Browser Use
# Browser Use — Autonomous Browser Automation
Two complementary tools for browser automation:
| Tool | Best for | How it works |
|------|----------|-------------|
| **agent-browser** | Step-by-step control, scraping, form filling | CLI commands, you drive each action |
| **browser-use** | Complex autonomous tasks | Python agent that decides actions itself |
## Quick Start
### agent-browser (recommended for most tasks)
```bash
# Navigate and inspect
agent-browser open "https://example.com"
agent-browser snapshot -i # Get interactive elements with @refs
# Interact using refs
agent-browser click @e3 # Click element
agent-browser fill @e2 "text" # Fill input (clears first)
agent-browser press Enter # Press key
# Extract data
agent-browser get text @e1 # Get element text
agent-browser get attr @e1 href # Get attribute
agent-browser screenshot /tmp/p.png # Screenshot
# Done
agent-browser close
```
### browser-use (autonomous agent)
```bash
# Run a full autonomous browsing task
browser-use-agent "Find the pricing for Notion and compare plans"
```
The agent will navigate, click, read pages, and return a structured result.
## agent-browser — Full Reference
### Navigation
```bash
agent-browser open <url> # Navigate to URL
agent-browser back # Go back
agent-browser forward # Go forward
agent-browser reload # Reload page
agent-browser close # Close browser
```
### Snapshot (page analysis)
```bash
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
agent-browser snapshot -i --json # JSON output for parsing
```
### Interactions (use @refs from snapshot)
```bash
agent-browser click @e1 # Click
agent-browser dblclick @e1 # Double-click
agent-browser fill @e2 "text" # Clear and type (use this for inputs)
agent-browser type @e2 "text" # Type without clearing
agent-browser press Enter # Press key
agent-browser press Control+a # Key combination
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 scroll down 500 # Scroll page
agent-browser scrollintoview @e1 # Scroll element into view
agent-browser drag @e1 @e2 # Drag and drop
agent-browser upload @e1 file.pdf # Upload files
```
### Extract Data
```bash
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 # Page title
agent-browser get url # Current URL
agent-browser get count ".item" # Count matching elements
```
### Wait
```bash
agent-browser wait @e1 # Wait for element
agent-browser wait 2000 # Wait milliseconds
agent-browser wait --text "Done" # Wait for text to appear
agent-browser wait --url "/dash" # Wait for URL pattern
agent-browser wait --load networkidle # Wait for network idle
```
### Screenshots, PDF & Recording
```bash
agent-browser screenshot path.png # Save screenshot
agent-browser screenshot --full # Full page screenshot
agent-browser pdf output.pdf # Save as PDF
agent-browser record start ./demo.webm # Start recording
agent-browser record stop # Stop and save
```
### Sessions (parallel browsers)
```bash
agent-browser --session s1 open "https://site1.com"
agent-browser --session s2 open "https://site2.com"
agent-browser session list
```
### State (persist auth/cookies)
```bash
agent-browser state save auth.json # Save session (cookies, storage)
agent-browser state load auth.json # Restore session
```
### Cookies & Storage
```bash
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 set k v # Set value
```
### Tabs & Frames
```bash
agent-browser tab # List tabs
agent-browser tab new [url] # New tab
agent-browser tab 2 # Switch to tab
agent-browser frame "#iframe" # Switch to iframe
agent-browser frame main # Back to main frame
```
### Browser Settings
```bash
agent-browser set viewport 1920 1080
agent-browser set device "iPhone 14"
agent-browser set geo 37.7749 -122.4194
agent-browser set offline on
agent-browser set media dark
```
### JavaScript
```bash
agent-browser eval "document.title" # Run JS in page context
```
## browser-use — Autonomous Agent
For complex tasks where you want the agent to figure out the browsing steps:
```bash
browser-use-agent "Your task description here"
```
### Custom Script (advanced)
```python
# Run via: /opt/browser-use/bin/python3 script.py
import asyncio, os
from browser_use import Agent, Browser
from langchain_anthropic import ChatAnthropic
async def run():
browser = Browser()
llm = ChatAnthropic(
model='claude-sonnet-4-20250514',
api_key=os.environ['ANTHROPIC_API_KEY']
)
agent = Agent(
task="Compare pricing on 3 competitor sites",
llm=llm,
browser=browser,
)
result = await agent.run(max_steps=15)
await browser.close()
return result
asyncio.run(run())
```
You can swap the LLM for any langchain-compatible model (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc).
## Standard Workflow
```bash
# 1. Open page
agent-browser open "https://example.com"
# 2. Snapshot to see what's on the page
agent-browser snapshot -i
# 3. Interact with elements using @refs from snapshot
agent-browser fill @e1 "search query"
agent-browser click @e2
# 4. Wait for new page to load
agent-browser wait --load networkidle
# 5. Re-snapshot (refs change after navigation!)
agent-browser snapshot -i
# 6. Extract what you need
agent-browser get text @e5
# 7. Close when done
agent-browser close
```
## Important Rules
1. **Always `snapshot -i` after navigation** — refs change on every page load
2. **Use `fill` not `type`** for inputs — fill clears existing text first
3. **Wait after clicks that trigger navigation** — `wait --load networkidle`
4. **Close the browser when done** — `agent-browser close`
5. **Google/Bing block headless browsers** (CAPTCHA) — use DuckDuckGo or `web_search` instead
6. **Save auth state** for sites requiring login — `state save/load`
7. **Use `--json`** when you need machine-parseable output
8. **Use sessions** for parallel browsing — `--session <name>`
## Troubleshooting
- **Element not found**: Re-run `snapshot -i` to get current refs
- **Page not loaded**: Add `wait --load networkidle` after navigation
- **CAPTCHA on search engines**: Use DuckDuckGo or the `web_search` tool instead
- **Auth expired**: Re-login and `state save` again
- **Display errors**: The install script sets up Xvfb for headless rendering
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ai
