Agent Browser

Browser Automation with agent-browser

Quick start

agent-browser open <url>        # Navigate to page
agent-browser snapshot -i       # Get interactive elements with refs
agent-browser click @e1         # Click element by ref
agent-browser fill @e2 "text"   # Fill input by ref
agent-browser close             # Close browser

Core workflow

1. Navigate: agent-browser open <url> 2. Snapshot: agent-browser snapshot -i (returns elements with refs like @e1, @e2) 3. Interact using refs from the snapshot 4. Re-snapshot after navigation or significant DOM changes

Commands

Navigation

agent-browser open <url>      # Navigate to URL (aliases: goto, navigate)
                              # Supports: https://, http://, file://, about:, data://
                              # Auto-prepends https:// if no protocol given
agent-browser back            # Go back
agent-browser forward         # Go forward
agent-browser reload          # Reload page
agent-browser close           # Close browser (aliases: quit, exit)
agent-browser connect 9222    # Connect to browser via CDP port

Snapshot (page analysis)

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

Interactions (use @refs from snapshot)

agent-browser click @e1           # Click
agent-browser dblclick @e1        # Double-click
agent-browser focus @e1           # Focus element
agent-browser fill @e2 "text"     # Clear and type
agent-browser type @e2 "text"     # Type without clearing
agent-browser press Enter         # Press key (alias: key)
agent-browser press Control+a     # Key combination
agent-browser keydown Shift       # Hold key down
agent-browser keyup Shift         # Release key
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 select @e1 "a" "b"  # Select multiple options
agent-browser scroll down 500     # Scroll page (default: down 300px)
agent-browser scrollintoview @e1  # Scroll element into view (alias: scrollinto)
agent-browser drag @e1 @e2        # Drag and drop
agent-browser upload @e1 file.pdf # Upload files

Get information

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           # Get page title
agent-browser get url             # Get current URL
agent-browser get count ".item"   # Count matching elements
agent-browser get box @e1         # Get bounding box
agent-browser get styles @e1      # Get computed styles (font, color, bg, etc.)

Check state

agent-browser is visible @e1      # Check if visible
agent-browser is enabled @e1      # Check if enabled
agent-browser is checked @e1      # Check if checked

Screenshots & PDF

agent-browser screenshot          # Save to a temporary directory
agent-browser screenshot path.png # Save to a specific path
agent-browser screenshot --full   # Full page
agent-browser pdf output.pdf      # Save as PDF

Video recording

agent-browser record start ./demo.webm    # Start recording (uses current URL + state)
agent-browser click @e1                   # Perform actions
agent-browser record stop                 # Stop and save video
agent-browser record restart ./take2.webm # Stop current + start new recording

Recording creates a fresh context but preserves cookies/storage from your session. If no URL is provided, it automatically returns to your current page. For smooth demos, explore first, then start recording.

Wait

agent-browser wait @e1                     # Wait for element
agent-browser wait 2000                    # Wait milliseconds
agent-browser wait --text "Success"        # Wait for text (or -t)
agent-browser wait --url "**/dashboard"    # Wait for URL pattern (or -u)
agent-browser wait --load networkidle      # Wait for network idle (or -l)
agent-browser wait --fn "window.ready"     # Wait for JS condition (or -f)

Mouse control

agent-browser mouse move 100 200      # Move mouse
agent-browser mouse down left         # Press button
agent-browser mouse up left           # Release button
agent-browser mouse wheel 100         # Scroll wheel

Semantic locators (alternative to refs)

agent-browser find role button click --name "Submit"
agent-browser find text "Sign In" click
agent-browser find text "Sign In" click --exact      # Exact match only
agent-browser find label "Email" fill "user@test.com"
agent-browser find placeholder "Search" type "query"
agent-browser find alt "Logo" click
agent-browser find title "Close" click
agent-browser find testid "submit-btn" click
agent-browser find first ".item" click
agent-browser find last ".item" click
agent-browser find nth 2 "a" hover

