Browser Automation with agent-browser

Core Workflow

Every browser automation follows this pattern:

1. •Navigate: agent-browser open <url>
2. •Snapshot: agent-browser snapshot -i (get element refs like @e1, @e2)
3. •Interact: Use refs to click, fill, select
4. •Re-snapshot: After navigation or DOM changes, get fresh refs

```bash agent-browser open https://example.com/form agent-browser snapshot -i

Output: @e1 [input type="email"], @e2 [input type="password"], @e3 [button] "Submit"

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 ```

Essential Commands

```bash

Navigation

agent-browser open <url> # Navigate (aliases: goto, navigate) agent-browser close # Close browser

Snapshot

agent-browser snapshot -i # Interactive elements with refs (recommended) agent-browser snapshot -i -C # Include cursor-interactive elements (divs with onclick, cursor:pointer) agent-browser snapshot -s "#selector" # Scope to CSS selector

Interaction (use @refs from snapshot)

agent-browser click @e1 # Click element agent-browser fill @e2 "text" # Clear and type text agent-browser type @e2 "text" # Type without clearing agent-browser select @e1 "option" # Select dropdown option agent-browser check @e1 # Check checkbox agent-browser press Enter # Press key agent-browser scroll down 500 # Scroll page

Get information

agent-browser get text @e1 # Get element text agent-browser get url # Get current URL agent-browser get title # Get page title

Wait

agent-browser wait @e1 # Wait for element agent-browser wait --load networkidle # Wait for network idle agent-browser wait --url "**/page" # Wait for URL pattern agent-browser wait 2000 # Wait milliseconds

Capture

agent-browser screenshot # Screenshot to temp dir agent-browser screenshot --full # Full page screenshot agent-browser pdf output.pdf # Save as PDF ```

Common Patterns

Form Submission

```bash agent-browser open https://example.com/signup agent-browser snapshot -i agent-browser fill @e1 "Jane Doe" agent-browser fill @e2 "jane@example.com" agent-browser select @e3 "California" agent-browser check @e4 agent-browser click @e5 agent-browser wait --load networkidle ```

Authentication with State Persistence

```bash

Login once and save state

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

Reuse in future sessions

agent-browser state load auth.json agent-browser open https://app.example.com/dashboard ```

Data Extraction

```bash agent-browser open https://example.com/products agent-browser snapshot -i agent-browser get text @e5 # Get specific element text agent-browser get text body > page.txt # Get all page text

JSON output for parsing

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

Parallel Sessions

```bash agent-browser --session site1 open https://site-a.com agent-browser --session site2 open https://site-b.com

agent-browser --session site1 snapshot -i agent-browser --session site2 snapshot -i

agent-browser session list ```

Visual Browser (Debugging)

```bash agent-browser --headed open https://example.com agent-browser highlight @e1 # Highlight element agent-browser record start demo.webm # Record session ```

Local Files (PDFs, HTML)

```bash

Open local files with file:// URLs

agent-browser --allow-file-access open file:///path/to/document.pdf agent-browser --allow-file-access open file:///path/to/page.html agent-browser screenshot output.png ```

iOS Simulator (Mobile Safari)

```bash

List available iOS simulators

agent-browser device list

Launch Safari on a specific device

agent-browser -p ios --device "iPhone 16 Pro" open https://example.com

Same workflow as desktop - snapshot, interact, re-snapshot

agent-browser -p ios snapshot -i agent-browser -p ios tap @e1 # Tap (alias for click) agent-browser -p ios fill @e2 "text" agent-browser -p ios swipe up # Mobile-specific gesture

Take screenshot

agent-browser -p ios screenshot mobile.png

Close session (shuts down simulator)

agent-browser -p ios close ```

Requirements: macOS with Xcode, Appium (`npm install -g appium && appium driver install xcuitest`)

Real devices: Works with physical iOS devices if pre-configured. Use `--device "<UDID>"` where UDID is from `xcrun xctrace list devices`.

Ref Lifecycle (Important)

Refs (`@e1`, `@e2`, etc.) are invalidated when the page changes. Always re-snapshot after:

• •Clicking links or buttons that navigate
• •Form submissions
• •Dynamic content loading (dropdowns, modals)

```bash agent-browser click @e5 # Navigates to new page agent-browser snapshot -i # MUST re-snapshot agent-browser click @e1 # Use new refs ```

Semantic Locators (Alternative to Refs)

When refs are unavailable or unreliable, use semantic locators:

```bash agent-browser find text "Sign In" click agent-browser find label "Email" fill "user@test.com" agent-browser find role button click --name "Submit" agent-browser find placeholder "Search" type "query" agent-browser find testid "submit-btn" click ```

Deep-Dive Documentation

Ready-to-Use Templates

```bash ./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 ```