Browser Automation with browser-use CLI

The browser-use command provides fast, persistent browser automation. It maintains browser sessions across commands, enabling complex multi-step workflows.

Installation

# Run without installing (recommended for one-off use)
uvx "browser-use[cli]" open https://example.com

# Or install permanently
uv pip install "browser-use[cli]"

# Install browser dependencies (Chromium)
browser-use install

Setup

One-line install (recommended)

curl -fsSL https://browser-use.com/cli/install.sh | bash

This interactive installer lets you choose your installation mode and configures everything automatically.

Installation modes:

curl -fsSL https://browser-use.com/cli/install.sh | bash -s -- --remote-only  # Cloud browser only
curl -fsSL https://browser-use.com/cli/install.sh | bash -s -- --local-only   # Local browser only
curl -fsSL https://browser-use.com/cli/install.sh | bash -s -- --full         # All modes

Install Mode	Available Browsers	Default	Use Case
--remote-only	remote	remote	Sandboxed agents, CI, no GUI
--local-only	chromium, real	chromium	Local development
--full	chromium, real, remote	chromium	Full flexibility

When only one mode is installed, it becomes the default and no --browser flag is needed.

Pass API key during install:

curl -fsSL https://browser-use.com/cli/install.sh | bash -s -- --remote-only --api-key bu_xxx

Verify installation:

browser-use doctor

Setup wizard (first-time configuration):

browser-use setup                         # Interactive setup
browser-use setup --mode local            # Configure for local browser only
browser-use setup --mode remote           # Configure for cloud browser only
browser-use setup --mode full             # Configure all modes
browser-use setup --api-key bu_xxx        # Set API key during setup
browser-use setup --yes                   # Skip interactive prompts

Generate template files:

browser-use init                          # Interactive template selection
browser-use init --list                   # List available templates
browser-use init --template basic         # Generate specific template
browser-use init --output my_script.py    # Specify output file
browser-use init --force                  # Overwrite existing files

Manual cloudflared install (for tunneling):

# macOS:
brew install cloudflared

# Linux:
curl -L https://github.com/cloudflare/cloudflared/releases/latest/download/cloudflared-linux-amd64 -o ~/.local/bin/cloudflared && chmod +x ~/.local/bin/cloudflared

# Windows:
winget install Cloudflare.cloudflared

Quick Start

browser-use open https://example.com           # Navigate to URL
browser-use state                              # Get page elements with indices
browser-use click 5                            # Click element by index
browser-use type "Hello World"                 # Type text
browser-use screenshot                         # Take screenshot
browser-use close                              # Close browser

Core Workflow

1. Navigate: browser-use open <url> - Opens URL (starts browser if needed)
2. Inspect: browser-use state - Returns clickable elements with indices
3. Interact: Use indices from state to interact (browser-use click 5, browser-use input 3 "text")
4. Verify: browser-use state or browser-use screenshot to confirm actions
5. Repeat: Browser stays open between commands

Browser Modes

browser-use --browser chromium open <url>      # Default: headless Chromium
browser-use --browser chromium --headed open <url>  # Visible Chromium window
browser-use --browser real open <url>          # User's Chrome with login sessions
browser-use --browser remote open <url>        # Cloud browser (requires API key)

• chromium: Fast, isolated, headless by default
• real: Uses your Chrome with cookies, extensions, logged-in sessions
• remote: Cloud-hosted browser with proxy support (requires BROWSER_USE_API_KEY)

Commands

Navigation

browser-use open <url>                    # Navigate to URL
browser-use back                          # Go back in history
browser-use scroll down                   # Scroll down
browser-use scroll up                     # Scroll up
browser-use scroll down --amount 1000     # Scroll by specific pixels (default: 500)

Page State

browser-use state                         # Get URL, title, and clickable elements
browser-use screenshot                    # Take screenshot (outputs base64)
browser-use screenshot path.png           # Save screenshot to file
browser-use screenshot --full path.png    # Full page screenshot

Interactions (use indices from browser-use state)

browser-use click <index>                 # Click element
browser-use type "text"                   # Type text into focused element
browser-use input <index> "text"          # Click element, then type text
browser-use keys "Enter"                  # Send keyboard keys
browser-use keys "Control+a"              # Send key combination
browser-use select <index> "option"       # Select dropdown option

