Anti-Detect Browser Automation with camoufox-cli

What Makes This Different

camoufox-cli is built on Camoufox (anti-detect Firefox) with C++-level fingerprint spoofing:

• navigator.webdriver = false
• Real browser plugins, randomized canvas/WebGL/audio fingerprints
• Real Firefox UA string -- passes bot detection on sites that block Chromium automation

Use camoufox-cli instead of agent-browser when the target site has bot detection.

Core Workflow

Every browser automation follows this pattern:

1. Navigate: camoufox-cli open <url>
2. Snapshot: camoufox-cli 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

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

camoufox-cli fill @e1 "user@example.com"
camoufox-cli fill @e2 "password123"
camoufox-cli click @e3
camoufox-cli snapshot -i  # Check result

Command Chaining

Commands can be chained with && in a single shell invocation. The browser persists between commands via a background daemon, so chaining is safe and more efficient than separate calls.

# Chain open + snapshot in one call
camoufox-cli open https://example.com && camoufox-cli snapshot -i

# Chain multiple interactions
camoufox-cli fill @e1 "user@example.com" && camoufox-cli fill @e2 "password123" && camoufox-cli click @e3

# Navigate and capture
camoufox-cli open https://example.com && camoufox-cli screenshot page.png

When to chain: Use && when you don't need to read the output of an intermediate command before proceeding (e.g., open + screenshot). Run commands separately when you need to parse the output first (e.g., snapshot to discover refs, then interact using those refs).

Essential Commands

# Navigation
camoufox-cli open <url>              # Navigate to URL (starts daemon if needed)
camoufox-cli back                    # Go back
camoufox-cli forward                 # Go forward
camoufox-cli reload                  # Reload page
camoufox-cli url                     # Print current URL
camoufox-cli title                   # Print page title
camoufox-cli close                   # Close browser and stop daemon
camoufox-cli close --all             # Close all sessions

# Snapshot
camoufox-cli snapshot                # Full aria tree of page
camoufox-cli snapshot -i             # Interactive elements only (recommended)
camoufox-cli snapshot -s "#selector" # Scope to CSS selector

# Interaction (use @refs from snapshot)
camoufox-cli click @e1               # Click element
camoufox-cli fill @e1 "text"         # Clear + type into input
camoufox-cli type @e1 "text"         # Type without clearing (append)
camoufox-cli select @e1 "option"     # Select dropdown option
camoufox-cli check @e1               # Toggle checkbox
camoufox-cli hover @e1               # Hover over element
camoufox-cli press Enter             # Press keyboard key
camoufox-cli press "Control+a"       # Key combination

# Data Extraction
camoufox-cli text @e1                # Get text content of element
camoufox-cli text body               # Get all page text (CSS selector)
camoufox-cli eval "document.title"   # Execute JavaScript

# Capture
camoufox-cli screenshot              # Screenshot to stdout (base64)
camoufox-cli screenshot page.png     # Screenshot to file
camoufox-cli screenshot --full p.png # Full page screenshot
camoufox-cli pdf output.pdf          # Save page as PDF

# Scroll & Wait
camoufox-cli scroll down             # Scroll down 500px
camoufox-cli scroll up               # Scroll up 500px
camoufox-cli scroll down 1000        # Scroll down 1000px
camoufox-cli wait @e1                # Wait for element to appear
camoufox-cli wait 2000               # Wait milliseconds
camoufox-cli wait --url "*/dashboard" # Wait for URL pattern

# Tabs
camoufox-cli tabs                    # List open tabs
camoufox-cli switch 2                # Switch to tab by index
camoufox-cli close-tab               # Close current tab

# Cookies & State
camoufox-cli cookies                 # Dump cookies as JSON
camoufox-cli cookies import file.json # Import cookies
camoufox-cli cookies export file.json # Export cookies

# Sessions
camoufox-cli sessions                # List active sessions
camoufox-cli --session work open <url> # Use named session
camoufox-cli close --all             # Close all sessions

# Setup
camoufox-cli install                 # Download Camoufox browser
camoufox-cli install --with-deps     # Download browser + system libs (Linux)

Common Patterns

Form Submission

camoufox-cli open https://example.com/signup
camoufox-cli snapshot -i
camoufox-cli fill @e1 "Jane Doe"
camoufox-cli fill @e2 "jane@example.com"
camoufox-cli select @e3 "California"
camoufox-cli check @e4
camoufox-cli click @e5
camoufox-cli snapshot -i  # Verify submission result

