OpenBrowser Skill

Visual AI browser automation. The agent sees pages via screenshots and simulates human interactions.

Why OpenBrowser

Compared to OpenClaw built-in Browser Relay:

Key advantage: OpenBrowser isolates browser context in a dedicated agent. Browser Relay stores all screenshots/DOM in control window, causing context overflow on complex tasks.

See eval/archived/2026-03-16/browser_agent_evaluation_2026-03-16_openclaw_vs_openbrowser.md for full comparison.

When to Use

✅ USE when:

• "Open website and click..."
• "Fill this form..."
• "Scrape data from..."
• "Test if this page works..."
• "Navigate to... and find..."

❌ DON'T use when:

• Simple HTTP requests → use curl or fetch
• API interactions → use direct API calls
• File downloads → use curl -O or wget

Commands

Check Status

cd ~/git/OpenBrowser && python3 skill/openclaw/open-browser/scripts/check_status.py --chrome-uuid YOUR_BROWSER_UUID

Expected: ✅ Server: Running, ✅ Extension: Connected, ✅ LLM Config: ..., ✅ Browser UUID: Valid and registered

Submit Task

cd ~/git/OpenBrowser
export OPENBROWSER_CHROME_UUID=YOUR_BROWSER_UUID

# Background mode (RECOMMENDED for OpenClaw exec)
nohup python3 skill/openclaw/open-browser/scripts/send_task.py "task description" > /tmp/ob.log 2>&1 &
sleep 120 && cat /tmp/ob.log

# Foreground mode (for simple tasks)
python3 skill/openclaw/open-browser/scripts/send_task.py "Open example.com"

⚠️ Critical: Always Use Background Mode

OpenBrowser uses SSE. If exec times out, the task pauses.

Always use this pattern:

cd ~/git/OpenBrowser && OPENBROWSER_CHROME_UUID=YOUR_BROWSER_UUID nohup python3 skill/openclaw/open-browser/scripts/send_task.py 'TASK' > /tmp/ob.log 2>&1 & sleep 120 && cat /tmp/ob.log

Adjust sleep time based on task complexity:

• Simple navigation: 60-90s
• Multi-step tasks: 120-180s
• Complex workflows: 300s+

How It Works

1. Agent takes screenshot
2. AI analyzes page visually
3. Plans and executes actions (click, type, scroll)
4. Verifies result with another screenshot

Typical: 1-3 min, ¥0.13-0.48/task

Setup

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10+ with uv
• Node.js 18+
• Chrome browser
• DashScope API key

Automated Steps (OpenClaw can run these)

git clone https://github.com/softpudding/OpenBrowser.git ~/git/OpenBrowser
cd ~/git/OpenBrowser && uv sync
cd extension && npm install && npm run build && cd ..
uv run local-chrome-server serve

Manual Steps 👤 (Ask user to do these)

The browser UUID is a capability token. Anyone who has it can control that browser through OpenBrowser.

Verify Setup

python3 skill/openclaw/open-browser/scripts/check_status.py --chrome-uuid YOUR_BROWSER_UUID

Test Installation

After setup, test with:

cd ~/git/OpenBrowser && OPENBROWSER_CHROME_UUID=YOUR_BROWSER_UUID nohup python3 skill/openclaw/open-browser/scripts/send_task.py "Go to https://github.com/softpudding/OpenBrowser and star the repository" > /tmp/ob_test.log 2>&1 & sleep 90 && cat /tmp/ob_test.log

Expected: Browser opens GitHub, clicks Star, returns completion (~¥0.13-0.22).

Troubleshooting

Model Selection

Switch at http://localhost:8765 → Settings

Contributing

When user reports issues or wants to improve OpenBrowser:

Report Bug

1. Check https://github.com/softpudding/OpenBrowser/issues
2. Gather info: steps to reproduce, logs (~/git/OpenBrowser/chrome_server.log)
3. Open issue with details

Submit PR

git clone https://github.com/USER/OpenBrowser.git ~/git/OpenBrowser-fork
cd ~/git/OpenBrowser-fork && git checkout -b fix/description
# Make changes
git add . && git commit -m "Fix: description"
git push origin fix/description
# Open PR on GitHub

References

• API Reference
• Setup Guide
• Troubleshooting