Browser Use CLI

The Browser Use CLI (browser-use) is the command-line interface for the Browser Use platform. It does two things:

Direct browser control — navigate pages, click elements, fill forms, upload files, take screenshots, run JavaScript. Supports three browser modes: managed headless Chromium, real Chrome with existing user profiles and logins, and cloud-hosted browsers via the Browser Use Cloud API. A persistent background daemon keeps the browser alive between commands for fast ~50ms latency.
Cloud platform management — a generic REST passthrough to the Browser Use API (v2 and v3) for managing agent tasks, cloud browser sessions, profiles, workspaces, files, skills, and billing. Anything available in the cloud dashboard is accessible from the terminal.

The core browser workflow is: navigate to a page, run state to get numbered element indices, then interact using those indices. The cloud workflow is: cloud login to authenticate, then use cloud v2/cloud v3 commands to hit any API endpoint, or cloud connect to provision and drive a cloud browser directly.

Installation

Prerequisites

Platform	Requirements
macOS	Python 3.11+ (installer will use Homebrew if needed)
Linux	Python 3.11+ (installer will use apt if needed)
Windows	Git for Windows, Python 3.11+

One-Line Install (Recommended)

macOS / Linux:

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

Windows (run in PowerShell):

& "C:\Program Files\Git\bin\bash.exe" -c 'curl -fsSL https://browser-use.com/cli/install.sh | bash'

Install the Skill

The CLI is most powerful when paired with its skill, which gives your coding agent full context on every command, flag, and workflow. It is highly recommended to install the skill alongside the CLI:

npx skills add https://github.com/browser-use/browser-use --skill browser-use

Post-Install

browser-use doctor   # Validate installation
browser-use setup    # Run setup wizard (optional)

Manual Installation

If you prefer not to use the one-line installer:

# 1. Install the package
uv pip install browser-use

# 2. Install Chromium
browser-use install

# 3. Validate
browser-use doctor

From Source

uv pip install -e .

Quick Start

# Open a webpage (starts browser automatically)
browser-use open https://example.com

# See clickable elements with their indices
browser-use state

# Click an element by index
browser-use click 5

# Type text into focused element
browser-use type "Hello World"

# Fill a specific input field (click + type)
browser-use input 3 "john@example.com"

# Take a screenshot
browser-use screenshot output.png

# Close the browser
browser-use close

Browser Modes

# Default: headless Chromium
browser-use open https://example.com

# Visible browser window
browser-use --headed open https://example.com

# Use your real Chrome with Default profile (with existing logins/cookies)
browser-use --profile "Default" open https://gmail.com

# Use a specific Chrome profile
browser-use --profile "Profile 1" open https://gmail.com

# Auto-discover and connect to running Chrome
browser-use --connect open https://example.com

# Connect to an existing browser via CDP URL
browser-use --cdp-url http://localhost:9222 open https://example.com

# WebSocket CDP URL also works
browser-use --cdp-url ws://localhost:9222/devtools/browser/... state

All Commands

Command	Description
`open <url>`	Navigate to URL
`back`	Go back in history
`scroll down`	Scroll down
`scroll up`	Scroll up
`scroll down --amount 1000`	Scroll by pixels

Inspection

Command	Description
`state`	Get URL, title, and clickable elements
`screenshot [path]`	Take screenshot (base64 if no path)
`screenshot --full path.png`	Full page screenshot

Interaction

Command	Description
`click <index>`	Click element by index
`click <x> <y>`	Click at pixel coordinates
`type "text"`	Type into focused element
`input <index> "text"`	Click element, then type
`keys "Enter"`	Send keyboard keys
`keys "Control+a"`	Send key combination
`select <index> "value"`	Select dropdown option
`upload <index> <path>`	Upload file to file input element
`hover <index>`	Hover over element
`dblclick <index>`	Double-click element
`rightclick <index>`	Right-click element

Tabs

Command	Description
`switch <tab>`	Switch to tab by index
`close-tab`	Close current tab
`close-tab <tab>`	Close specific tab

Cookies

Command	Description
`cookies get`	Get all cookies
`cookies get --url <url>`	Get cookies for URL
`cookies set <name> <value>`	Set a cookie
`cookies set name val --domain .example.com --secure`	Set with options
`cookies set name val --same-site Strict`	SameSite: Strict, Lax, None
`cookies set name val --expires 1735689600`	Set expiration timestamp
`cookies clear`	Clear all cookies
`cookies clear --url <url>`	Clear cookies for URL
`cookies export <file>`	Export to JSON file
`cookies import <file>`	Import from JSON file