Tab Management

browser-use switch <tab>                  # Switch to tab by index
browser-use close-tab                     # Close current tab
browser-use close-tab <tab>               # Close specific tab

JavaScript & Data

browser-use eval "document.title"         # Execute JavaScript, return result
browser-use extract "all product prices"  # Extract data using LLM (requires API key)

Cookies

browser-use cookies get                   # Get all cookies
browser-use cookies get --url <url>       # Get cookies for specific URL
browser-use cookies set <name> <value>    # Set a cookie
browser-use cookies set name val --domain .example.com --secure --http-only
browser-use cookies set name val --same-site Strict  # SameSite: Strict, Lax, or None
browser-use cookies set name val --expires 1735689600  # Expiration timestamp
browser-use cookies clear                 # Clear all cookies
browser-use cookies clear --url <url>     # Clear cookies for specific URL
browser-use cookies export <file>         # Export all cookies to JSON file
browser-use cookies export <file> --url <url>  # Export cookies for specific URL
browser-use cookies import <file>         # Import cookies from JSON file

Wait Conditions

browser-use wait selector "h1"            # Wait for element to be visible
browser-use wait selector ".loading" --state hidden  # Wait for element to disappear
browser-use wait selector "#btn" --state attached    # Wait for element in DOM
browser-use wait text "Success"           # Wait for text to appear
browser-use wait selector "h1" --timeout 5000  # Custom timeout in ms

Additional Interactions

browser-use hover <index>                 # Hover over element (triggers CSS :hover)
browser-use dblclick <index>              # Double-click element
browser-use rightclick <index>            # Right-click element (context menu)

Information Retrieval

browser-use get title                     # Get page title
browser-use get html                      # Get full page HTML
browser-use get html --selector "h1"      # Get HTML of specific element
browser-use get text <index>              # Get text content of element
browser-use get value <index>             # Get value of input/textarea
browser-use get attributes <index>        # Get all attributes of element
browser-use get bbox <index>              # Get bounding box (x, y, width, height)

Python Execution (Persistent Session)

browser-use python "x = 42"               # Set variable
browser-use python "print(x)"             # Access variable (outputs: 42)
browser-use python "print(browser.url)"   # Access browser object
browser-use python --vars                 # Show defined variables
browser-use python --reset                # Clear Python namespace
browser-use python --file script.py       # Execute Python file

The Python session maintains state across commands. The browser object provides:

• browser.url - Current page URL
• browser.title - Page title
• browser.html - Get page HTML
• browser.goto(url) - Navigate
• browser.click(index) - Click element
• browser.type(text) - Type text
• browser.input(index, text) - Click element, then type
• browser.keys(keys) - Send keyboard keys (e.g., "Enter", "Control+a")
• browser.screenshot(path) - Take screenshot
• browser.scroll(direction, amount) - Scroll page
• browser.back() - Go back in history
• browser.wait(seconds) - Sleep/pause execution
• browser.extract(query) - Extract data using LLM

Agent Tasks (Requires API Key)

browser-use run "Fill the contact form with test data"    # Run AI agent
browser-use run "Extract all product prices" --max-steps 50

Agent tasks use an LLM to autonomously complete complex browser tasks. Requires BROWSER_USE_API_KEY or configured LLM API key (OPENAI_API_KEY, ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, etc).

Remote Mode Agent Options

When using --browser remote, additional options are available:

# Basic remote task (uses US proxy by default)
browser-use -b remote run "Search for AI news"

# Specify LLM model
browser-use -b remote run "task" --llm gpt-4o
browser-use -b remote run "task" --llm claude-sonnet-4-20250514
browser-use -b remote run "task" --llm gemini-2.0-flash

# Proxy configuration (default: us)
browser-use -b remote run "task" --proxy-country gb    # UK proxy
browser-use -b remote run "task" --proxy-country de    # Germany proxy

# Session reuse (run multiple tasks in same browser session)
browser-use -b remote run "task 1" --keep-alive
# Returns: session_id: abc-123
browser-use -b remote run "task 2" --session-id abc-123

