Browserbase
by @pkiv
Automate web browser interactions using natural language via CLI commands. Use when the user asks to browse websites, navigate web pages, extract data from w...
clawhub install browseπ About This Skill
name: browser description: Automate web browser interactions using natural language via CLI commands. Use when the user asks to browse websites, navigate web pages, extract data from websites, take screenshots, fill forms, click buttons, or interact with web applications. Supports remote Browserbase sessions with automatic CAPTCHA solving, anti-bot stealth mode, and residential proxies β ideal for scraping protected websites, bypassing bot detection, and interacting with JavaScript-heavy pages. compatibility: "Requires the browse CLI (
npm install -g @browserbasehq/browse-cli). Optional: set BROWSERBASE_API_KEY and BROWSERBASE_PROJECT_ID for remote Browserbase sessions; falls back to local Chrome otherwise."
license: MIT
allowed-tools: Bash
metadata:
openclaw:
requires:
bins:
- browse
install:
- kind: node
package: "@browserbasehq/browse-cli"
bins: [browse]
homepage: https://github.com/browserbase/skills
Browser Automation
Automate browser interactions using the browse CLI with Claude.
Setup check
Before running any browser commands, verify the CLI is available:
which browse || npm install -g @browserbasehq/browse-cli
Environment Selection (Local vs Remote)
The CLI automatically selects between local and remote browser environments based on available configuration:
Local mode (default)
Remote mode (Browserbase)
BROWSERBASE_API_KEY and BROWSERBASE_PROJECT_ID are setWhen to choose which
Commands
All commands work identically in both modes. The daemon auto-starts on first command.
Navigation
browse open # Go to URL (aliases: goto)
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 β 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 and press Enter
browse select # Select dropdown option(s)
browse press # Press key (Enter, Tab, Escape, Cmd+A, etc.)
browse drag # Drag from one point to another
browse 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 (includes env)
browse env # Show current environment (local or remote)
browse env local # Switch to local Chrome
browse env remote # Switch to Browserbase (requires API keys)
browse pages # List all open tabs
browse tab_switch # Switch to tab by index
browse tab_close [index] # Close tab
Typical workflow
1.browse open β navigate to the page
2. browse snapshot β read the accessibility tree to understand page structure and get element refs
3. browse click / browse type / browse fill β interact using refs from snapshot
4. browse snapshot β confirm the action worked
5. Repeat 3-4 as needed
6. browse stop β close the browser when doneQuick 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 | | Stealth mode | No | Yes (custom Chromium, anti-bot fingerprinting) | | CAPTCHA solving | No | Yes (automatic reCAPTCHA/hCaptcha) | | Residential proxies | No | Yes (201 countries, geo-targeting) | | Session persistence | No | Yes (cookies/auth persist across sessions) | | Best for | Development/simple pages | Protected sites, bot detection, production scraping |
Best Practices
1. Always browse open first before interacting
2. Use browse snapshot to check page state β it's fast and gives you element refs
3. Only screenshot when visual context is needed (layout checks, images, debugging)
4. Use refs from snapshot to click/interact β e.g., browse click @0-5
5. browse stop when done to clean up the browser session
Troubleshooting
browse stop, then check browse status. If it still says running, kill the zombie daemon with pkill -f "browse.*daemon", then retry browse openbrowse env remotebrowse snapshot to see available elements and their refsSwitching 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 env remote # switch to Browserbase
browse env local # switch back to local Chrome
The switch is sticky until you run browse stop or switch again.
For detailed examples, see EXAMPLES.md. For API reference, see REFERENCE.md.
π Tips & Best Practices
1. Always browse open first before interacting
2. Use browse snapshot to check page state β it's fast and gives you element refs
3. Only screenshot when visual context is needed (layout checks, images, debugging)
4. Use refs from snapshot to click/interact β e.g., browse click @0-5
5. browse stop when done to clean up the browser session