Browser Automation Skill

Overview

OpenClaw Browser Automation Skill provides a CLI-driven, headless browser automation toolkit for OpenClaw agents, enabling reliable web navigation, semantic element targeting, form filling, data extraction, and UI testing. Key features include a clear core workflow (OPEN → SNAPSHOT → INTERACT → VERIFY → REPEAT → CLOSE), interactive and compact snapshot modes to produce element @refs, scoped snapshots and depth control, and precise element commands (click, fill, type) that use snapshot references. Installation is available via npm or npx (agent-browser install --with-deps), and the skill supports session reuse, credential-aware flows, and CI-friendly automation. Typical use cases are end-to-end UI testing, automated data extraction, form-driven workflows, regression testing, and repeatable browser tasks. The core advantage is structured, reproducible automation with semantic element references and a minimal, audit-friendly command set.

Summary

Installation

Quick Install (Recommended)

npm install -g agent-browser
agent-browser install --with-deps

Verify Installation

agent-browser --version

If installation fails, try:

npx agent-browser install --with-deps

Core Workflow Pattern

Every browser automation task follows this pattern:

1. OPEN    -> Navigate to target URL
2. SNAPSHOT -> Analyze page structure, get element refs
3. INTERACT -> Click, fill, select using refs
4. VERIFY   -> Re-snapshot to confirm changes
5. REPEAT   -> Continue until task complete
6. CLOSE    -> Clean up browser session

Quick Reference

Navigation

Page Analysis

Element Interaction (use @refs from snapshot)

Data Extraction

Waiting (Critical for Reliability)

Screenshots & PDF

Common Task Recipes

Recipe 1: Login Flow

# 1. Open login page
agent-browser open https://example.com/login

# 2. Get interactive elements
agent-browser snapshot -i
# Output: textbox "Email" [ref=e1], textbox "Password" [ref=e2], button "Sign in" [ref=e3]

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

# 4. Submit
agent-browser click @e3

# 5. Wait for redirect
agent-browser wait --url "/dashboard"
agent-browser wait --load networkidle

# 6. Save session for reuse
agent-browser state save session.json

# 7. Verify success
agent-browser snapshot -i

Recipe 2: Data Extraction Loop

# Navigate to listing page
agent-browser open https://example.com/products

# Get initial snapshot
agent-browser snapshot -i

# Extract data from each item
agent-browser get text @e1
agent-browser get attr @e2 href

# Check for pagination
agent-browser snapshot -s ".pagination"

# Click next if exists
agent-browser click @e5
agent-browser wait --load networkidle

# Re-snapshot for new content
agent-browser snapshot -i

Recipe 3: Form Submission with Validation

# Open form
agent-browser open https://example.com/contact

# Analyze form structure
agent-browser snapshot -i

# Fill all required fields
agent-browser fill @e1 "John Doe"
agent-browser fill @e2 "john@example.com"
agent-browser fill @e3 "Hello, this is my message."

# Select dropdown if present
agent-browser select @e4 "support"

# Check required checkbox
agent-browser check @e5

# Submit form
agent-browser click @e6

# Wait and verify submission
agent-browser wait --text "Thank you"
agent-browser snapshot -i

Recipe 4: Session Persistence

# First time: Login 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 "/home"
agent-browser state save auth-session.json

# Later: Restore session and continue
agent-browser state load auth-session.json
agent-browser open https://app.example.com/dashboard
# Already logged in!

Recipe 5: Multi-Tab Workflow

# Open first site
agent-browser open https://site-a.com

# Open second tab
agent-browser tab new https://site-b.com

# List tabs
agent-browser tab
# Output: Tab 1: site-a.com, Tab 2: site-b.com (active)

# Switch between tabs
agent-browser tab 1
agent-browser snapshot -i
# Work on tab 1...

agent-browser tab 2
agent-browser snapshot -i
# Work on tab 2...