# Execution modes
browser-use -b remote run "task" --no-wait     # Async, returns task_id immediately
browser-use -b remote run "task" --stream      # Stream status updates
browser-use -b remote run "task" --flash       # Fast execution mode

# Advanced options
browser-use -b remote run "task" --thinking    # Extended reasoning mode
browser-use -b remote run "task" --vision      # Enable vision (default)
browser-use -b remote run "task" --no-vision   # Disable vision
browser-use -b remote run "task" --wait        # Wait for completion (default: async)

# Use cloud profile (preserves cookies across sessions)
browser-use -b remote run "task" --profile <cloud-profile-id>

# Task configuration
browser-use -b remote run "task" --start-url https://example.com  # Start from specific URL
browser-use -b remote run "task" --allowed-domain example.com     # Restrict navigation (repeatable)
browser-use -b remote run "task" --metadata key=value             # Task metadata (repeatable)
browser-use -b remote run "task" --secret API_KEY=xxx             # Task secrets (repeatable)
browser-use -b remote run "task" --skill-id skill-123             # Enable skills (repeatable)

# Structured output and evaluation
browser-use -b remote run "task" --structured-output '{"type":"object"}'  # JSON schema for output
browser-use -b remote run "task" --judge                 # Enable judge mode
browser-use -b remote run "task" --judge-ground-truth "expected answer"   # Expected answer for judge

Task Management (Remote Mode)

Manage cloud tasks when using remote mode:

browser-use task list                     # List recent tasks
browser-use task list --limit 20          # Show more tasks
browser-use task list --status running    # Filter by status
browser-use task list --session <id>      # Filter by session ID
browser-use task list --json              # JSON output

browser-use task status <task-id>         # Get task status (token efficient)
browser-use task status <task-id> -c      # Show all steps with reasoning
browser-use task status <task-id> -v      # Show all steps with URLs + actions
browser-use task status <task-id> --last 5  # Show only last 5 steps
browser-use task status <task-id> --step 3  # Show specific step number
browser-use task status <task-id> --reverse # Show steps newest first

browser-use task stop <task-id>           # Stop a running task
browser-use task logs <task-id>           # Get task execution logs

Token-efficient monitoring: Default task status shows only the latest step. Use -c (compact) or -v (verbose) only when you need more context.

Cloud Session Management (Remote Mode)

Manage cloud browser sessions:

browser-use session list                  # List cloud sessions
browser-use session list --limit 20       # Show more sessions
browser-use session list --status active  # Filter by status
browser-use session list --json           # JSON output

browser-use session get <session-id>      # Get session details
browser-use session get <session-id> --json

browser-use session stop <session-id>     # Stop a session
browser-use session stop --all            # Stop all active sessions

# Create a new cloud session manually
browser-use session create                          # Create with defaults
browser-use session create --profile <id>           # With cloud profile
browser-use session create --proxy-country gb       # With geographic proxy
browser-use session create --start-url https://example.com  # Start at URL
browser-use session create --screen-size 1920x1080  # Custom screen size
browser-use session create --keep-alive             # Keep session alive
browser-use session create --persist-memory         # Persist memory between tasks

# Share session publicly (for collaboration/debugging)
browser-use session share <session-id>    # Create public share URL
browser-use session share <session-id> --delete  # Delete public share

Exposing Local Dev Servers

If you're running a dev server locally and need a cloud browser to reach it, use Cloudflare tunnels:

# Start your dev server
npm run dev &  # localhost:3000

# Expose it via Cloudflare tunnel
browser-use tunnel 3000
# → url: https://abc.trycloudflare.com

# Now the cloud browser can reach your local server
browser-use --browser remote open https://abc.trycloudflare.com

Tunnel commands:

browser-use tunnel <port>           # Start tunnel (returns URL)
browser-use tunnel <port>           # Idempotent - returns existing URL
browser-use tunnel list             # Show active tunnels
browser-use tunnel stop <port>      # Stop tunnel
browser-use tunnel stop --all       # Stop all tunnels

Note: Tunnels are independent of browser sessions. They persist across browser-use close and can be managed separately.

Cloudflared is installed by install.sh. If missing, install manually (see Setup section).

Running Subagents (Remote Mode)

Cloud sessions and tasks provide a powerful model for running subagents - autonomous browser agents that execute tasks in parallel.