Browser settings

agent-browser set viewport 1920 1080          # Set viewport size
agent-browser set device "iPhone 14"          # Emulate device
agent-browser set geo 37.7749 -122.4194       # Set geolocation (alias: geolocation)
agent-browser set offline on                  # Toggle offline mode
agent-browser set headers '{"X-Key":"v"}'     # Extra HTTP headers
agent-browser set credentials user pass       # HTTP basic auth (alias: auth)
agent-browser set media dark                  # Emulate color scheme
agent-browser set media light reduced-motion  # Light mode + reduced motion

Cookies & Storage

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 key           # Get specific key
agent-browser storage local set k v       # Set value
agent-browser storage local clear         # Clear all

Network

agent-browser network route <url>              # Intercept requests
agent-browser network route <url> --abort      # Block requests
agent-browser network route <url> --body '{}'  # Mock response
agent-browser network unroute [url]            # Remove routes
agent-browser network requests                 # View tracked requests
agent-browser network requests --filter api    # Filter requests

Tabs & Windows

agent-browser tab                 # List tabs
agent-browser tab new [url]       # New tab
agent-browser tab 2               # Switch to tab by index
agent-browser tab close           # Close current tab
agent-browser tab close 2         # Close tab by index
agent-browser window new          # New window

Frames

agent-browser frame "#iframe"     # Switch to iframe
agent-browser frame main          # Back to main frame

Dialogs

agent-browser dialog accept [text]  # Accept dialog
agent-browser dialog dismiss        # Dismiss dialog

JavaScript

agent-browser eval "document.title"   # Run JavaScript

Global options

agent-browser --session <name> ...    # Isolated browser session
agent-browser --json ...              # JSON output for parsing
agent-browser --headed ...            # Show browser window (not headless)
agent-browser --full ...              # Full page screenshot (-f)
agent-browser --cdp <port> ...        # Connect via Chrome DevTools Protocol
agent-browser -p <provider> ...       # Cloud browser provider (--provider)
agent-browser --proxy <url> ...       # Use proxy server
agent-browser --headers <json> ...    # HTTP headers scoped to URL's origin
agent-browser --executable-path <p>   # Custom browser executable
agent-browser --extension <path> ...  # Load browser extension (repeatable)
agent-browser --help                  # Show help (-h)
agent-browser --version               # Show version (-V)
agent-browser <command> --help        # Show detailed help for a command

Proxy support

agent-browser --proxy http://proxy.com:8080 open example.com
agent-browser --proxy http://user:pass@proxy.com:8080 open example.com
agent-browser --proxy socks5://proxy.com:1080 open example.com

Environment variables

AGENT_BROWSER_SESSION="mysession"            # Default session name
AGENT_BROWSER_EXECUTABLE_PATH="/path/chrome" # Custom browser path
AGENT_BROWSER_EXTENSIONS="/ext1,/ext2"       # Comma-separated extension paths
AGENT_BROWSER_PROVIDER="your-cloud-browser-provider"  # Cloud browser provider (select browseruse or browserbase)
AGENT_BROWSER_STREAM_PORT="9223"             # WebSocket streaming port
AGENT_BROWSER_HOME="/path/to/agent-browser"  # Custom install location (for daemon.js)

Example: Form submission

agent-browser open https://example.com/form
agent-browser snapshot -i
# Output shows: textbox "Email" [ref=e1], textbox "Password" [ref=e2], button "Submit" [ref=e3]

agent-browser fill @e1 "user@example.com"
agent-browser fill @e2 "password123"
agent-browser click @e3
agent-browser wait --load networkidle
agent-browser snapshot -i  # Check result

Example: Authentication with saved state

# Login once
agent-browser open https://app.example.com/login
agent-browser snapshot -i
agent-browser fill @e1 "username"
agent-browser fill @e2 "password"
agent-browser click @e3
agent-browser wait --url "**/dashboard"
agent-browser state save auth.json

# Later sessions: load saved state
agent-browser state load auth.json
agent-browser open https://app.example.com/dashboard

Sessions (parallel browsers)

agent-browser --session test1 open site-a.com
agent-browser --session test2 open site-b.com
agent-browser session list

JSON output (for parsing)