Data Extraction

camoufox-cli open https://example.com/products
camoufox-cli snapshot -i
camoufox-cli text @e5                # Get specific element text
camoufox-cli eval "document.title"   # Get page title via JS
camoufox-cli screenshot results.png  # Visual capture

Cookie Management (Persist Login)

# Login and export cookies
camoufox-cli open https://app.example.com/login
camoufox-cli snapshot -i
camoufox-cli fill @e1 "user"
camoufox-cli fill @e2 "pass"
camoufox-cli click @e3
camoufox-cli cookies export auth.json

# Restore in future session
camoufox-cli open https://app.example.com
camoufox-cli cookies import auth.json
camoufox-cli reload

Multiple Tabs

camoufox-cli open https://site-a.com
camoufox-cli eval "window.open('https://site-b.com')"
camoufox-cli tabs                    # List tabs
camoufox-cli switch 1                # Switch to second tab
camoufox-cli snapshot -i

Parallel Sessions

camoufox-cli --session s1 open https://site-a.com
camoufox-cli --session s2 open https://site-b.com
camoufox-cli sessions                # List both
camoufox-cli --session s1 snapshot -i
camoufox-cli --session s2 snapshot -i

Visual Browser (Debugging)

camoufox-cli --headed open https://example.com
camoufox-cli snapshot -i
camoufox-cli screenshot debug.png

Session Management and Cleanup

When running multiple agents or automations concurrently, always use named sessions to avoid conflicts:

camoufox-cli --session agent1 open https://site-a.com
camoufox-cli --session agent2 open https://site-b.com
camoufox-cli sessions                  # Check active sessions

Always close your browser session when done to avoid leaked processes:

camoufox-cli close                     # Close default session
camoufox-cli --session agent1 close    # Close specific session
camoufox-cli close --all               # Close all sessions

If a previous session was not closed properly, the daemon may still be running. Use camoufox-cli close to clean it up before starting new work.

Timeouts and Slow Pages

Some pages take time to fully load, especially those with dynamic content or heavy JavaScript. Use explicit waits before taking a snapshot:

# Wait for a specific element to appear
camoufox-cli wait @e1
camoufox-cli snapshot -i

# Wait for a URL pattern (useful after redirects)
camoufox-cli wait --url "*/dashboard"
camoufox-cli snapshot -i

# Wait a fixed duration as a last resort
camoufox-cli wait 3000
camoufox-cli snapshot -i

When dealing with slow pages, always wait before snapshotting. If you snapshot too early, elements may be missing from the output.

Ref Lifecycle (Important)

Refs (@e1, @e2, etc.) are temporary identifiers assigned by sequential numbering during each snapshot. They are invalidated when the page changes.

Always re-snapshot after:

• Clicking links or buttons that navigate
• Form submissions
• Dynamic content loading (dropdowns, modals, lazy-loaded content)
• Scrolling that triggers new content

# CORRECT: re-snapshot after navigation
camoufox-cli click @e5              # Navigates to new page
camoufox-cli snapshot -i            # MUST re-snapshot
camoufox-cli click @e1              # Use new refs

# CORRECT: re-snapshot after dynamic changes
camoufox-cli click @e1              # Opens dropdown
camoufox-cli snapshot -i            # See dropdown items
camoufox-cli click @e7              # Select item

# WRONG: using refs without snapshot
camoufox-cli open https://example.com
camoufox-cli click @e1              # Ref doesn't exist yet!

# WRONG: using old refs after navigation
camoufox-cli click @e5              # Navigates away
camoufox-cli click @e3              # STALE REF - wrong element!

For detailed ref documentation, see references/snapshot-refs.md.

Troubleshooting

"Ref @eN not found"

The ref was invalidated. Re-snapshot to get fresh refs:

camoufox-cli snapshot -i

Element Not Visible in Snapshot

# Scroll down to reveal element
camoufox-cli scroll down 1000
camoufox-cli snapshot -i

# Or wait for dynamic content
camoufox-cli wait 2000
camoufox-cli snapshot -i

Too Many Elements in Snapshot

# Scope to a specific container
camoufox-cli snapshot -s "#main-content"
camoufox-cli snapshot -i -s "form.login"

Page Not Fully Loaded

# Wait for URL pattern after redirect
camoufox-cli wait --url "*/dashboard"
camoufox-cli snapshot -i

# Wait a fixed duration as last resort
camoufox-cli wait 3000
camoufox-cli snapshot -i

Global Flags

--session <name>       Named session (default: "default")
--headed               Show browser window (default: headless)
--timeout <seconds>    Daemon idle timeout (default: 1800)
--json                 Output as JSON instead of human-readable
--persistent <path>    Use persistent browser profile directory

Deep-Dive Documentation