Browse Browser Automation

Control Chrome browser via CLI.

CLI Quick Reference

browse --help                    # Full help
browse <group>                   # Group help (tab, scroll, page, wait, dialog, emulate, form, perf)
browse --list                    # All 60+ tools
browse --find <term>             # Search tools

Core Workflow

# 1. Open new tab with URL
browse tab.new "https://example.com"

# 2. Read page to get element refs (currently visible)
browse page.read

# 3. Click by ref or coordinates
browse click --ref "e1"
browse click --x 100 --y 200

# 4. Type text
browse type --text "hello"

# 5. Screenshot
browse screenshot --output /tmp/shot.png

Navigation

# Open new tab (preferred for new pages)
browse tab.new "https://example.com"

# Navigate in current tab (only when tab is already open)
browse navigate "https://other-page.com"

Use tab.new to open a new page or start a task. Use navigate only to change URL in an already open tab.

Tab Management

browse tab.list
browse tab.new "https://google.com"
browse tab.switch 12345
browse tab.close 12345

# Named tabs (aliases)
browse tab.name myapp            # Name current tab
browse tab.switch myapp          # Switch by name
browse tab.named                 # List named tabs

Window Management

browse window.list                              # List all windows
browse window.new                               # New window
browse window.new --url "https://example.com"   # New window with URL
browse window.new --incognito                   # New incognito window
browse window.focus 12345                       # Focus window by ID
browse window.close 12345                       # Close window
browse window.resize --width 1920 --height 1080 # Resize current window

Input Methods

# CDP method (real events) - default
browse type --text "hello"
browse click --x 100 --y 200

# JS method (DOM manipulation) - for contenteditable
browse type --text "hello" --selector "#input" --method js

# Keys
browse key Enter
browse key "cmd+a"
browse key.repeat --key Tab --count 5           # Repeat key presses

Page Inspection

browse page.read                 # Accessibility tree with refs (viewport only)
browse page.read --ref e5        # Get specific element details
browse page.read --all           # All elements (may hit 50K char limit on large pages)
browse page.text                 # Full page text content (no limit)
browse page.state                # Modals, loading state, scroll info

When to use which:

• page.text - Get full page text content. No size limit. Best for reading/understanding page content.
• page.read - Get element refs for visible viewport. Use when you need to interact (click, type).
• page.read --all - All elements with refs. Can fail on large pages (50K char limit).

Note: page.read returns only elements in the visible viewport. Refs remain valid for off-screen elements - you can still click e5 even after scrolling. Use scroll.to --ref e5 to bring an element into view.

Scrolling

browse scroll down               # Scroll down (default amount)
browse scroll up                 # Scroll up
browse scroll down --amount 5    # Scroll down more (1-10)
browse scroll.bottom             # Scroll to bottom of page
browse scroll.top                # Scroll to top of page
browse scroll.to --ref e5        # Scroll element into view
browse scroll.info               # Get scroll position

Waiting

browse wait 2                    # Wait 2 seconds
browse wait.element ".loaded"    # Wait for element
browse wait.network              # Wait for network idle
browse wait.url "/success"       # Wait for URL pattern
browse wait.dom --stable 100     # Wait for DOM stability
browse wait.load                 # Wait for page load complete

Dialog Handling

browse dialog.info               # Get current dialog type/message
browse dialog.accept             # Accept (OK)
browse dialog.accept --text "response"  # Accept prompt with text
browse dialog.dismiss            # Dismiss (Cancel)

Device/Network Emulation

# Network throttling
browse emulate.network slow-3g   # Presets: slow-3g, fast-3g, 4g, offline
browse emulate.network reset     # Disable throttling

# CPU throttling  
browse emulate.cpu 4             # 4x slower
browse emulate.cpu 1             # Reset

# Device emulation
browse emulate.device "iPhone 14"
browse emulate.device --list     # List available devices

# Geolocation
browse emulate.geo --lat 37.7749 --lon -122.4194
browse emulate.geo --clear

Form Automation

browse page.read                 # Get element refs first

# Fill by ref
browse form.fill --data '[{"ref":"e1","value":"John"},{"ref":"e2","value":"john@example.com"}]'

# Checkboxes: true/false
browse form.fill --data '[{"ref":"e7","value":true}]'

File Upload

browse upload --ref e5 --files "/path/to/file.txt"
browse upload --ref e5 --files "/path/file1.txt,/path/file2.txt"

Network Inspection

browse network                   # List captured requests
browse network --stream          # Real-time network events
browse network.body --id "req-123"  # Get response body
browse network.clear             # Clear captured requests

Console

browse console                   # Get console messages
browse console --stream          # Real-time console
browse console --stream --level error  # Errors only

JavaScript Execution

browse js "return document.title"
browse js "document.querySelector('.btn').click()"

Iframe Handling

browse frame.list                # List frames with IDs
browse frame.js --id "FRAME_ID" --code "return document.title"

Performance

browse perf.metrics              # Current metrics snapshot
browse perf.start                # Start trace
browse perf.stop                 # Stop and get results

Screenshots

browse screenshot                           # To stdout (base64)
browse screenshot --output /tmp/shot.png    # Save to file
browse screenshot --selector ".card"        # Element only
browse screenshot --full-page               # Full page scroll capture

Cookies & Storage

browse cookies                   # List cookies for current page
browse cookies --domain .google.com
browse cookie.set --name "token" --value "abc123"
browse cookie.delete --name "token"

History & Bookmarks

browse history --query "github" --max 20
browse bookmarks --query "docs"
browse bookmark.add --url "https://..." --title "My Bookmark"

Health Checks & Smoke Tests

browse health --url "http://localhost:3000"
browse smoke --urls "http://localhost:3000" "http://localhost:3000/about"
browse smoke --urls "..." --screenshot /tmp/smoke

Error Diagnostics

# Auto-capture screenshot + console on failure
browse wait.element ".missing" --auto-capture --timeout 2000
# Saves to /tmp/browse-error-*.png

Common Options

--tab-id <id>         # Target specific tab
--json                # Raw JSON output  
--auto-capture        # Screenshot + console on error
--timeout <ms>        # Override default timeout

Tips

1. First CDP operation is slow (~5-8s) - debugger attachment overhead, subsequent calls fast
2. Use refs from page.read for reliable element targeting over CSS selectors
3. JS method for contenteditable - Modern editors (Notion, etc.) need --method js
4. Named tabs for multi-step tasks - tab.name app then tab.switch app
5. Auto-capture for debugging - --auto-capture saves diagnostics on failure