshot to file
agent-browser screenshot --full "body" path.png # Full page to file
agent-browser screenshot "body" # Viewport screenshot (auto-saved to tmp)
agent-browser screenshot ".modal" modal.png # Screenshot specific element
agent-browser pdf output.pdf # Save as PDF
v0.9.1 gotcha:
screenshotrequires a CSS selector as the first positional arg. Use"body"for full-viewport captures. Omitting the selector causesValidation error: selector: Expected string, received null.
Video recording
agent-browser record start ./demo.webm # Start recording (uses current URL + state)
agent-browser click @e1 # Perform actions
agent-browser record stop # Stop and save video
agent-browser record restart ./take2.webm # Stop current + start new recording
Recording creates a fresh context but preserves cookies/storage from your session. If no URL is provided, it automatically returns to your current page. For smooth demos, explore first, then start recording.
Wait
agent-browser wait @e1 # Wait for element
agent-browser wait 2000 # Wait milliseconds
agent-browser wait --text "Success" # Wait for text (or -t)
agent-browser wait --url "**/dashboard" # Wait for URL pattern (or -u)
agent-browser wait --load networkidle # Wait for network idle (or -l)
agent-browser wait --fn "window.ready" # Wait for JS condition (or -f)
Mouse control
agent-browser mouse move 100 200 # Move mouse
agent-browser mouse down left # Press button
agent-browser mouse up left # Release button
agent-browser mouse wheel 100 # Scroll wheel
Semantic locators (alternative to refs)
agent-browser find role button click --name "Submit"
agent-browser find text "Sign In" click
agent-browser find text "Sign In" click --exact # Exact match only
agent-browser find label "Email" fill "user@test.com"
agent-browser find placeholder "Search" type "query"
agent-browser find alt "Logo" click
agent-browser find title "Close" click
agent-browser find testid "submit-btn" click
agent-browser find first ".item" click
agent-browser find last ".item" click
agent-browser find nth 2 "a" hover
Browser settings
agent-browser set viewport 1920 1080 # Set viewport size
agent-browser set device "iPhone 14" # Emulate device
agent-browser set geo 37.7749 -122.4194 # Set geolocation (alias: geolocation)
agent-browser set offline on # Toggle offline mode
agent-browser set headers '{"X-Key":"v"}' # Extra HTTP headers
agent-browser set credentials user pass # HTTP basic auth (alias: auth)
agent-browser set media dark # Emulate color scheme
agent-browser set media light reduced-motion # Light mode + reduced motion
Cookies & Storage
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 all localStorage
agent-browser storage local key # Get specific key
agent-browser storage local set k v # Set value
agent-browser storage local clear # Clear all
Network
agent-browser network route <url> # Intercept requests
agent-browser network route <url> --abort # Block requests
agent-browser network route <url> --body '{}' # Mock response
agent-browser network unroute [url] # Remove routes
agent-browser network requests # View tracked requests
agent-browser network requests --filter api # Filter requests
Tabs & Windows
agent-browser tab # List tabs
agent-browser tab new [url] # New tab
agent-browser tab 2 # Switch to tab by index
agent-browser tab close # Close current tab
agent-browser tab close 2 # Close tab by index
agent-browser window new # New window
Frames
agent-browser frame "#iframe" # Switch to iframe
agent-browser frame main # Back to main frame
Dialogs
agent-browser dialog accept [text] # Accept dialog
agent-browser dialog dismiss # Dismiss dialog
JavaScript
agent-browser ev