Agent Browser

#agent-browser

Browser automation for AI agents: open pages, read them as an accessibility tree, and act on elements from the shell.

agent-browser is a native Rust CLI that gives an AI agent a browser it can drive one command at a time. snapshot returns the page as compact text with a ref such as @e1 for each element. The agent acts on a ref, reads the page again to check the result, and repeats. The browser stays open between commands, so each step is one short shell call.

#Install

npm install -g agent-browser
agent-browser install           # download Chrome for Testing (first time only)

• Homebrew: brew install agent-browser, then agent-browser install.
• Linux: agent-browser install --with-deps also installs the browser's system libraries.
• No install: npx agent-browser open example.com.

Project installs, building from source, upgrade, and doctor are covered in Installation.

#Quick start

agent-browser open example.com
agent-browser snapshot -i       # interactive elements, each with a ref
agent-browser click @e1         # act on a ref from that snapshot
agent-browser get url           # check the result
agent-browser close

The snapshot for example.com:

- link "Learn more" [ref=e1]

• Refs describe the page at the time of the snapshot. After navigation or a DOM change, take a new snapshot before using refs again.
• CSS selectors, text, XPath, and semantic locators also work, for example agent-browser find role button click --name "Submit". See Selectors.
• A click fails, instead of reporting success, when the target is hidden, disabled, outside the viewport, or covered by another element such as a consent banner. Dismiss the covering element, take a new snapshot, and retry.

The full walkthrough is in the quick start.

#How it works

The CLI sends each command to a background daemon that starts on the first command and controls the browser over the Chrome DevTools Protocol. Each --session gets its own daemon and browser. By default, the daemon closes a headless browser and exits after one hour without commands, saving state first when session persistence is configured.

Chrome for Testing is the default browser. You can also attach to a running Chrome with --cdp or --auto-connect (CDP mode), select the Lightpanda or Obscura engine with --engine, drive Mobile Safari in the iOS Simulator, or use a cloud browser provider such as Browserbase, Browserless, Browser Use, Kernel, or AgentCore.

#For AI agents

The CLI ships skills that match its version:

agent-browser skills get core                 # the core loop, refs, waiting, and common workflows
agent-browser skills get core --ref commands  # one reference, such as the full command list
agent-browser skills get core --full          # adds the full command reference and templates
agent-browser skills list                     # specialized skills: electron, slack, dogfood, and more

Install the discovery skill into an agent harness from skills.sh:

npx skills add vercel-labs/agent-browser

The installed skill is a thin stub that tells the agent to load agent-browser skills get core, so its instructions always match the installed CLI. Or add this to your AGENTS.md:

Use `agent-browser` for browser automation. Before the first use, run
`agent-browser skills get core` and follow it.

For MCP clients, agent-browser mcp starts an MCP server over stdio. See MCP server.

#Commands

Run agent-browser --help for the full list, or agent-browser <command> --help for one command.

Flags, environment variables, and agent-browser.json are documented in Configuration.

#Platforms

Native binaries ship for macOS (ARM64, x64), Linux (ARM64, x64, glibc and musl), and Windows (x64). The npm package picks the right binary for the host.

#Development

Building from source requires Node.js 24 or later, pnpm 11 or later, and Rust:

pnpm install
pnpm build:source               # builds the dashboard and the native CLI
pnpm link --global
agent-browser install

Run the Rust checks from cli/:

cargo fmt -- --check
cargo clippy
cargo test
cargo test e2e -- --ignored --test-threads=1   # launches real headless Chrome

AGENTS.md lists the files to update with each change, the docs checks, and the release process.

#Documentation

• agent-browser.dev: introduction, guides, and reference
• Commands and Configuration
• Security: the auth vault, domain allowlists, action policies, and content boundaries
• Next.js and Vercel and eve: running agent-browser in Vercel Sandbox and eve agents
• Changelog

#License

Apache-2.0