browser

by browserbase

Browser automation with local Chrome or remote Browserbase for protected sites, bot detection, and CAPTCHAs. Two modes: local Chrome (default, no setup) or remote Browserbase (anti-bot stealth, automatic CAPTCHA solving, residential proxies, session persistence) Core commands cover navigation, page inspection, interaction (click, type, fill, select, drag), and session management via CLI Use browse snapshot to read the accessibility tree and get element refs for reliable interactions; reserve... npx skills add https://github.com/browserbase/skills --skill browser Download ZIPGitHub3.6k

Browser Automation

Automate browser interactions using the browse CLI with Claude.

Environment Selection (Local vs Remote)

The CLI supports explicit per-command environment flags. If you do nothing, the next session defaults to Browserbase when BROWSERBASE_API_KEY is set and to local otherwise.

Local mode

• browse open <url> --local starts a clean isolated local browser

• browse open <url> --auto-connect attaches to an already-running debuggable Chrome; use --local when no debuggable Chrome is available

• browse open <url> --cdp <port|url> attaches to a specific CDP target

• Best for: development, localhost, trusted sites, and reproducible runs

Remote mode (Browserbase)

• browse open <url> --remote starts a Browserbase session

• Without a local flag, Browserbase is also the default when BROWSERBASE_API_KEY is set

• Provides: Browserbase Identity, Verified browsers, automatic CAPTCHA solving, residential proxies, session persistence

• Use remote mode when: the target site has bot detection, CAPTCHAs, IP rate limiting, Cloudflare protection, or requires geo-specific access

• Get credentials at https://browserbase.com/settings

When to choose which

• Repeatable local testing / clean state: browse open <url> --local

• Reuse your local login/cookies: browse open <url> --auto-connect

• Simple browsing (docs, wikis, public APIs): local mode is fine

• Protected sites (login walls, CAPTCHAs, anti-scraping): use remote mode

• If local mode fails with bot detection or access denied: switch to remote mode

Commands

Most driver commands work across local, remote, and CDP sessions after the daemon starts.

Navigation

browse open # Go to URL
browse open --local # Go to URL in a clean local browser
browse open --remote # Go to URL in a Browserbase session
browse reload # Reload current page
browse back # Go back in history
browse forward # Go forward in history

Page state (prefer snapshot over screenshot)

browse snapshot # Get accessibility tree with element refs (fast, structured)
browse screenshot --path # Take visual screenshot (slow, uses vision tokens)
browse get url # Get current URL
browse get title # Get page title
browse get text # Get text content (use "body" for all text)
browse get html # Get HTML content of element
browse get value # Get form field value

Use browse snapshot as your default for understanding page state — it returns the accessibility tree with element refs you can use to interact. Only use browse screenshot when you need visual context (layout, images, debugging).

Interaction

browse click # Click element by ref from snapshot (e.g., @0-5)
browse type # Type text into focused element
browse fill # Fill input; add --press-enter if Enter is needed
browse select # Select dropdown option(s)
browse press # Press key (Enter, Tab, Escape, Cmd+A, etc.)
browse mouse drag # Drag from one point to another
browse mouse scroll # Scroll at coordinates
browse highlight # Highlight element on page
browse is visible # Check if element is visible
browse is checked # Check if element is checked
browse wait [arg] # Wait for: load, selector, timeout

Session management

browse stop # Stop the browser daemon
browse status # Check daemon status and resolved mode
browse tab list # List all open tabs
browse tab switch # Switch to tab by index or target ID
browse tab close [index-or-target-id] # Close tab

Typical workflow

If the environment matters, put --local, --remote, --auto-connect, or --cdp <port|url> on the first browser command.

• browse open <url> --local or browse open <url> --remote — navigate to the page

• browse snapshot — read the accessibility tree to understand page structure and get element refs

• browse click <ref> / browse type <text> / browse fill <selector> <value> — interact using refs from snapshot

• browse snapshot — confirm the action worked

• Repeat 3-4 as needed

• browse stop — close the browser when done

Quick Example

browse open https://example.com
browse snapshot # see page structure + element refs
browse click @0-5 # click element with ref 0-5
browse get title
browse stop

Mode Comparison

Feature Local Browserbase Speed Faster Slightly slower Setup Chrome required API key required Reuse existing local cookies With browse open <url> --auto-connect N/A Verified browser No Yes (Browserbase Verified browser via Identity) CAPTCHA solving No Yes (automatic reCAPTCHA/hCaptcha) Residential proxies No Yes (201 countries, geo-targeting) Session persistence No Yes (cookies/auth persist via contexts) Best for Development/simple pages Protected sites, Browserbase Identity + Verified access, production scraping

Best Practices

• Choose the local strategy deliberately: use browse open <url> --local for clean state, browse open <url> --auto-connect for existing local credentials, and browse open <url> --remote for protected sites

• Always browse open first before interacting

• Use browse snapshot to check page state — it's fast and gives you element refs

• Only screenshot when visual context is needed (layout checks, images, debugging)

• Use refs from snapshot to click/interact — e.g., browse click @0-5

• browse stop when done to clean up the browser session and clear the env override

Switching to Remote Mode

Switch to remote when you detect: CAPTCHAs (reCAPTCHA, hCaptcha, Turnstile), bot detection pages ("Checking your browser..."), HTTP 403/429, empty pages on sites that should have content, or the user asks for it.

Don't switch for simple sites (docs, wikis, public APIs, localhost).

browse open --local # clean isolated local browser
browse open --auto-connect # attach to existing debuggable Chrome
browse open --remote # Browserbase session

Mode flags are applied when a session starts. After browse stop, the next start falls back to env-var-based auto detection. Use browse status to inspect the resolved mode and target while the daemon is running.

For detailed examples, see EXAMPLES.md. For API reference, see REFERENCE.md.