---
name: agent-browser
description: Browser automation CLI for AI agents. Use when the user needs to interact with websites, including navigating pages, filling forms, clicking buttons, taking screenshots, extracting data, testing web apps, or automating any browser task. Triggers include requests to "open a website", "fill out a form", "click a button", "take a screenshot", "scrape data from a page", "test this web app", "login to a site", "automate browser actions", or any task requiring programmatic web interaction.
allowed-tools: Bash(npx agent-browser:*), Bash(agent-browser:*)
---

# Browser Automation with agent-browser

The CLI uses Chrome/Chromium via CDP directly. Install via `npm i -g agent-browser`, `brew install agent-browser`, or `cargo install agent-browser`. Run `agent-browser install` to download Chrome. Existing Chrome, Brave, Playwright, and Puppeteer installations are detected automatically. Run `agent-browser upgrade` to update to the latest version.

## Core Workflow

Every browser automation follows this pattern:

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

```bash
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 2000
agent-browser snapshot -i  # Check result
```

## Command Chaining

Commands can be chained with `&&` in a single shell invocation. The browser persists between commands via a background daemon, so chaining is safe and more efficient than separate calls.

```bash
# Chain open + snapshot in one call (open already waits for page load)
agent-browser open https://example.com && agent-browser snapshot -i

# Chain multiple interactions
agent-browser fill @e1 "user@example.com" && agent-browser fill @e2 "password123" && agent-browser click @e3

# Navigate and capture
agent-browser open https://example.com && agent-browser screenshot
```

**When to chain:** Use `&&` when you don't need to read the output of an intermediate command before proceeding (e.g., open + wait + screenshot). Run commands separately when you need to parse the output first (e.g., snapshot to discover refs, then interact using those refs).

## Batch Execution

ALWAYS use `batch` when running 2+ commands in sequence. Batch executes commands in order, so dependent commands (like navigate then screenshot) work correctly. Each quoted argument is a separate command.

```bash
# Navigate and take a snapshot
agent-browser batch "open https://example.com" "snapshot -i"

# Navigate, snapshot, and screenshot in one call
agent-browser batch "open https://example.com" "snapshot -i" "screenshot"

# Click, wait, then screenshot
agent-browser batch "click @e1" "wait 1000" "screenshot"
```

## Essential Commands

```bash
# Navigation
agent-browser open <url>              # Navigate (aliases: goto, navigate)
agent-browser close                   # Close browser

# Snapshot
agent-browser snapshot -i             # Interactive elements with refs (recommended)
agent-browser snapshot -i --urls      # Include href URLs for links

# Interaction (use @refs from snapshot)
agent-browser click @e1               # Click element
agent-browser fill @e2 "text"         # Clear and type text
agent-browser select @e1 "option"     # Select dropdown option
agent-browser press Enter             # Press key
agent-browser scroll down 500         # Scroll page

# Capture
agent-browser screenshot              # Screenshot to temp dir
agent-browser screenshot --full       # Full page screenshot
agent-browser screenshot --annotate   # Annotated screenshot with numbered element labels
agent-browser pdf output.pdf          # Save as PDF

# Wait
agent-browser wait @e1                # Wait for element
agent-browser wait 2000               # Wait milliseconds
agent-browser wait --url "**/page"    # Wait for URL pattern
agent-browser wait --text "Welcome"   # Wait for text to appear
```

## Authentication

```bash
# Save credentials once (encrypted)
echo "pass" | agent-browser auth save myapp --url https://example.com/login --username user --password-stdin

# Login using saved profile
agent-browser auth login myapp

# Import auth from running Chrome (already logged in)
agent-browser --auto-connect state save ./auth.json
agent-browser --state ./auth.json open https://app.example.com/dashboard

# Reuse Chrome profile
agent-browser --profile Default open https://app.example.com
```

## Session Management

```bash
# Named sessions for concurrent automation
agent-browser --session site1 open https://site-a.com
agent-browser --session site2 open https://site-b.com

# Close when done
agent-browser close --all
```

## Security

```bash
# Content boundaries (recommended for AI agents)
export AGENT_BROWSER_CONTENT_BOUNDARIES=1

# Domain allowlist
export AGENT_BROWSER_ALLOWED_DOMAINS="example.com,*.example.com"

# Output limits
export AGENT_BROWSER_MAX_OUTPUT=50000
```

## Ref Lifecycle

Refs (`@e1`, `@e2`, etc.) are invalidated when the page changes. Always re-snapshot after clicking links, form submissions, or dynamic content loading.