Add --json for machine-readable output:

agent-browser snapshot -i --json
agent-browser get text @e1 --json

Debugging

agent-browser --headed open example.com   # Show browser window
agent-browser --cdp 9222 snapshot         # Connect via CDP port
agent-browser connect 9222                # Alternative: connect command
agent-browser console                     # View console messages
agent-browser console --clear             # Clear console
agent-browser errors                      # View page errors
agent-browser errors --clear              # Clear errors
agent-browser highlight @e1               # Highlight element
agent-browser trace start                 # Start recording trace
agent-browser trace stop trace.zip        # Stop and save trace
agent-browser record start ./debug.webm   # Record video from current page
agent-browser record stop                 # Save recording

Deep-dive documentation

For detailed patterns and best practices, see:

Ready-to-use templates

Executable workflow scripts for common patterns:

Usage:

./templates/form-automation.sh https://example.com/form
./templates/authenticated-session.sh https://app.example.com/login
./templates/capture-workflow.sh https://example.com ./output

HTTPS Certificate Errors

For sites with self-signed or invalid certificates:

agent-browser open https://localhost:8443 --ignore-https-errors

Authentication Patterns

Patterns for handling login flows, session persistence, and authenticated browsing.

Basic Login Flow

# Navigate to login page
agent-browser open https://app.example.com/login
agent-browser wait --load networkidle

# Get form elements
agent-browser snapshot -i
# Output: @e1 [input type="email"], @e2 [input type="password"], @e3 [button] "Sign In"

# Fill credentials
agent-browser fill @e1 "user@example.com"
agent-browser fill @e2 "password123"

# Submit
agent-browser click @e3
agent-browser wait --load networkidle

# Verify login succeeded
agent-browser get url  # Should be dashboard, not login

Saving Authentication State

After logging in, save state for reuse:

# Login first (see above)
agent-browser open https://app.example.com/login
agent-browser snapshot -i
agent-browser fill @e1 "user@example.com"
agent-browser fill @e2 "password123"
agent-browser click @e3
agent-browser wait --url "**/dashboard"

# Save authenticated state
agent-browser state save ./auth-state.json

Restoring Authentication

Skip login by loading saved state:

# Load saved auth state
agent-browser state load ./auth-state.json

# Navigate directly to protected page
agent-browser open https://app.example.com/dashboard

# Verify authenticated
agent-browser snapshot -i

OAuth / SSO Flows

For OAuth redirects:

# Start OAuth flow
agent-browser open https://app.example.com/auth/google

# Handle redirects automatically
agent-browser wait --url "**/accounts.google.com**"
agent-browser snapshot -i

# Fill Google credentials
agent-browser fill @e1 "user@gmail.com"
agent-browser click @e2  # Next button
agent-browser wait 2000
agent-browser snapshot -i
agent-browser fill @e3 "password"
agent-browser click @e4  # Sign in

# Wait for redirect back
agent-browser wait --url "**/app.example.com**"
agent-browser state save ./oauth-state.json

Two-Factor Authentication

Handle 2FA with manual intervention:

# Login with credentials
agent-browser open https://app.example.com/login --headed  # Show browser
agent-browser snapshot -i
agent-browser fill @e1 "user@example.com"
agent-browser fill @e2 "password123"
agent-browser click @e3

# Wait for user to complete 2FA manually
echo "Complete 2FA in the browser window..."
agent-browser wait --url "**/dashboard" --timeout 120000

# Save state after 2FA
agent-browser state save ./2fa-state.json

HTTP Basic Auth

For sites using HTTP Basic Authentication:

# Set credentials before navigation
agent-browser set credentials username password

# Navigate to protected resource
agent-browser open https://protected.example.com/api

Cookie-Based Auth

Manually set authentication cookies:

# Set auth cookie
agent-browser cookies set session_token "abc123xyz"

# Navigate to protected page
agent-browser open https://app.example.com/dashboard

Token Refresh Handling

For sessions with expiring tokens:

#!/bin/bash
# Wrapper that handles token refresh

STATE_FILE="./auth-state.json"

# Try loading existing state
if [[ -f "$STATE_FILE" ]]; then
    agent-browser state load "$STATE_FILE"
    agent-browser open https://app.example.com/dashboard

