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Browserless Agent

The MCP-native browser agent

One config block gives Claude, Cursor, VS Code, or Windsurf a real browser. One tool, a session that stays signed in, and unblocking built in. Running on the browser infrastructure Browserless has kept in production since 2017.

Why browser agents stall

Most browser tools weren't built for agents. Some load dozens of tool definitions into your context window before the first click. Some put a second LLM in the loop and bill you for it on top of the browser. Some hand you infrastructure and leave the agent part to you. Browserless Agent is built differently.

One tool, zero context tax
Browserless Agent is one tool with 20+ browser methods inside it. Playwright MCP loads 23 tool definitions by default, up to 68 with every flag on. Your context window stays yours.
Sign in once, every call remembers
Each task gets one managed browser session. Cookies, local storage, and page state survive across tool calls, so an agent that logs in at step 1 is still logged in at step 13.
Batch commands, not calls
An 8-field form doesn't need 10 tool calls. Pass a commands array and the agent fills the whole form in one round trip.

How Browserless Agent works

The agent runs a tight loop on every task: snapshot, plan, act.

Step 1

Snapshot

Capture every interactive element on the page as a compact list with stable selectors. No raw DOM, no screenshots.

Step 2

Plan

The model reads the snapshot and decides the next move: navigate, click, type, or wait for the page to change.

Step 3

Act

Send a method, or batch several into one call. The session stays open and the browser stays warm.

The agent re-snapshots whenever the page changes, so it always acts on what is actually there, then closes the session when the task is done.

How Browserless Agent compares

One tool, a persistent managed session, command batching, and built-in unblocking. No other browser agent combines all four.

Browserless Agent
Install
One MCP config block
Tools loaded into context
1 tool
Persistent managed session
Yes
Command batching
Yes
Stealth + CAPTCHA by default
Yes, every plan
Works on a free tier
Yes, no credit card
Playwright MCP
Install
One MCP config block
Tools loaded into context
23 default, up to 68
Persistent managed session
No; local by default, BYO cloud via CDP
Command batching
Raw code execution only
Stealth + CAPTCHA by default
No
Works on a free tier
n/a (local)
Browser Use
Install
Python library or MCP server
Tools loaded into context
Harness API
Persistent managed session
Profiles on all plans, capped by tier
Command batching
No
Stealth + CAPTCHA by default
Included; proxy data metered
Works on a free tier
Yes, 10 tasks/mo
Stagehand
Install
Node/TS or Python SDK
Tools loaded into context
4 primitives + SDK
Persistent managed session
Via Browserbase
Command batching
No
Stealth + CAPTCHA by default
Paid plans only; advanced on Scale
Works on a free tier
1 browser hour, 15-min cap
ChatGPT / Claude native
Install
Built in (ChatGPT) / Chrome extension (Claude)
Tools loaded into context
No programmable surface
Persistent managed session
Logins persist; no session you control
Command batching
Claude only, inside its own loop
Stealth + CAPTCHA by default
No; CAPTCHAs handed to you
Works on a free tier
No, paid plans only

Why engineering teams choose Browserless Agent

Finishes tasks other agents can't
The login-walled, bot-detecting web is where most agents break. Browserless Agent works behind logins, through CAPTCHAs, and past bot detection without handing the problem back to you.
Deploys in under a minute
Paste one config block into Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, or Windsurf. Add your API key, or sign in with OAuth and skip the key entirely. No harness code and nothing to install.
Runs on nearly a decade of browser infrastructure
Built on BrowserQL, the automation layer Browserless has hardened against bot detection, dynamic pages, and login flows since 2017.

What you can build with Browserless Agent

Internal automation, live data extraction, personal agents: here's what teams run on Browserless Agent.

Automate multi-step business workflows

AI engineers, ops teams, anyone replacing brittle RPA pipelines

Your agent can log into a DigitalOcean account and pull a structured list of running droplets. It can reconcile invoices from QuickBooks against Stripe payouts, or fill out a vendor onboarding form for every customer in a CSV. Login state and page state survive the whole session, so multi-step flows behind authentication actually finish.

Extract structured data from any page

Data engineers, research teams, AI pipelines that need reliable extraction

Scrape a full catalogue with prices sorted. Pull a ticker's market data on a schedule. Build a product catalogue from a competitor's site. Snapshots use stable selectors that hold up across page changes, and BrowserQL underneath handles stealth, CAPTCHA solving, and proxy routing.

Power personal agents people actually trust

Founders building agent products, developers using Claude Code or Cursor for personal tasks

Consumer sites like Google Flights and Amazon are where agents fail most visibly, and it's usually bot detection, not the model, that kills the task. Browserless Agent gets through, at a speed your users will wait for. And with liveURL, you can watch the browser work or take over mid-session instead of babysitting a black box.

Get set up in under a minute

Add the block below to your Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, or Windsurf config. It points at the hosted server, so there's nothing to install. If your client supports OAuth, skip the token and sign in with your Browserless account when prompted.

MCP config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "browserless": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.browserless.io/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN"
      }
    }
  }
}

Using Claude Code? One command:

claude mcp add --transport http browserless https://mcp.browserless.io/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN"

Sample interaction

User: Pull every Pynchon book from Buscalibre with prices,
      sorted cheapest to most expensive.

Agent: [calls browserless_agent]
  snapshot: returns the element list for the search results page
  batch: extract title and price per listing, follow pagination
  snapshot: confirms the final page, verifies completeness

Agent: Done. 14 books found, sorted by price.

Your agent doesn't have to handle this

The hardest parts of browser automation, the ones that break pipelines at 2 AM, are handled at the infrastructure layer. Browserless Agent inherits all of it.

Stealth rendering
Pages that detect and block headless browsers are handled automatically. Browserless tunes browser fingerprints for production traffic, so your agent sees the same page a real user would.
CAPTCHA solving
When a CAPTCHA fires mid-session, Browserless solves it without stopping the agent. No third-party integration, no pausing to ask a human.
Residential proxies
Geo-restricted content, rate limits, and IP blocks are routed through residential proxies. Your agent makes the request; the infrastructure figures out how to get through.

Browser Agent frequently asked questions

Give your AI client a real browser

Start free, no credit card required. Paste one MCP config block and your agent can navigate, log in, and extract from the live web in minutes.