Expand tilde in profile path to home directory

Adds support for persistent browser profiles that preserve cookies,
localStorage, and login sessions across browser restarts.

Changes:
- Add --profile <path> CLI flag (flags.rs)
- Add AGENT_BROWSER_PROFILE environment variable support
- Add profile field to LaunchCommand type (types.ts)
- Use launchPersistentContext when profile is specified (browser.ts)
- Update help text and README with documentation

Usage:
  agent-browser --profile ~/.myapp-profile open myapp.com

This enables AI agents to maintain authenticated sessions across
browser restarts without re-authenticating each time.

README.md

@@ -270,6 +270,30 @@ Each session has its own:
 - Navigation history
 - Authentication state
 
+## Persistent Profiles
+
+By default, browser state (cookies, localStorage, login sessions) is ephemeral and lost when the browser closes. Use `--profile` to persist state across browser restarts:
+
+```bash
+# Use a persistent profile directory
+agent-browser --profile ~/.myapp-profile open myapp.com
+
+# Login once, then reuse the authenticated session
+agent-browser --profile ~/.myapp-profile open myapp.com/dashboard
+
+# Or via environment variable
+AGENT_BROWSER_PROFILE=~/.myapp-profile agent-browser open myapp.com
+```
+
+The profile directory stores:
+- Cookies and localStorage
+- IndexedDB data
+- Service workers
+- Browser cache
+- Login sessions
+
+**Tip**: Use different profile paths for different projects to keep their browser state isolated.
+
 ## Snapshot Options
 
 The `snapshot` command supports filtering to reduce output size:
@@ -295,6 +319,7 @@ agent-browser snapshot -i -c -d 5         # Combine options
 | Option | Description |
 |--------|-------------|
 | `--session <name>` | Use isolated session (or `AGENT_BROWSER_SESSION` env) |
+| `--profile <path>` | Persistent browser profile directory (or `AGENT_BROWSER_PROFILE` env) |
 | `--headers <json>` | Set HTTP headers scoped to the URL's origin |
 | `--executable-path <path>` | Custom browser executable (or `AGENT_BROWSER_EXECUTABLE_PATH` env) |
 | `--json` | JSON output (for agents) |

cli/src/flags.rs

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ pub struct Flags {
     pub executable_path: Option<String>,
     pub cdp: Option<String>,
     pub extensions: Vec<String>,
+    pub profile: Option<String>,
 }
 
 pub fn parse_flags(args: &[String]) -> Flags {
@@ -28,6 +29,7 @@ pub fn parse_flags(args: &[String]) -> Flags {
         executable_path: env::var("AGENT_BROWSER_EXECUTABLE_PATH").ok(),
         cdp: None,
         extensions: extensions_env,
+        profile: env::var("AGENT_BROWSER_PROFILE").ok(),
     };
 
     let mut i = 0;
@@ -67,6 +69,12 @@ pub fn parse_flags(args: &[String]) -> Flags {
                     i += 1;
                 }
             }
+            "--profile" => {
+                if let Some(s) = args.get(i + 1) {
+                    flags.profile = Some(s.clone());
+                    i += 1;
+                }
+            }
             _ => {}
         }
         i += 1;
@@ -81,7 +89,7 @@ pub fn clean_args(args: &[String]) -> Vec<String> {
     // Global flags that should be stripped from command args
     const GLOBAL_FLAGS: &[&str] = &["--json", "--full", "--headed", "--debug"];
     // Global flags that take a value (need to skip the next arg too)
-    const GLOBAL_FLAGS_WITH_VALUE: &[&str] = &["--session", "--headers", "--executable-path", "--cdp", "--extension"];
+    const GLOBAL_FLAGS_WITH_VALUE: &[&str] = &["--session", "--headers", "--executable-path", "--cdp", "--extension", "--profile"];
 
     for arg in args.iter() {
         if skip_next {

cli/src/main.rs

@@ -161,8 +161,8 @@ fn main() {
         }
     };
 