    # Check if session is still valid
    URL=$(agent-browser get url)
    if [[ "$URL" == *"/login"* ]]; then
        echo "Session expired, re-authenticating..."
        # Perform fresh login
        agent-browser snapshot -i
        agent-browser fill @e1 "$USERNAME"
        agent-browser fill @e2 "$PASSWORD"
        agent-browser click @e3
        agent-browser wait --url "**/dashboard"
        agent-browser state save "$STATE_FILE"
    fi
else
    # First-time login
    agent-browser open https://app.example.com/login
    # ... login flow ...
fi

Security Best Practices

1. Never commit state files - They contain session tokens

   echo "*.auth-state.json" >> .gitignore

2. Use environment variables for credentials

   agent-browser fill @e1 "$APP_USERNAME"
   agent-browser fill @e2 "$APP_PASSWORD"

3. Clean up after automation

   agent-browser cookies clear
   rm -f ./auth-state.json

4. Use short-lived sessions for CI/CD

   # Don't persist state in CI
   agent-browser open https://app.example.com/login
   # ... login and perform actions ...
   agent-browser close  # Session ends, nothing persisted

Proxy Support

Configure proxy servers for browser automation, useful for geo-testing, rate limiting avoidance, and corporate environments.

Basic Proxy Configuration

Set proxy via environment variable before starting:

# HTTP proxy
export HTTP_PROXY="http://proxy.example.com:8080"
agent-browser open https://example.com

# HTTPS proxy
export HTTPS_PROXY="https://proxy.example.com:8080"
agent-browser open https://example.com

# Both
export HTTP_PROXY="http://proxy.example.com:8080"
export HTTPS_PROXY="http://proxy.example.com:8080"
agent-browser open https://example.com

Authenticated Proxy

For proxies requiring authentication:

# Include credentials in URL
export HTTP_PROXY="http://username:password@proxy.example.com:8080"
agent-browser open https://example.com

SOCKS Proxy

# SOCKS5 proxy
export ALL_PROXY="socks5://proxy.example.com:1080"
agent-browser open https://example.com

# SOCKS5 with auth
export ALL_PROXY="socks5://user:pass@proxy.example.com:1080"
agent-browser open https://example.com

Proxy Bypass

Skip proxy for specific domains:

# Bypass proxy for local addresses
export NO_PROXY="localhost,127.0.0.1,.internal.company.com"
agent-browser open https://internal.company.com  # Direct connection
agent-browser open https://external.com          # Via proxy

Common Use Cases

Geo-Location Testing

#!/bin/bash
# Test site from different regions using geo-located proxies

PROXIES=(
    "http://us-proxy.example.com:8080"
    "http://eu-proxy.example.com:8080"
    "http://asia-proxy.example.com:8080"
)

for proxy in "${PROXIES[@]}"; do
    export HTTP_PROXY="$proxy"
    export HTTPS_PROXY="$proxy"

    region=$(echo "$proxy" | grep -oP '^\w+-\w+')
    echo "Testing from: $region"

    agent-browser --session "$region" open https://example.com
    agent-browser --session "$region" screenshot "./screenshots/$region.png"
    agent-browser --session "$region" close
done

Rotating Proxies for Scraping

#!/bin/bash
# Rotate through proxy list to avoid rate limiting

PROXY_LIST=(
    "http://proxy1.example.com:8080"
    "http://proxy2.example.com:8080"
    "http://proxy3.example.com:8080"
)

URLS=(
    "https://site.com/page1"
    "https://site.com/page2"
    "https://site.com/page3"
)

for i in "${!URLS[@]}"; do
    proxy_index=$((i % ${#PROXY_LIST[@]}))
    export HTTP_PROXY="${PROXY_LIST[$proxy_index]}"
    export HTTPS_PROXY="${PROXY_LIST[$proxy_index]}"

    agent-browser open "${URLS[$i]}"
    agent-browser get text body > "output-$i.txt"
    agent-browser close

    sleep 1  # Polite delay
done

Corporate Network Access

#!/bin/bash
# Access internal sites via corporate proxy

export HTTP_PROXY="http://corpproxy.company.com:8080"
export HTTPS_PROXY="http://corpproxy.company.com:8080"
export NO_PROXY="localhost,127.0.0.1,.company.com"