Recipe 6: Debugging Failed Automation

# Enable headed mode to see what's happening
agent-browser open https://example.com --headed

# Check for JavaScript errors
agent-browser errors

# View console output
agent-browser console

# Highlight element to verify selection
agent-browser highlight @e1

# Take screenshot for debugging
agent-browser screenshot debug.png

# Start trace for detailed analysis
agent-browser trace start
# ... perform actions ...
agent-browser trace stop trace.zip

Semantic Locators (Alternative to Refs)

When refs are unstable or you need more readable selectors:

# Find by role
agent-browser find role button click --name "Submit"

# Find by text content
agent-browser find text "Sign In" click

# Find by label
agent-browser find label "Email" fill "user@test.com"

# Find first matching selector
agent-browser find first ".item" click

# Find nth element
agent-browser find nth 2 "a" text

Network Control

# Mock API response
agent-browser network route "*/api/user" --body '{"name":"Test User"}'

# Block analytics/ads
agent-browser network route "*google-analytics*" --abort
agent-browser network route "*facebook.com*" --abort

# View captured requests
agent-browser network requests --filter api

# Remove routes
agent-browser network unroute

Browser Configuration

# Set viewport for responsive testing
agent-browser set viewport 1920 1080
agent-browser set viewport 375 667  # Mobile

# Emulate device
agent-browser set device "iPhone 14"
agent-browser set device "Pixel 5"

# Set geolocation
agent-browser set geo 40.7128 -74.0060  # New York

# Dark mode testing
agent-browser set media dark

Best Practices

1. Always Snapshot After Navigation

agent-browser open https://example.com
agent-browser wait --load networkidle
agent-browser snapshot -i  # ALWAYS do this after navigation

2. Use fill Instead of type for Inputs

# GOOD: Clears existing text first
agent-browser fill @e1 "new text"

# BAD: Appends to existing text
agent-browser type @e1 "new text"

3. Add Explicit Waits for Reliability

# After clicking that triggers navigation
agent-browser click @e1
agent-browser wait --load networkidle

# After AJAX updates
agent-browser click @e1
agent-browser wait --text "Updated"

4. Handle Iframes Explicitly

# Switch to iframe before interacting
agent-browser frame "#iframe-id"
agent-browser snapshot -i
agent-browser click @e1

# Return to main frame
agent-browser frame main

5. Save Session State Early

# Save immediately after successful login
agent-browser state save session.json
# Can reload if something breaks later

Error Recovery

Element Not Found

# Re-snapshot to get updated refs
agent-browser snapshot -i

# Try semantic locator
agent-browser find text "Button Text" click

# Check if element is in iframe
agent-browser frame "#iframe"
agent-browser snapshot -i

Page Not Loading

# Increase timeout
agent-browser open https://slow-site.com --timeout 60000

# Wait explicitly
agent-browser wait --load networkidle
agent-browser wait 5000

Session Lost

# Reload saved state
agent-browser state load session.json
agent-browser reload

Debug Mode

# Visual debugging
agent-browser open https://example.com --headed
agent-browser screenshot debug.png
agent-browser errors
agent-browser console

Parallel Sessions

For working with multiple isolated browsers:

# Session 1
agent-browser --session user1 open https://app.com
agent-browser --session user1 snapshot -i

# Session 2 (completely isolated)
agent-browser --session user2 open https://app.com
agent-browser --session user2 snapshot -i

# List all sessions
agent-browser session list

# Each session has separate cookies, storage, and state

JSON Output for Parsing

Add --json flag to get machine-readable output:

agent-browser snapshot -i --json | jq '.elements[]'
agent-browser get text @e1 --json
agent-browser get url --json

Video Recording

# Start recording from current page
agent-browser record start ./demo.webm

# Perform your automation
agent-browser click @e1
agent-browser fill @e2 "text"

# Stop and save
agent-browser record stop

Troubleshooting Checklist

1. Command not found: Run agent-browser install --with-deps
2. Element not found: Run agent-browser snapshot -i to refresh refs
3. Page timeout: Add --timeout 60000 for slow pages
4. Can't see what's happening: Add --headed flag
5. Login not persisting: Use agent-browser state save/load
6. Refs changed: Always re-snapshot after navigation
7. Iframe content: Use agent-browser frame to switch context

Ratings

5.0

Based on 3 reviews

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