Key Concepts

• Session = Agent: Each cloud session is a browser agent with its own state (cookies, tabs, history)
• Task = Work: Tasks are jobs given to an agent. An agent can run multiple tasks sequentially
• Parallel agents: Run multiple sessions simultaneously for parallel work
• Session reuse: While a session is alive, you can assign it more tasks
• Session lifecycle: Once stopped, a session cannot be revived - start a new one

Basic Subagent Workflow

# 1. Start a subagent task (creates new session automatically)
browser-use -b remote run "Search for AI news and summarize top 3 articles" --no-wait
# Returns: task_id: task-abc, session_id: sess-123

# 2. Check task progress
browser-use task status task-abc
# Shows: Status: running, or finished with output

# 3. View execution logs
browser-use task logs task-abc

Running Parallel Subagents

Launch multiple agents to work simultaneously:

# Start 3 parallel research agents
browser-use -b remote run "Research competitor A pricing" --no-wait
# → task_id: task-1, session_id: sess-a

browser-use -b remote run "Research competitor B pricing" --no-wait
# → task_id: task-2, session_id: sess-b

browser-use -b remote run "Research competitor C pricing" --no-wait
# → task_id: task-3, session_id: sess-c

# Monitor all running tasks
browser-use task list --status running
# Shows all 3 tasks with their status

# Check individual task results as they complete
browser-use task status task-1
browser-use task status task-2
browser-use task status task-3

Reusing an Agent for Multiple Tasks

Keep a session alive to run sequential tasks in the same browser context:

# Start first task, keep session alive
browser-use -b remote run "Log into example.com" --keep-alive --no-wait
# → task_id: task-1, session_id: sess-123

# Wait for login to complete...
browser-use task status task-1
# → Status: finished

# Give the same agent another task (reuses login session)
browser-use -b remote run "Navigate to settings and export data" --session-id sess-123 --no-wait
# → task_id: task-2, session_id: sess-123 (same session!)

# Agent retains cookies, login state, etc. from previous task

Managing Active Agents

# List all active agents (sessions)
browser-use session list --status active
# Shows: sess-123 [active], sess-456 [active], ...

# Get details on a specific agent
browser-use session get sess-123
# Shows: status, started time, live URL for viewing

# Stop a specific agent
browser-use session stop sess-123

# Stop all agents at once
browser-use session stop --all

Stopping Tasks vs Sessions

# Stop a running task (session may continue if --keep-alive was used)
browser-use task stop task-abc

# Stop an entire agent/session (terminates all its tasks)
browser-use session stop sess-123

Custom Agent Configuration

# Default: US proxy, auto LLM selection
browser-use -b remote run "task" --no-wait

# Explicit configuration
browser-use -b remote run "task" \
  --llm gpt-4o \
  --proxy-country gb \
  --keep-alive \
  --no-wait

# With cloud profile (preserves cookies across sessions)
browser-use -b remote run "task" --profile <profile-id> --no-wait

Monitoring Subagents

Task status is designed for token efficiency. Default output is minimal - only expand when needed:

Mode	Flag	Tokens	Use When
Default	(none)	Low	Polling progress
Compact	-c	Medium	Need full reasoning
Verbose	-v	High	Debugging actions

Recommended workflow:

# 1. Launch task
browser-use -b remote run "task" --no-wait
# → task_id: abc-123

# 2. Poll with default (token efficient) - only latest step
browser-use task status abc-123
# ✅ abc-123... [finished] $0.009 15s
#   ... 1 earlier steps
#   2. I found the information and extracted...

# 3. ONLY IF task failed or need context: use --compact
browser-use task status abc-123 -c

# 4. ONLY IF debugging specific actions: use --verbose
browser-use task status abc-123 -v

For long tasks (50+ steps):

browser-use task status <id> -c --last 5   # Last 5 steps only
browser-use task status <id> -c --reverse  # Newest first
browser-use task status <id> -v --step 10  # Inspect specific step

Live view: Watch an agent work in real-time:

browser-use session get <session-id>
# → Live URL: https://live.browser-use.com?wss=...
# Open this URL in your browser to watch the agent

Detect stuck tasks: If cost/duration stops increasing, the task may be stuck:

browser-use task status <task-id>
# 🔄 abc-123... [started] $0.009 45s  ← if cost doesn't change, task is stuck

Logs: Only available after task completes:

browser-use task logs <task-id>  # Works after task finishes

Cleanup

Always clean up sessions after parallel work:

# Stop all active agents
browser-use session stop --all

# Or stop specific sessions
browser-use session stop <session-id>

Troubleshooting Subagents

Session reuse fails after task stop: If you stop a task and try to reuse its session, the new task may get stuck at "created" status. Solution: create a new agent instead.