# External sites go through proxy
agent-browser open https://external-vendor.com

# Internal sites bypass proxy
agent-browser open https://intranet.company.com

Verifying Proxy Connection

# Check your apparent IP
agent-browser open https://httpbin.org/ip
agent-browser get text body
# Should show proxy's IP, not your real IP

Troubleshooting

Proxy Connection Failed

# Test proxy connectivity first
curl -x http://proxy.example.com:8080 https://httpbin.org/ip

# Check if proxy requires auth
export HTTP_PROXY="http://user:pass@proxy.example.com:8080"

SSL/TLS Errors Through Proxy

Some proxies perform SSL inspection. If you encounter certificate errors:

# For testing only - not recommended for production
agent-browser open https://example.com --ignore-https-errors

Slow Performance

# Use proxy only when necessary
export NO_PROXY="*.cdn.com,*.static.com"  # Direct CDN access

Best Practices

1. Use environment variables - Don't hardcode proxy credentials 2. Set NO_PROXY appropriately - Avoid routing local traffic through proxy 3. Test proxy before automation - Verify connectivity with simple requests 4. Handle proxy failures gracefully - Implement retry logic for unstable proxies 5. Rotate proxies for large scraping jobs - Distribute load and avoid bans

Session Management

Run multiple isolated browser sessions concurrently with state persistence.

Named Sessions

Use --session flag to isolate browser contexts:

# Session 1: Authentication flow
agent-browser --session auth open https://app.example.com/login

# Session 2: Public browsing (separate cookies, storage)
agent-browser --session public open https://example.com

# Commands are isolated by session
agent-browser --session auth fill @e1 "user@example.com"
agent-browser --session public get text body

Session Isolation Properties

Each session has independent:

• Cookies
• LocalStorage / SessionStorage
• IndexedDB
• Cache
• Browsing history
• Open tabs

Session State Persistence

Save Session State

# Save cookies, storage, and auth state
agent-browser state save /path/to/auth-state.json

Load Session State

# Restore saved state
agent-browser state load /path/to/auth-state.json

# Continue with authenticated session
agent-browser open https://app.example.com/dashboard

State File Contents

{
  "cookies": [...],
  "localStorage": {...},
  "sessionStorage": {...},
  "origins": [...]
}

Common Patterns

Authenticated Session Reuse

#!/bin/bash
# Save login state once, reuse many times

STATE_FILE="/tmp/auth-state.json"

# Check if we have saved state
if [[ -f "$STATE_FILE" ]]; then
    agent-browser state load "$STATE_FILE"
    agent-browser open https://app.example.com/dashboard
else
    # Perform login
    agent-browser open https://app.example.com/login
    agent-browser snapshot -i
    agent-browser fill @e1 "$USERNAME"
    agent-browser fill @e2 "$PASSWORD"
    agent-browser click @e3
    agent-browser wait --load networkidle

    # Save for future use
    agent-browser state save "$STATE_FILE"
fi

Concurrent Scraping

#!/bin/bash
# Scrape multiple sites concurrently

# Start all sessions
agent-browser --session site1 open https://site1.com &
agent-browser --session site2 open https://site2.com &
agent-browser --session site3 open https://site3.com &
wait

# Extract from each
agent-browser --session site1 get text body > site1.txt
agent-browser --session site2 get text body > site2.txt
agent-browser --session site3 get text body > site3.txt

# Cleanup
agent-browser --session site1 close
agent-browser --session site2 close
agent-browser --session site3 close

A/B Testing Sessions

# Test different user experiences
agent-browser --session variant-a open "https://app.com?variant=a"
agent-browser --session variant-b open "https://app.com?variant=b"

# Compare
agent-browser --session variant-a screenshot /tmp/variant-a.png
agent-browser --session variant-b screenshot /tmp/variant-b.png

Default Session

When --session is omitted, commands use the default session:

# These use the same default session
agent-browser open https://example.com
agent-browser snapshot -i
agent-browser close  # Closes default session

Session Cleanup

# Close specific session
agent-browser --session auth close

# List active sessions
agent-browser session list

Best Practices

1. Name Sessions Semantically

# GOOD: Clear purpose
agent-browser --session github-auth open https://github.com
agent-browser --session docs-scrape open https://docs.example.com

# AVOID: Generic names
agent-browser --session s1 open https://github.com

2. Always Clean Up

# Close sessions when done
agent-browser --session auth close
agent-browser --session scrape close

3. Handle State Files Securely

# Don't commit state files (contain auth tokens!)
echo "*.auth-state.json" >> .gitignore

# Delete after use
rm /tmp/auth-state.json

4. Timeout Long Sessions

# Set timeout for automated scripts
timeout 60 agent-browser --session long-task get text body

Snapshot + Refs Workflow

The core innovation of agent-browser: compact element references that reduce context usage dramatically for AI agents.

