Browserbase Sessions Skill
Manage persistent cloud browser sessions via Browserbase. This skill creates browser sessions that preserve authentication (cookies, local storage) across interactions, automatically solve CAPTCHAs, and record sessions for later review.
First-Time Setup
Step 1 — Get your Browserbase credentials
- Sign up at browserbase.com if you haven't already.
- Go to Settings → API Keys and copy your API key (starts with
bb_live_). - Go to Settings → Project and copy your Project ID (a UUID).
Step 2 — Install dependencies
cd {baseDir}/scripts && pip install -r requirements.txt
playwright install chromium
Or with uv:
cd {baseDir}/scripts && uv pip install -r requirements.txt
uv run playwright install chromium
Step 3 — Set environment variables
export BROWSERBASE_API_KEY="bb_live_your_key_here"
export BROWSERBASE_PROJECT_ID="your-project-uuid-here"
Or configure via OpenClaw's skills.entries.browserbase-sessions.env in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json.
Step 4 — Run the setup test
This validates everything end-to-end (credentials, SDK, Playwright, API connection, and a live smoke test):
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py setup
You should see "status": "success" with all steps passing. If any step fails, the error message tells you exactly what to fix.
Defaults
Every session is created with these defaults to support research workflows:
- Captcha solving: ON — Browserbase automatically solves CAPTCHAs so login flows and protected pages work without manual intervention. Disable with
--no-solve-captchas. - Session recording: ON — Every session is recorded as a video you can download later for review or sharing. Disable with
--no-record. - Auth persistence — Use contexts with
--persistto stay logged in across sessions.
Available Commands
All commands are run via the manager script:
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py <command> [options]
Setup & Validation
Run the full setup test:
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py setup
Context Management (for authentication persistence)
Create a named context to store login state:
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py create-context --name github
List all saved contexts:
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py list-contexts
Delete a context (by name or ID):
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py delete-context --context-id github
Session Lifecycle
Create a new session (captcha solving and recording enabled by default):
# Basic session
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py create-session
# Session with saved context (persist=true saves cookies on close)
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py create-session --context-id github --persist
# Keep-alive session for long research (survives disconnections)
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py create-session --context-id github --persist --keep-alive --timeout 3600
# Full options
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py create-session \
--context-id github \
--persist \
--keep-alive \
--timeout 3600 \
--region us-west-2 \
--proxy \
--block-ads \
--viewport-width 1280 \
--viewport-height 720
List all sessions:
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py list-sessions
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py list-sessions --status RUNNING
Get session details:
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py get-session --session-id <id>
Terminate a session:
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py terminate-session --session-id <id>
Browser Automation
Navigate to a URL:
# Navigate and get page title
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py navigate --session-id <id> --url "https://example.com"
# Navigate and extract text
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py navigate --session-id <id> --url "https://example.com" --extract-text
# Navigate and save screenshot
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py navigate --session-id <id> --url "https://example.com" --screenshot /tmp/page.png
# Navigate and take full-page screenshot
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py navigate --session-id <id> --url "https://example.com" --screenshot /tmp/full.png --full-page
Take a screenshot of the current page (without navigating):
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py screenshot --session-id <id> --output /tmp/current.png
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py screenshot --session-id <id> --output /tmp/full.png --full-page
Execute JavaScript:
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py execute-js --session-id <id> --code "document.title"
Get cookies:
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py get-cookies --session-id <id>
Recordings, Logs & Debug
Download a session recording video (session must be terminated first):
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py get-recording --session-id <id> --output /tmp/session.webm
Get session logs:
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py get-logs --session-id <id>
Get the live debug URL (for visual inspection of a running session):
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py live-url --session-id <id>
Common Workflows
Workflow 1: Multi-session research with persistent login
# 1. One-time: create a named context for the site
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py create-context --name myapp
# 2. Start a research session (captchas auto-solved, recording on)
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py create-session --context-id myapp --persist --keep-alive --timeout 3600
# 3. Navigate to login — captchas solved automatically
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py navigate --session-id <id> --url "https://myapp.com/login"
# Use execute-js to fill forms and submit
# 4. Do research, take screenshots
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py navigate --session-id <id> --url "https://myapp.com/dashboard" --extract-text
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py screenshot --session-id <id> --output /tmp/dashboard.png
# 5. Terminate (cookies saved to context)
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py terminate-session --session-id <id>
# 6. Download recording to share
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py get-recording --session-id <id> --output /tmp/research.webm
# 7. Next day: new session, already logged in!
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py create-session --context-id myapp --persist --keep-alive --timeout 3600
Workflow 2: Screenshot documentation
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py create-session
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py navigate --session-id <id> --url "https://docs.example.com" --screenshot /tmp/docs_home.png
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py navigate --session-id <id> --url "https://docs.example.com/api" --screenshot /tmp/docs_api.png --full-page
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py terminate-session --session-id <id>
Workflow 3: Record and share a walkthrough
# Session recording is ON by default
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py create-session --context-id myapp --persist
# ... do your walkthrough (navigate, click, etc.) ...
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py terminate-session --session-id <id>
# Download the video
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/browserbase_manager.py get-recording --session-id <id> --output /tmp/walkthrough.webm
Important Notes
- Captcha solving is ON by default. Browserbase handles CAPTCHAs automatically during login flows and page loads. Use
--no-solve-captchasto disable. - Recording is ON by default. Every session is recorded. Download with
get-recordingafter termination. Use--no-recordto disable. - Connection timeout: 5 minutes to connect after creation before auto-termination.
- Keep-alive sessions survive disconnections and must be explicitly terminated.
- Context persistence: Wait a few seconds after
terminate-session --persistbefore creating a new session with the same context. - Named contexts: Use
--namewithcreate-contextto save friendly names (e.g.github,slack). Use the name anywhere a context ID is expected. - One context per site: Use separate contexts for different authenticated sites.
- Avoid concurrent sessions on the same context.
- Regions: us-west-2 (default), us-east-1, eu-central-1, ap-southeast-1.
- Session timeout: 60–21600 seconds (max 6 hours).
Error Handling
All commands return JSON output. On error, the output includes an "error" key. Common errors:
APIConnectionError: Browserbase API unreachableRateLimitError: Too many concurrent sessions for your planAPIStatusError: Invalid parameters or authentication failure- Missing env vars: Set
BROWSERBASE_API_KEYandBROWSERBASE_PROJECT_ID
Reference
For full API details, read {baseDir}/references/api-quick-ref.md.