# This may fail:
browser-use task stop <task-id>
browser-use -b remote run "new task" --session-id <same-session>  # Might get stuck

# Do this instead:
browser-use -b remote run "new task" --profile <profile-id>  # Fresh session

Task stuck at "started":

• Check cost with task status - if not increasing, task is stuck
• View live URL with session get to see what's happening
• Stop the task and create a new agent

Sessions persist after tasks complete: Tasks finishing doesn't auto-stop sessions. Clean up manually:

browser-use session list --status active  # See lingering sessions
browser-use session stop --all            # Clean up

Session Management

browser-use sessions                      # List active sessions
browser-use close                         # Close current session
browser-use close --all                   # Close all sessions

Profile Management

Local Chrome Profiles (--browser real)

browser-use -b real profile list          # List local Chrome profiles

Before opening a real browser (--browser real), always ask the user if they want to use a specific Chrome profile or no profile. Use profile list to show available profiles:

browser-use -b real profile list
# Output: Default: Person 1 (user@gmail.com)
#         Profile 1: Work (work@company.com)

# With a specific profile (has that profile's cookies/logins)
browser-use --browser real --profile "Profile 1" open https://gmail.com

# Without a profile (fresh browser, no existing logins)
browser-use --browser real open https://gmail.com

# Headless mode (no visible window) - useful for cookie export
browser-use --browser real --profile "Default" cookies export /tmp/cookies.json

Each Chrome profile has its own cookies, history, and logged-in sessions. Choosing the right profile determines whether sites will be pre-authenticated.

Cloud Profiles (--browser remote)

Cloud profiles store browser state (cookies) in Browser-Use Cloud, persisting across sessions. Requires BROWSER_USE_API_KEY.

browser-use -b remote profile list            # List cloud profiles
browser-use -b remote profile list --page 2 --page-size 50  # Pagination
browser-use -b remote profile get <id>        # Get profile details
browser-use -b remote profile create          # Create new cloud profile
browser-use -b remote profile create --name "My Profile"  # Create with name
browser-use -b remote profile update <id> --name "New"    # Rename profile
browser-use -b remote profile delete <id>     # Delete profile

Use a cloud profile with --browser remote --profile <id>:

browser-use --browser remote --profile abc-123 open https://example.com

Syncing Cookies to Cloud

⚠️ IMPORTANT: Before syncing cookies from a local browser to the cloud, the agent MUST:

1. Ask the user which local Chrome profile to use (browser-use -b real profile list)
2. Ask which domain(s) to sync - do NOT default to syncing the full profile
3. Confirm before proceeding

Default behavior: Create a NEW cloud profile for each domain sync. This ensures clear separation of concerns for cookies. Users can add cookies to existing profiles if needed.

Step 1: List available profiles and cookies

# List local Chrome profiles
browser-use -b real profile list
# → Default: Person 1 (user@gmail.com)
# → Profile 1: Work (work@company.com)

# See what cookies are in a profile
browser-use -b real profile cookies "Default"
# → youtube.com: 23
# → google.com: 18
# → github.com: 2

Step 2: Sync cookies (three levels of control)

1. Domain-specific sync (recommended default)

browser-use profile sync --from "Default" --domain youtube.com
# Creates new cloud profile: "Chrome - Default (youtube.com)"
# Only syncs youtube.com cookies

This is the recommended approach - sync only the cookies you need.

2. Full profile sync (use with caution)

browser-use profile sync --from "Default"
# Syncs ALL cookies from the profile

⚠️ Warning: This syncs ALL cookies including sensitive data, tracking cookies, session tokens for every site, etc. Only use when the user explicitly needs their entire browser state.

