name: browserbase-browser
description: >
Automate real browser interactions via the browse CLI — supports local Chrome
and remote Browserbase cloud sessions with CAPTCHA solving and residential proxies.
Use for Cloudflare-protected sites, login flows, form filling, and UI verification.
triggers:
- "open the browser"
- "navigate to"
- "click on"
- "fill in the form"
- "login to"
- "take a screenshot"
- "browse the web"
- "interact with the UI"
- "test the UI"
upstream: https://github.com/browserbase/skills
Skill: browserbase-browser — Real Browser Automation
Setup
npm install -g browse # Install the CLI
export BROWSERBASE_API_KEY="bb_live_..." # Get from https://browserbase.com/dashboard
Mode selection
| Situation |
Flag |
Notes |
| Local dev / no bot detection |
--local |
Requires Chrome running locally |
| Cloudflare / CAPTCHA / IP limits |
--remote |
Uses Browserbase cloud (needs API key) |
| Reuse existing local Chrome session |
--auto-connect |
Picks up saved cookies/auth |
Core commands
browse open <url> [--local|--remote] # Navigate — always start here
browse snapshot # Accessibility tree with element refs (fast, low-token)
browse screenshot # Visual capture → .context/screenshots/
browse click "@e5" # Click element ref from snapshot
browse fill "@e3" "value" # Fill input
browse type "text" # Type at cursor
browse press "Enter" # Key press
browse scroll down 3 # Scroll
browse stop # End session
Workflow pattern
# 1. Open — always with explicit mode flag
browse open "https://target.com" --remote # remote for Cloudflare-protected sites
# 2. Snapshot to understand page state (NOT screenshot — 50× fewer tokens)
browse snapshot
# 3. Interact using @ref from snapshot output
browse fill "@e4" "admin@example.com"
browse fill "@e5" "password"
browse click "@e6" # Submit button
# 4. Snapshot again to verify state changed
browse snapshot
# 5. Screenshot only when you need visual evidence
browse screenshot
# 6. Always stop when done
browse stop
Applying to local-llm-server platform
# Set env vars first
export BROWSERBASE_API_KEY="your-key"
export PLATFORM_URL="https://local-llm-server.strikersam.workers.dev"
# Login as admin
browse open "$PLATFORM_URL/login" --remote
browse snapshot
# Find email/password fields in snapshot, then:
browse fill "@eN" "strikersam@gmail.com"
browse fill "@eN" "YOUR_PASSWORD"
browse click "@eN" # Login button
browse snapshot # Confirm: dashboard visible
# Navigate to Agents screen
browse click "@eN" # Agents nav item
browse snapshot
# Navigate to Quick Notes
browse click "@eN" # Quick Notes FAB or nav
browse fill "@eN" "Feature request text here"
browse click "@eN" # Submit
browse stop
Troubleshooting
| Error |
Fix |
BROWSERBASE_API_KEY not set |
Export the key or add to .env |
browse: command not found |
Run npm install -g browse |
| Cloudflare challenge page in snapshot |
Use --remote flag (cloud sessions have residential IPs) |
| Element ref stale |
Run browse snapshot again — refs reset on navigation |
| Session timed out |
Run browse open <url> --remote again to restart |
By