Browser-CLI: Let Your AI Agent Control the Browser from the Command Line

zmy — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 10:07:18 +0000

Ever wanted your AI coding assistant to actually use a browser? Not just read web pages, but click buttons, fill forms, take screenshots, and extract data — all from the terminal?

That's exactly why I built Browser-CLI.

What is it?

Browser-CLI is a Go-based command-line tool that wraps Playwright to give AI agents full browser control through simple shell commands. No API keys, no browser extensions, no complex setup — just run a command and you're off.

👉 GitHub: https://github.com/zmysysz/browser-cli

⭐ Stars and feedback are appreciated!

# Install
git clone https://github.com/zmysysz/browser-cli
cd browser-cli && make build && make install
make setup-browsers  # first time only

# Use
browser-cli navigate https://example.com
browser-cli fill "#search" "hello world"
browser-cli click "button[type=submit]"
browser-cli text

Why not just use Playwright directly?

Playwright is great, but it's a library — you need to write code to use it. Browser-CLI turns it into a universal CLI interface that any AI agent can call without writing a single line of automation code.

This means:

Claude Code can browse the web
OpenAI Codex can fill forms and extract data
Cursor can take screenshots and interact with pages
Any AI agent can automate browser tasks through shell commands

Key Features

🤖 AI-First Design — Structured JSON output, auto-managed server, clear command semantics
🔒 Session Isolation — Each agent gets its own browser instance via --session
🍪 Cookie Persistence — Auto save/load, login states preserved across sessions
🌐 Proxy Support — --proxy http://host:port for restricted networks
🎯 Web Components — smart-click and pick for custom elements and Shadow DOM
⌨️ Full Keyboard — Shortcuts, combos, Tab/Enter/Escape, Ctrl+A/C/V
📄 PDF & Screenshot — Export pages as PDF or PNG
📁 File Upload — Upload files to any <input type="file">

30 Commands at a Glance

Category	Commands
Navigate	`navigate`, `back`, `forward`, `reload`
Click	`click`, `click-js`, `smart-click`, `right-click`, `dblclick`
Input	`fill`, `type`, `select`, `keyboard`, `upload`
Extract	`text`, `screenshot`, `elements`, `eval`, `pdf`
Utility	`wait`, `scroll`, `pick`
Tabs	`tab-new`, `tab-list`, `tab-switch`, `tab-close`
Dialogs	`dialog-status`, `dialog-accept`, `dialog-dismiss`
Session	`status`, `stop`, `session-list`, `cookie`

Integration with AI Tools

Browser-CLI ships with ready-to-use integration files:

File	Tool	How to Use
`integrations/claude/browser.md`	Claude Code	Copy to `.claude/commands/`
`integrations/codex/browser-cli.md`	OpenAI Codex	Copy to `~/.codex/skills/`
`AGENTS.md`	Cursor, Windsurf	Already in project root
`skills/browser-cli/SKILL.md`	GAL	Copy to `~/.gal/skills/`

Real-World Example

Here's how an AI agent can search GitHub and extract results:

# Navigate to GitHub
browser-cli navigate https://github.com/search?q=browser+automation

# Extract search results
browser-cli eval "JSON.stringify(
  Array.from(document.querySelectorAll('.repo-list-item a.v-align-middle'))
  .map(a => ({name: a.textContent.trim(), url: a.href}))
)"

# Take a screenshot
browser-cli screenshot github-results.png

Architecture

Browser-CLI uses a client-server architecture over Unix sockets:

AI Agent → shell command → browser-cli (client) → Unix socket → server → Playwright → Browser

The server auto-starts on first command and stays running. Multiple agents can connect simultaneously with isolated sessions.

No CGO Required

Pure Go binary, compiles with CGO_ENABLED=0:

# Static Linux build
make build-static

# Cross-compile for Windows
CGO_ENABLED=0 GOOS=windows GOARCH=amd64 go build -o browser-cli.exe .

# Cross-compile for macOS
CGO_ENABLED=0 GOOS=darwin GOARCH=arm64 go build -o browser-cli-mac .

Get Started

git clone https://github.com/zmysysz/browser-cli
cd browser-cli && make build && make install
make setup-browsers
browser-cli navigate https://example.com

Star ⭐ the repo if you find it useful! Feedback and contributions welcome.

This article was drafted with the help of an AI agent — but the tool itself was built by hand. 😉

DEV Community: zmy