Browser Automation for Sandboxed Agents

This skill is for agents running on sandboxed remote machines (cloud VMs, CI, coding agents) that need to control a headless browser.

Prerequisites

browser-use doctor    # Verify installation

For setup details, see https://github.com/browser-use/browser-use/blob/main/browser_use/skill_cli/README.md

Core Workflow

1. Navigate: browser-use open <url> — starts headless browser if needed
2. Inspect: browser-use state — returns clickable elements with indices
3. Interact: use indices from state (browser-use click 5, browser-use input 3 "text")
4. Verify: browser-use state or browser-use screenshot to confirm
5. Repeat: browser stays open between commands
6. Cleanup: browser-use close when done

Browser Modes

browser-use open <url>                                    # Default: headless Chromium
browser-use cloud connect                                 # Provision cloud browser and connect
browser-use --connect open <url>                          # Auto-discover running Chrome via CDP
browser-use --cdp-url ws://localhost:9222/... open <url>  # Connect via CDP URL

Commands

# Navigation
browser-use open <url>                    # Navigate to URL
browser-use back                          # Go back in history
browser-use scroll down                   # Scroll down (--amount N for pixels)
browser-use scroll up                     # Scroll up
browser-use tab list                      # List all tabs with lock status
browser-use tab new [url]                 # Open a new tab (blank or with URL)
browser-use tab switch <index>            # Switch to tab by index
browser-use tab close <index> [index...]  # Close one or more tabs

# Page State — always run state first to get element indices
browser-use state                         # URL, title, clickable elements with indices
browser-use screenshot [path.png]         # Screenshot (base64 if no path, --full for full page)

# Interactions — use indices from state
browser-use click <index>                 # Click element by index
browser-use click <x> <y>                 # Click at pixel coordinates
browser-use type "text"                   # Type into focused element
browser-use input <index> "text"          # Click element, then type
browser-use keys "Enter"                  # Send keyboard keys (also "Control+a", etc.)
browser-use select <index> "option"       # Select dropdown option
browser-use upload <index> <path>         # Upload file to file input
browser-use hover <index>                 # Hover over element
browser-use dblclick <index>              # Double-click element
browser-use rightclick <index>            # Right-click element

# Data Extraction
browser-use eval "js code"                # Execute JavaScript, return result
browser-use get title                     # Page title
browser-use get html [--selector "h1"]    # Page HTML (or scoped to selector)
browser-use get text <index>              # Element text content
browser-use get value <index>             # Input/textarea value
browser-use get attributes <index>        # Element attributes
browser-use get bbox <index>              # Bounding box (x, y, width, height)

# Wait
browser-use wait selector "css"           # Wait for element (--state visible|hidden|attached|detached, --timeout ms)
browser-use wait text "text"              # Wait for text to appear

# Cookies
browser-use cookies get [--url <url>]     # Get cookies (optionally filtered)
browser-use cookies set <name> <value>    # Set cookie (--domain, --secure, --http-only, --same-site, --expires)
browser-use cookies clear [--url <url>]   # Clear cookies
browser-use cookies export <file>         # Export to JSON
browser-use cookies import <file>         # Import from JSON

# Python — persistent session with browser access
browser-use python "code"                 # Execute Python (variables persist across calls)
browser-use python --file script.py       # Run file
browser-use python --vars                 # Show defined variables
browser-use python --reset                # Clear namespace

# Session
browser-use close                         # Close browser and stop daemon
browser-use sessions                      # List active sessions
browser-use close --all                   # Close all sessions

The Python browser object provides: browser.url, browser.title, browser.html, browser.goto(url), browser.back(), browser.click(index), browser.type(text), browser.input(index, text), browser.keys(keys), browser.upload(index, path), browser.screenshot(path), browser.scroll(direction, amount), browser.wait(seconds).

Tunnels

Expose local dev servers to the browser via Cloudflare tunnels.

browser-use tunnel <port>                 # Start tunnel (idempotent)
browser-use tunnel list                   # Show active tunnels
browser-use tunnel stop <port>            # Stop tunnel
browser-use tunnel stop --all             # Stop all tunnels

Command Chaining

Commands can be chained with &&. The browser persists via the daemon, so chaining is safe and efficient.

browser-use open https://example.com && browser-use state
browser-use input 5 "user@example.com" && browser-use input 6 "password" && browser-use click 7

Chain when you don't need intermediate output. Run separately when you need to parse state to discover indices first.

Common Workflows

Exposing Local Dev Servers

python -m http.server 3000 &                      # Start dev server
browser-use tunnel 3000                            # → https://abc.trycloudflare.com
browser-use open https://abc.trycloudflare.com     # Browse the tunnel

Tunnels are independent of browser sessions and persist across browser-use close.

Multi-Agent (--connect mode)

Multiple agents can share one browser via --connect. Each agent gets its own tab — other agents can't interfere.

Setup: Register once, then pass the index with every --connect command:

INDEX=$(browser-use register)                    # → prints "1"
browser-use --connect $INDEX open <url>          # Navigate in agent's own tab
browser-use --connect $INDEX state               # Get state from agent's tab
browser-use --connect $INDEX click <element>     # Click in agent's tab

• Tab locking: When an agent mutates a tab (click, type, navigate), that tab is locked to it. Other agents get an error if they try to mutate the same tab.
• Read-only access: state, screenshot, get, and wait commands work on any tab regardless of locks.
• Agent sessions expire after 5 minutes of inactivity. Run browser-use register again to get a new index.

Global Options

Option	Description
--headed	Show browser window
--connect	Auto-discover running Chrome via CDP
--cdp-url <url>	Connect via CDP URL (http:// or ws://)
--session NAME	Target a named session (default: "default")
--json	Output as JSON

Tips

1. Always run state first to see available elements and their indices
2. Sessions persist — browser stays open between commands until you close it
3. Tunnels are independent — they persist across browser-use close
4. tunnel is idempotent — calling again for the same port returns the existing URL

Troubleshooting

• Browser won't start? browser-use close then retry. Run browser-use doctor to check.
• Element not found? browser-use scroll down then browser-use state
• Tunnel not working? which cloudflared to check, browser-use tunnel list to see active tunnels

Cleanup

browser-use close                         # Close browser session
browser-use tunnel stop --all             # Stop tunnels (if any)