-    // Warn if executable_path was specified but daemon was already running
-    if daemon_result.already_running && (flags.executable_path.is_some() || !flags.extensions.is_empty()) {
+    // Warn if executable_path, profile, or extensions were specified but daemon was already running
+    if daemon_result.already_running && (flags.executable_path.is_some() || !flags.extensions.is_empty() || flags.profile.is_some()) {
         if !flags.json {
             if flags.executable_path.is_some() {
                 eprintln!("\x1b[33m⚠\x1b[0m --executable-path ignored: daemon already running. Use 'agent-browser close' first to restart with new path.");
@@ -170,6 +170,9 @@ fn main() {
             if !flags.extensions.is_empty() {
                 eprintln!("\x1b[33m⚠\x1b[0m --extension ignored: daemon already running. Use 'agent-browser close' first to restart with extensions.");
             }
+            if flags.profile.is_some() {
+                eprintln!("\x1b[33m⚠\x1b[0m --profile ignored: daemon already running. Use 'agent-browser close' first to restart with profile.");
+            }
         }
     }
 
@@ -229,16 +232,22 @@ fn main() {
     }
 
     // Launch headed browser if --headed flag is set (without CDP)
-    if flags.headed && flags.cdp.is_none() {
-        let launch_cmd = json!({
+    // Also launch with profile if --profile is set
+    if (flags.headed || flags.profile.is_some()) && flags.cdp.is_none() {
+        let mut launch_cmd = json!({
             "id": gen_id(),
             "action": "launch",
-            "headless": false
+            "headless": !flags.headed
         });
 
+        // Add profile path if specified
+        if let Some(ref profile_path) = flags.profile {
+            launch_cmd["profile"] = json!(profile_path);
+        }
+
         if let Err(e) = send_command(launch_cmd, &flags.session) {
             if !flags.json {
-                eprintln!("\x1b[33m⚠\x1b[0m Could not launch headed browser: {}", e);
+                eprintln!("\x1b[33m⚠\x1b[0m Could not launch browser: {}", e);
             }
         }
     }

cli/src/output.rs

@@ -1189,6 +1189,7 @@ Snapshot Options:
 
 Options:
   --session <name>           Isolated session (or AGENT_BROWSER_SESSION env)
+  --profile <path>           Persistent browser profile (or AGENT_BROWSER_PROFILE env)
   --headers <json>           HTTP headers scoped to URL's origin (for auth)
   --executable-path <path>   Custom browser executable (or AGENT_BROWSER_EXECUTABLE_PATH)
   --extension <path>         Load browser extensions (repeatable).
@@ -1207,6 +1208,7 @@ Examples:
   agent-browser get text @e1
   agent-browser screenshot --full
   agent-browser --cdp 9222 snapshot      # Connect via CDP port
+  agent-browser --profile ~/.myapp open example.com  # Persistent profile
 "#
     );
 }

src/browser.ts

@@ -609,11 +609,16 @@ export class BrowserManager {
   async launch(options: LaunchCommand): Promise<void> {
     const cdpPort = options.cdpPort;
     const hasExtensions = !!options.extensions?.length;
+    const hasProfile = !!options.profile;
 
     if (hasExtensions && cdpPort) {
       throw new Error('Extensions cannot be used with CDP connection');
     }
 
+    if (hasProfile && cdpPort) {
+      throw new Error('Profile cannot be used with CDP connection');
+    }
+
     if (this.isLaunched()) {
       const needsRelaunch =
         (!cdpPort && this.cdpPort !== null) || (!!cdpPort && this.needsCdpReconnect(cdpPort));
@@ -640,6 +645,7 @@ export class BrowserManager {
 
     let context: BrowserContext;
     if (hasExtensions) {
+      // Extensions require persistent context in a temp directory
       const extPaths = options.extensions!.join(',');
       const session = process.env.AGENT_BROWSER_SESSION || 'default';
       context = await launcher.launchPersistentContext(
@@ -653,7 +659,19 @@ export class BrowserManager {
         }
       );
       this.isPersistentContext = true;
+    } else if (hasProfile) {
+      // Profile uses persistent context for durable cookies/storage
+      // Expand ~ to home directory since it won't be shell-expanded
+      const profilePath = options.profile!.replace(/^~\//, os.homedir() + '/');
+      context = await launcher.launchPersistentContext(profilePath, {
+        headless: options.headless ?? true,
+        executablePath: options.executablePath,
+        viewport,
+        extraHTTPHeaders: options.headers,
+      });
+      this.isPersistentContext = true;
     } else {
+      // Regular ephemeral browser
       this.browser = await launcher.launch({
         headless: options.headless ?? true,
         executablePath: options.executablePath,

src/types.ts

@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ export interface LaunchCommand extends BaseCommand {
   executablePath?: string;
   cdpPort?: number;
   extensions?: string[];
+  profile?: string; // Path to persistent browser profile directory
 }
 
 export interface NavigateCommand extends BaseCommand {