How It Works

The Problem

Traditional browser automation sends full DOM to AI agents:

Full DOM/HTML sent → AI parses → Generates CSS selector → Executes action
~3000-5000 tokens per interaction

The Solution

agent-browser uses compact snapshots with refs:

Compact snapshot → @refs assigned → Direct ref interaction
~200-400 tokens per interaction

The Snapshot Command

# Basic snapshot (shows page structure)
agent-browser snapshot

# Interactive snapshot (-i flag) - RECOMMENDED
agent-browser snapshot -i

Snapshot Output Format

Page: Example Site - Home
URL: https://example.com

@e1 [header]
  @e2 [nav]
    @e3 [a] "Home"
    @e4 [a] "Products"
    @e5 [a] "About"
  @e6 [button] "Sign In"

@e7 [main]
  @e8 [h1] "Welcome"
  @e9 [form]
    @e10 [input type="email"] placeholder="Email"
    @e11 [input type="password"] placeholder="Password"
    @e12 [button type="submit"] "Log In"

@e13 [footer]
  @e14 [a] "Privacy Policy"

Using Refs

Once you have refs, interact directly:

# Click the "Sign In" button
agent-browser click @e6

# Fill email input
agent-browser fill @e10 "user@example.com"

# Fill password
agent-browser fill @e11 "password123"

# Submit the form
agent-browser click @e12

Ref Lifecycle

IMPORTANT: Refs are invalidated when the page changes!

# Get initial snapshot
agent-browser snapshot -i
# @e1 [button] "Next"

# Click triggers page change
agent-browser click @e1

# MUST re-snapshot to get new refs!
agent-browser snapshot -i
# @e1 [h1] "Page 2"  ← Different element now!

Best Practices

1. Always Snapshot Before Interacting

# CORRECT
agent-browser open https://example.com
agent-browser snapshot -i          # Get refs first
agent-browser click @e1            # Use ref

# WRONG
agent-browser open https://example.com
agent-browser click @e1            # Ref doesn't exist yet!

2. Re-Snapshot After Navigation

agent-browser click @e5            # Navigates to new page
agent-browser snapshot -i          # Get new refs
agent-browser click @e1            # Use new refs

3. Re-Snapshot After Dynamic Changes

agent-browser click @e1            # Opens dropdown
agent-browser snapshot -i          # See dropdown items
agent-browser click @e7            # Select item

4. Snapshot Specific Regions

For complex pages, snapshot specific areas:

# Snapshot just the form
agent-browser snapshot @e9

Ref Notation Details

@e1 [tag type="value"] "text content" placeholder="hint"
│    │   │             │               │
│    │   │             │               └─ Additional attributes
│    │   │             └─ Visible text
│    │   └─ Key attributes shown
│    └─ HTML tag name
└─ Unique ref ID

Common Patterns

@e1 [button] "Submit"                    # Button with text
@e2 [input type="email"]                 # Email input
@e3 [input type="password"]              # Password input
@e4 [a href="/page"] "Link Text"         # Anchor link
@e5 [select]                             # Dropdown
@e6 [textarea] placeholder="Message"     # Text area
@e7 [div class="modal"]                  # Container (when relevant)
@e8 [img alt="Logo"]                     # Image
@e9 [checkbox] checked                   # Checked checkbox
@e10 [radio] selected                    # Selected radio

Troubleshooting

"Ref not found" Error

# Ref may have changed - re-snapshot
agent-browser snapshot -i

Element Not Visible in Snapshot

# Scroll to reveal element
agent-browser scroll --bottom
agent-browser snapshot -i

# Or wait for dynamic content
agent-browser wait 1000
agent-browser snapshot -i

Too Many Elements

# Snapshot specific container
agent-browser snapshot @e5

# Or use get text for content-only extraction
agent-browser get text @e5

Recording Demos

Produce polished, shareable demo videos with a visible cursor and minimal dead time.