Wait

Command	Description
`wait selector "css"`	Wait for element to be visible
`wait selector ".loading" --state hidden`	Wait for element to disappear
`wait text "Success"`	Wait for text to appear
`wait selector "h1" --timeout 5000`	Custom timeout (ms)

Get (Information Retrieval)

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

JavaScript & Data

Command	Description
`eval "js code"`	Execute JavaScript
`extract "query"`	Extract data with LLM (not yet implemented)

Python (Persistent Session)

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

Cloud API

Generic REST passthrough to the Browser-Use Cloud API, plus cloud browser provisioning.

Command	Description
`cloud connect`	Provision cloud browser and connect
`cloud connect --timeout 120`	Cloud browser with custom timeout
`cloud connect --proxy-country US`	Cloud browser with proxy
`cloud connect --profile-id <id>`	Cloud browser with profile
`cloud login <api-key>`	Save API key
`cloud logout`	Remove API key
`cloud v2 GET <path>`	GET request to API v2
`cloud v2 POST <path> '<json>'`	POST request to API v2
`cloud v3 POST <path> '<json>'`	POST request to API v3
`cloud v2 poll <task-id>`	Poll task until done
`cloud v2 --help`	Show API v2 endpoints (from OpenAPI spec)
`cloud v3 --help`	Show API v3 endpoints

# Save API key (or set BROWSER_USE_API_KEY env var)
browser-use cloud login sk-abc123...

# Provision a cloud browser and connect
browser-use cloud connect
browser-use state                    # works normally
browser-use close                    # disconnects AND stops cloud browser

# List browsers
browser-use cloud v2 GET /browsers

# Create a task
browser-use cloud v2 POST /tasks '{"task":"Search for AI news","url":"https://google.com"}'

# Poll until done
browser-use cloud v2 poll <task-id>

# Remove API key
browser-use cloud logout

API key stored in ~/.browser-use/config.json with 0600 permissions.

Tunnels

Expose local dev servers to cloud browsers via Cloudflare tunnels.

Command	Description
`tunnel <port>`	Start tunnel, get public URL
`tunnel list`	List active tunnels
`tunnel stop <port>`	Stop tunnel for port
`tunnel stop --all`	Stop all tunnels

# Example: Test local dev server with cloud browser
npm run dev &                              # localhost:3000
browser-use tunnel 3000                    # → https://abc.trycloudflare.com
browser-use cloud connect                  # Provision cloud browser
browser-use open https://abc.trycloudflare.com

Profile Management

The profile subcommand delegates to the profile-use Go binary, which syncs local browser cookies to Browser-Use cloud. The binary is managed at ~/.browser-use/bin/profile-use and auto-downloaded on first use.

Command	Description
`profile`	Interactive sync wizard
`profile list`	List detected browsers and profiles
`profile sync --all`	Sync all profiles to cloud
`profile sync --browser "Google Chrome" --profile "Default"`	Sync specific profile
`profile auth --apikey <key>`	Set API key (shared with `cloud login`)
`profile inspect --browser "Google Chrome" --profile "Default"`	Inspect cookies locally
`profile update`	Download/update the profile-use binary

Session Management

Command	Description
`sessions`	List active browser sessions
`close`	Close current session’s browser and daemon
`close --all`	Close all sessions
`--session NAME`	Target a named session (default: “default”)

# Default behavior unchanged
browser-use open https://example.com           # uses session 'default'
browser-use state                              # talks to 'default' daemon

# Named sessions
browser-use --session work open https://example.com
browser-use --session work state
browser-use --session cloud cloud connect

# List active sessions
browser-use sessions

# Close specific session
browser-use --session work close

# Close all sessions
browser-use close --all

# Env var fallback
BROWSER_USE_SESSION=work browser-use state

Global Options

Option	Description
`--headed`	Show browser window
`--profile [NAME]`	Use real Chrome (bare `--profile` uses “Default”)
`--connect`	Auto-discover and connect to running Chrome via CDP
`--cdp-url <url>`	Connect to existing browser via CDP URL (`http://` or `ws://`)
`--session NAME`	Target a named session (default: “default”, env: `BROWSER_USE_SESSION`)
`--json`	Output as JSON
`--mcp`	Run as MCP server via stdin/stdout

