Chris Tate
4cc6ca40b7
Before this change, the main skill served by the CLI (`agent-browser
skills get agent-browser`) was a ~40-line discovery stub whose content
was essentially "run `agent-browser skills get <name>` before doing
anything." Agents already inside the CLI got no signal from it — the
content they needed to actually use the tool lived only in the `--full`
references.
Split the two jobs apart:
- **`skill-data/core/`** (new) — the runtime usage guide. 420-line
`SKILL.md` covering the snapshot-and-ref loop, common workflows
(login, extract, screenshot, multi-tab, sessions, iframes, dialogs),
waiting strategies, element selection strategies, troubleshooting,
and when to load a specialized skill. Supplementary `references/` and
`templates/` (moved from `skills/agent-browser/`) provide the full
command reference under `--full`.
- **`skills/agent-browser/SKILL.md`** — still the discovery stub that
`npx skills add` installs, now marked `hidden: true` so it stays out
of `skills list` inside the CLI. Body is a clean pointer to
`agent-browser skills get core` and the specialized skills.
The `hidden: true` frontmatter flag is a new, general mechanism: skills
marked hidden are omitted from `skills list` and `skills get --all` but
can still be fetched by explicit name. This keeps the stub reachable
for anyone who installed via `npx skills add` without polluting the
CLI-side skill listing.
## Behavior
```
$ agent-browser skills list
agentcore Run agent-browser on AWS Bedrock AgentCore cloud browsers...
core Core agent-browser usage guide. Read this before running...
dogfood Systematically explore and test a web application...
electron Automate Electron desktop apps (VS Code, Slack, Discord...)
slack Interact with Slack workspaces using browser automation...
vercel-sandbox Run agent-browser + Chrome inside Vercel Sandbox microVMs...
$ agent-browser skills get core # the actual usage guide
# ~420 lines of workflows, patterns, troubleshooting
$ agent-browser skills get agent-browser # still works if called explicitly
# the thin stub, now pointing at `core`
```
External `npx skills add vercel-labs/agent-browser` behavior is
unchanged: it finds and installs the thin `agent-browser` stub, which
tells the agent to run `agent-browser skills get core` for real
content. Version drift protection is preserved — the stub is the only
thing that gets copied; the real content is always runtime-fetched.
## Updated
- `cli/src/skills.rs` — `SkillInfo.hidden: bool`, parsed from
frontmatter; `run_list` and `run_get --all` filter it. 3 new unit
tests for the frontmatter parser.
- `cli/src/output.rs` — top-level `--help` and `skills` subcommand help
reference `skills get core` / `skills get core --full`.
- `AGENTS.md` — "update these files for user-facing features" now
points at `skill-data/core/` instead of the stub, with a note that
the stub is not the right place for feature content.
- `README.md`, `docs/src/app/skills/page.mdx` — describe the new
split and `skills get core --full` as the recommended entry point.
- `evals/cases/{command-usage,skill-selection}.ts` — expect
`skills get core` in agent output instead of `skills get
agent-browser`. Eval lib still reads `skills/agent-browser/SKILL.md`
(simulating what an agent sees after `npx skills add`).
All 11 skills unit tests pass. `cargo clippy -- -D warnings` and
`cargo fmt --check` clean. Verified end-to-end: `skills list` shows
`core` + specialized (no stub), `skills get core` returns the new
content, `skills get agent-browser` still returns the stub on explicit
request.
13 KiB
13 KiB
Command Reference
Complete reference for all agent-browser commands. For quick start and common patterns, see SKILL.md.
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 click @e1 --new-tab # Click and open in new tab
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 cdp-url # Get CDP WebSocket 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 and PDF
agent-browser screenshot # Save to temporary directory
agent-browser screenshot path.png # Save to specific path
agent-browser screenshot --full # Full page
agent-browser pdf output.pdf # Save as PDF
Video Recording
agent-browser record start ./demo.webm # Start recording
agent-browser click @e1 # Perform actions
agent-browser record stop # Stop and save video
agent-browser record restart ./take2.webm # Stop current + start new
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 viewport 1920 1080 2 # 2x retina (same CSS size, higher res screenshots)
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 and 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 and Windows
agent-browser tab # List tabs with tabId and label
agent-browser tab new [url] # New tab
agent-browser tab new --label docs [url] # New tab with a memorable label
agent-browser tab t2 # Switch to tab by id
agent-browser tab docs # Switch to tab by label
agent-browser tab close # Close current tab
agent-browser tab close t2 # Close tab by id
agent-browser tab close docs # Close tab by label
agent-browser window new # New window
Tab ids are stable strings of the form t1, t2, t3. They're never reused
within a session, so the same id keeps referring to the same tab across
commands. Positional integers are not accepted — tab 2 errors with a
teaching message; use t2.
