Browser Automation with agent-browser

Setup

Run scripts/setup.sh to install agent-browser and Chromium. Requires Node.js.

Core Workflow

Every browser automation follows this pattern:

Navigate: agent-browser open <url>
Snapshot: agent-browser snapshot -i (get element refs like @e1, @e2)
Interact: Use refs to click, fill, select
Re-snapshot: After navigation or DOM changes, get fresh refs

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

Command Chaining

Chain with && when you don't need intermediate output:

agent-browser open https://example.com && agent-browser wait --load networkidle && agent-browser snapshot -i

Run separately when you need to parse output first (e.g., snapshot to discover refs).

Essential Commands

# Navigate
agent-browser open <url>
agent-browser close

# See the page (always do this first)
agent-browser snapshot -i              # Interactive elements with refs
agent-browser snapshot -i -C           # Include onclick divs

# Interact using @refs
agent-browser click @e1
agent-browser fill @e2 "text"
agent-browser select @e1 "option"
agent-browser press Enter
agent-browser scroll down 500

# Get info
agent-browser get text @e1
agent-browser get url
agent-browser get title

# Wait
agent-browser wait @e1                 # For element
agent-browser wait --load networkidle  # For network idle

# Capture
agent-browser screenshot page.png
agent-browser screenshot --full        # Full page
agent-browser pdf output.pdf

For the full command reference, see references/commands.md.

Ref Lifecycle (Important)

Refs (@e1, @e2) are invalidated when the page changes. Always re-snapshot after:

Clicking links/buttons that navigate
Form submissions
Dynamic content loading (dropdowns, modals)

Common Patterns

Form Submission

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 click @e5
agent-browser wait --load networkidle

Login with State Persistence

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

Data Extraction

agent-browser open https://example.com/products
agent-browser snapshot -i
agent-browser get text @e5
agent-browser get text body > page.txt

Screenshot & Diff

agent-browser screenshot baseline.png
# ... changes happen ...
agent-browser diff screenshot --baseline baseline.png

Parallel Sessions

agent-browser --session site1 open https://site-a.com
agent-browser --session site2 open https://site-b.com
agent-browser session list

Security (Optional)

export AGENT_BROWSER_CONTENT_BOUNDARIES=1          # Wrap output for AI safety
export AGENT_BROWSER_ALLOWED_DOMAINS="example.com"  # Domain allowlist
export AGENT_BROWSER_MAX_OUTPUT=50000               # Prevent context flooding

Cleanup

Always close sessions when done: agent-browser close