Examples

Fill a Form

browser-use open https://example.com/contact
browser-use state
# Shows: [0] input "Name", [1] input "Email", [2] button "Submit"
browser-use input 0 "John Doe"
browser-use input 1 "john@example.com"
browser-use click 2

Extract Data with JavaScript

browser-use open https://news.ycombinator.com
browser-use eval "Array.from(document.querySelectorAll('.titleline a')).slice(0,5).map(a => a.textContent)"

Python Automation

browser-use open https://example.com
browser-use python "
for i in range(5):
    browser.scroll('down')
    browser.wait(0.5)
browser.screenshot('scrolled.png')
"

Generate Templates

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

How It Works

The CLI uses a multi-session daemon architecture:

First command starts a background daemon for that session (browser stays open)
Subsequent commands communicate via Unix socket (or TCP on Windows)
Browser persists across commands for fast interaction
Each --session gets its own daemon, socket, and PID file in ~/.browser-use/
Daemon auto-starts when needed, auto-exits when browser dies, or stops with browser-use close

This gives you ~50ms command latency instead of waiting for browser startup each time.

File Layout

All CLI-managed files live under ~/.browser-use/ (override with BROWSER_USE_HOME):

~/.browser-use/
├── config.json          # API key, settings (shared with profile-use)
├── bin/
│   └── profile-use      # Managed Go binary (auto-downloaded)
├── tunnels/
│   ├── {port}.json      # Tunnel metadata
│   └── {port}.log       # Tunnel logs
├── default.sock         # Daemon socket (ephemeral)
├── default.pid          # Daemon PID (ephemeral)
└── cli.log              # Daemon log

Windows Troubleshooting

ARM64 Windows (Surface Pro X, Snapdragon laptops)

Install x64 Python (runs via emulation):

winget install Python.Python.3.11 --architecture x64

Multiple Python versions

Set the version explicitly:

$env:PY_PYTHON=3.11

PATH not working after install

Restart your terminal. If still not working:

# Check PATH
echo $env:PATH

# Or run via Git Bash
& "C:\Program Files\Git\bin\bash.exe" -c 'browser-use --help'

Failed to start daemon error

Kill zombie processes:

# Find browser-use Python processes
wmic process where "name='python.exe' and commandline like '%browser%use%'" get processid

# Kill by PID
taskkill /PID <pid> /F

Stale virtual environment

Delete and reinstall:

# Kill browser-use Python processes
wmic process where "name='python.exe' and commandline like '%browser%use%'" call terminate
Remove-Item -Recurse -Force "$env:USERPROFILE\.browser-use-env"
# Then run installer again

Get Started

Customize

Examples

Development

Installation

Prerequisites

One-Line Install (Recommended)

Install the Skill

Post-Install

Manual Installation

From Source

Quick Start

Browser Modes

All Commands

Navigation

Inspection

Interaction

Tabs

Cookies

Wait

Get (Information Retrieval)

JavaScript & Data

Python (Persistent Session)

Cloud API

Tunnels

Profile Management

Session Management

Global Options

Examples

Fill a Form

Extract Data with JavaScript

Python Automation

Generate Templates

How It Works

File Layout

Windows Troubleshooting

Get Started

Customize

Examples

Development

​Installation

​Prerequisites

​One-Line Install (Recommended)

​Install the Skill

​Post-Install

​Manual Installation

​From Source

​Quick Start

​Browser Modes

​All Commands

​Navigation

​Inspection

​Interaction

​Tabs

​Cookies

​Wait

​Get (Information Retrieval)

​JavaScript & Data

​Python (Persistent Session)

​Cloud API

​Tunnels

​Profile Management

​Session Management

​Global Options

​Examples

​Fill a Form

​Extract Data with JavaScript

​Python Automation

​Generate Templates

​How It Works

​File Layout

​Windows Troubleshooting

Installation

Prerequisites

One-Line Install (Recommended)

Install the Skill

Post-Install

Manual Installation

From Source

Quick Start

Browser Modes

All Commands

Navigation

Inspection

Interaction

Tabs

Cookies

Wait

Get (Information Retrieval)

JavaScript & Data

Python (Persistent Session)

Cloud API

Tunnels

Profile Management

Session Management

Global Options

Examples

Fill a Form

Extract Data with JavaScript

Python Automation

Generate Templates

How It Works

File Layout

Windows Troubleshooting