This guide builds on the basics in video-recording.md with techniques specific to recording demos that look good to viewers.

Key Principles

• Minimize dead time — chain commands with && so tool-call overhead stays out of the video.
• Visible cursor — headless Playwright has no cursor; inject a fake one via DOM.
• One chain per page — navigation destroys the DOM cursor, so re-inject after every page change.
• No `sleep` calls — tool execution provides enough natural pacing.

Step-by-step

1. Set up the page BEFORE recording

Navigate and snapshot before record start. Any time after recording starts is in the video.

agent-browser open <url>

agent-browser snapshot -i

Review the snapshot to identify element refs (@e1, @e2, …) and plan the interaction sequence.

2. Find element coordinates for mouse moves

Use getBoundingClientRect() to get the (x, y) center of each target element. Do this before recording starts so the lookup doesn't appear in the video.

agent-browser eval "(() => {
  const el = document.querySelector('<selector>');
  const r = el.getBoundingClientRect();
  return JSON.stringify({ x: Math.round(r.x + r.width/2), y: Math.round(r.y + r.height/2) });
})()"

3. Inject a visible cursor

Headless Playwright doesn't render a cursor. Inject a DOM element that tracks mouse events:

agent-browser eval "(() => {
  const c = document.createElement('div');
  c.style.cssText = 'width:20px;height:20px;border-radius:50%;background:rgba(255,50,50,0.85);position:fixed;top:290px;left:390px;z-index:999999;pointer-events:none;transition:top 0.15s ease,left 0.15s ease;box-shadow:0 0 8px rgba(255,50,50,0.5);';
  document.body.appendChild(c);
  document.addEventListener('mousemove', e => {
    c.style.top=(e.clientY-10)+'px';
    c.style.left=(e.clientX-10)+'px';
  });
})(); 'ok'"

Re-inject after every navigation — page transitions destroy the DOM element.

4. Chain all commands with &&

Every separate tool call adds seconds of dead time. Chain everything into as few bash calls as possible:

agent-browser record start ./demo.webm && agent-browser eval "<inject cursor>" && agent-browser mouse move 400 300 && agent-browser click @e1 && agent-browser mouse move 600 200 && agent-browser click @e2 && agent-browser record stop

5. Use mouse move before every click

Move the cursor to the target first so viewers can follow the action:

agent-browser mouse move 623 52 && agent-browser click @e5

6. No sleep calls

Every millisecond counts. Tool execution itself provides enough natural pacing. Drop all sleep and wait calls entirely.

7. One chain per page

Since the cursor needs re-injection after navigation, structure as one && chain per page. The recording persists across chains — only stop it in the final chain.

# Chain 1: first page → click navigates away
agent-browser record start ./demo.webm && agent-browser eval "<inject cursor>" && agent-browser mouse move 400 300 && agent-browser click @e5

# Chain 2: new page → finish
agent-browser eval "<inject cursor>" && agent-browser mouse move 200 150 && agent-browser click @e3 && agent-browser scroll down 200 && agent-browser record stop

8. Serve the result

Copy the .webm into public/, create a minimal viewer page, and share the sandbox URL.

mkdir -p public && cp demo.webm public/demo.webm

Viewer page (public/demo.html):

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head><title>Demo</title></head>
<body style="margin:0;display:flex;justify-content:center;align-items:center;min-height:100vh;background:#111">
  <video controls autoplay style="max-width:90vw;max-height:90vh;border-radius:8px;box-shadow:0 4px 24px rgba(0,0,0,0.5)" src="/demo.webm"></video>
</body>
</html>

Common Mistakes

• Recording before the page is ready — navigate and snapshot first.
• Forgetting to re-inject the cursor after navigation — the DOM element is gone.
• Separate tool calls instead of `&&` chains — adds seconds of blank screen.
• Using `sleep` or `wait` — unnecessary; tool execution provides natural pacing.
• Clicking without `mouse move` — clicks without visible cursor movement look jarring.