User-assigned labels (docs, app, admin) are interchangeable with ids
everywhere a tab ref is accepted. Labels are the agent-friendly way to write
multi-tab workflows:
agent-browser tab new --label docs https://docs.example.com
agent-browser tab new --label app https://app.example.com
agent-browser tab docs # switch to docs
agent-browser snapshot # populate refs for docs
agent-browser click @e1 # ref click on docs
agent-browser tab app # switch to app
agent-browser tab close docs # close by label
Labels are never auto-generated, never rewritten on navigation, and must be
unique within a session. To interact with another tab, switch to it first:
the daemon maintains a single active tab, so refs (@eN) belong to the tab
that was active when the snapshot ran.
Frames
agent-browser frame "#iframe" # Switch to iframe by CSS selector
agent-browser frame @e3 # Switch to iframe by element ref
agent-browser frame main # Back to main frame
Iframe support
Iframes are detected automatically during snapshots. When the main-frame snapshot runs, Iframe nodes are resolved and their content is inlined beneath the iframe element in the output (one level of nesting; iframes within iframes are not expanded).
agent-browser snapshot -i
# @e3 [Iframe] "payment-frame"
# @e4 [input] "Card number"
# @e5 [button] "Pay"
# Interact directly — refs inside iframes already work
agent-browser fill @e4 "4111111111111111"
agent-browser click @e5
# Or switch frame context for scoped snapshots
agent-browser frame @e3 # Switch using element ref
agent-browser snapshot -i # Snapshot scoped to that iframe
agent-browser frame main # Return to main frame
The frame command accepts:
- Element refs —
frame @e3resolves the ref to an iframe element - CSS selectors —
frame "#payment-iframe"finds the iframe by selector - Frame name/URL — matches against the browser's frame tree
Dialogs
By default, alert and beforeunload dialogs are automatically accepted so they never block the agent. confirm and prompt dialogs still require explicit handling. Use --no-auto-dialog to disable this behavior.
agent-browser dialog accept [text] # Accept dialog
agent-browser dialog dismiss # Dismiss dialog
agent-browser dialog status # Check if a dialog is currently open
JavaScript
agent-browser eval "document.title" # Simple expressions only
agent-browser eval -b "<base64>" # Any JavaScript (base64 encoded)
agent-browser eval --stdin # Read script from stdin
Use -b/--base64 or --stdin for reliable execution. Shell escaping with nested quotes and special characters is error-prone.
# Base64 encode your script, then:
agent-browser eval -b "ZG9jdW1lbnQucXVlcnlTZWxlY3RvcignW3NyYyo9Il9uZXh0Il0nKQ=="
# Or use stdin with heredoc for multiline scripts:
cat <<'EOF' | agent-browser eval --stdin
const links = document.querySelectorAll('a');
Array.from(links).map(a => a.href);
EOF
State Management
agent-browser state save auth.json # Save cookies, storage, auth state
agent-browser state load auth.json # Restore saved state
Global Options
agent-browser --session <name> ... # Isolated browser session
agent-browser --json ... # JSON output for parsing
agent-browser --headed ... # Show browser window (not headless)
agent-browser --full ... # Full page screenshot (-f)
agent-browser --cdp <port> ... # Connect via Chrome DevTools Protocol
agent-browser -p <provider> ... # Cloud browser provider (--provider)
agent-browser --proxy <url> ... # Use proxy server
agent-browser --proxy-bypass <hosts> # Hosts to bypass proxy
agent-browser --headers <json> ... # HTTP headers scoped to URL's origin
agent-browser --executable-path <p> # Custom browser executable
agent-browser --extension <path> ... # Load browser extension (repeatable)
agent-browser --ignore-https-errors # Ignore SSL certificate errors
agent-browser --help # Show help (-h)
agent-browser --version # Show version (-V)
agent-browser <command> --help # Show detailed help for a command
Debugging
agent-browser --headed open example.com # Show browser window
agent-browser --cdp 9222 snapshot # Connect via CDP port
agent-browser connect 9222 # Alternative: connect command
agent-browser console # View console messages
agent-browser console --clear # Clear console
agent-browser errors # View page errors
agent-browser errors --clear # Clear errors
agent-browser highlight @e1 # Highlight element
agent-browser inspect # Open Chrome DevTools for this session
agent-browser trace start # Start recording trace
agent-browser trace stop trace.zip # Stop and save trace
agent-browser profiler start # Start Chrome DevTools profiling
agent-browser profiler stop trace.json # Stop and save profile
Environment Variables
AGENT_BROWSER_SESSION="mysession" # Default session name
AGENT_BROWSER_EXECUTABLE_PATH="/path/chrome" # Custom browser path
AGENT_BROWSER_EXTENSIONS="/ext1,/ext2" # Comma-separated extension paths
AGENT_BROWSER_PROVIDER="browserbase" # Cloud browser provider
AGENT_BROWSER_STREAM_PORT="9223" # Override WebSocket streaming port (default: OS-assigned)
AGENT_BROWSER_HOME="/path/to/agent-browser" # Custom install location