3. Fine-grained control (advanced)

# Export cookies to file
browser-use --browser real --profile "Default" cookies export /tmp/cookies.json

# Manually edit the JSON to keep only specific cookies

# Import to cloud profile
browser-use --browser remote --profile <id> cookies import /tmp/cookies.json

For users who need individual cookie-level control.

Step 3: Use the synced profile

browser-use --browser remote --profile <id> open https://youtube.com

Adding cookies to existing profiles:

# Sync additional domain to existing profile
browser-use --browser real --profile "Default" cookies export /tmp/cookies.json
browser-use --browser remote --profile <existing-id> cookies import /tmp/cookies.json

Managing profiles:

browser-use profile update <id> --name "New Name"  # Rename
browser-use profile delete <id>                    # Delete

Server Control

browser-use server status                 # Check if server is running
browser-use server stop                   # Stop server
browser-use server logs                   # View server logs

Setup

browser-use install                       # Install Chromium and system dependencies

Global Options

Option	Description
--session NAME	Use named session (default: "default")
--browser MODE	Browser mode: chromium, real, remote
--headed	Show browser window (chromium mode)
--profile NAME	Browser profile (local name or cloud ID)
--json	Output as JSON
--api-key KEY	Override API key
--mcp	Run as MCP server via stdin/stdout

Session behavior: All commands without --session use the same "default" session. The browser stays open and is reused across commands. Use --session NAME to run multiple browsers in parallel.

API Key Configuration

Some features (run, extract, --browser remote) require an API key. The CLI checks these locations in order:

1. --api-key command line flag
2. BROWSER_USE_API_KEY environment variable
3. ~/.config/browser-use/config.json file

To configure permanently:

mkdir -p ~/.config/browser-use
echo '{"api_key": "your-key-here"}' > ~/.config/browser-use/config.json

Examples

Form Submission

browser-use open https://example.com/contact
browser-use state
# Shows: [0] input "Name", [1] input "Email", [2] textarea "Message", [3] button "Submit"
browser-use input 0 "John Doe"
browser-use input 1 "john@example.com"
browser-use input 2 "Hello, this is a test message."
browser-use click 3
browser-use state  # Verify success

Multi-Session Workflows

browser-use --session work open https://work.example.com
browser-use --session personal open https://personal.example.com
browser-use --session work state    # Check work session
browser-use --session personal state  # Check personal session
browser-use close --all             # Close both sessions

Data Extraction with Python

browser-use open https://example.com/products
browser-use python "
products = []
for i in range(20):
    browser.scroll('down')
browser.screenshot('products.png')
"
browser-use python "print(f'Captured {len(products)} products')"

Using Real Browser (Logged-In Sessions)

browser-use --browser real open https://gmail.com
# Uses your actual Chrome with existing login sessions
browser-use state  # Already logged in!

Common Patterns

Test a Local Dev Server with Cloud Browser

# Start dev server
npm run dev &  # localhost:3000

# Tunnel it
browser-use tunnel 3000
# → url: https://abc.trycloudflare.com

# Browse with cloud browser
browser-use --browser remote open https://abc.trycloudflare.com
browser-use state
browser-use screenshot

Screenshot Loop for Visual Verification

browser-use open https://example.com
for i in 1 2 3 4 5; do
  browser-use scroll down
  browser-use screenshot "page_$i.png"
done

Tips

1. Always run browser-use state first to see available elements and their indices
2. Use --headed for debugging to see what the browser is doing
3. Sessions persist - the browser stays open between commands
4. Use --json for parsing output programmatically
5. Python variables persist across browser-use python commands within a session
6. Real browser mode preserves your login sessions and extensions
7. CLI aliases: bu, browser, and browseruse all work identically to browser-use

Troubleshooting

Run diagnostics first:

browser-use doctor                    # Check installation status

Browser won't start?

browser-use install                   # Install/reinstall Chromium
browser-use server stop               # Stop any stuck server
browser-use --headed open <url>       # Try with visible window

Element not found?

browser-use state                     # Check current elements
browser-use scroll down               # Element might be below fold
browser-use state                     # Check again

Session issues?

browser-use sessions                  # Check active sessions
browser-use close --all               # Clean slate
browser-use open <url>                # Fresh start

Cleanup

Always close the browser when done. Run this after completing browser automation:

browser-use close