| name | browserbase-cli |
| description | Use the Browserbase CLI (`bb`) for Browserbase Functions and platform API workflows. Use when the user asks to run `bb`, deploy or invoke functions, manage sessions, projects, contexts, or extensions, fetch a page through the Browserbase Fetch API, search the web through the Browserbase Search API, or scaffold starter templates. Prefer the Browser skill for interactive browsing; use `bb browse` only when the user explicitly wants the Browserbase CLI path. |
| compatibility | "Requires the Browserbase CLI (`npm install -g @browserbasehq/cli`). API commands require `BROWSERBASE_API_KEY`. `BROWSERBASE_PROJECT_ID` is only needed for `bb functions dev` and `bb functions publish`. `bb browse` additionally requires `npm install -g @browserbasehq/browse-cli`." |
| license | MIT |
| allowed-tools | Bash |
Browserbase CLI
Use the official bb CLI for Browserbase platform operations, Functions workflows, and Fetch API calls.
Setup check
Before using the CLI, verify it is installed:
which bb || npm install -g @browserbasehq/cli
bb --help
For authenticated commands, set the API key:
export BROWSERBASE_API_KEY="your_api_key"
If using bb functions dev or bb functions publish, also set:
export BROWSERBASE_PROJECT_ID="your_project_id"
When to use this skill
Use this skill when the user wants to:
- run Browserbase commands through
bb
- scaffold, develop, publish, or invoke Browserbase Functions
- inspect or manage Browserbase sessions, projects, contexts, or extensions
- fetch a page through Browserbase without opening a browser session
- search the web through Browserbase without opening a browser session
- browse or scaffold starter templates with
bb templates
When not to use this skill
- For interactive browsing, page inspection, screenshots, clicking, typing, or login flows, prefer the
browser skill.
- For simple HTTP content retrieval where the user does not care about using the CLI specifically, the dedicated
fetch skill is often a better fit.
- Use
bb browse ... only when the user explicitly wants the CLI wrapper or is already working in a bb-centric workflow.
Command selection
bb functions for local dev, packaging, publishing, and invocationbb sessions, bb projects, bb contexts, bb extensions for Browserbase platform resourcesbb fetch <url> for Fetch API requestsbb search "<query>" for Search API requestsbb templates to browse and scaffold starter templatesbb browse ... to forward to the standalone browse binary (requires @browserbasehq/browse-cli)bb skills install to install Browserbase agent skills for Claude Code
For bb browse, the standalone browse CLI behavior is the source of truth: bb browse env local uses a clean isolated local browser by default, and bb browse env local --auto-connect opts into reusing an existing local Chrome session.
Common workflows
Functions
bb functions init my-function
cd my-function
bb functions dev index.ts
bb functions publish index.ts
bb functions invoke <function_id> --params '{"url":"https://example.com"}'
Use bb functions invoke --check-status <invocation_id> to poll an existing invocation instead of creating a new one.
Platform APIs
bb projects list
bb sessions create --proxies --advanced-stealth --region us-east-1
bb sessions create --solve-captchas --context-id ctx_abc --persist
bb sessions get <session_id>
bb sessions downloads get <session_id> --output session-artifacts.zip
bb contexts create --body '{"region":"us-west-2"}'
bb extensions upload ./my-extension.zip
Fetch API
bb fetch https://example.com
bb fetch https://example.com --allow-redirects --output page.html
Search API
bb search "browser automation"
bb search "web scraping" --num-results 5
bb search "AI agents" --output results.json
Templates
bb templates list
bb templates list --language python
bb templates clone form-filling --language typescript
bb templates clone amazon-product-scraping --language python ./my-scraper
Best practices
- Prefer
bb --help and subgroup --help before guessing flags.
- Use dash-case flags exactly as shown in CLI help.
- Use
--output <file> on bb fetch and bb search to save results to a file.
- Use environment variables for auth unless the user explicitly wants one-off overrides.
- Pass structured request bodies with JSON strings in
--body or --params.
- Remember that
bb functions ... uses --api-url, while platform API commands use --base-url.
- If
bb browse fails because browse is missing, either install @browserbasehq/browse-cli or switch to the browser skill.
Troubleshooting
- Missing API key: set
BROWSERBASE_API_KEY or pass --api-key
- Missing project ID on
bb functions dev or bb functions publish: set BROWSERBASE_PROJECT_ID or pass --project-id
- Unknown flag: rerun the relevant command with
--help and use the exact dash-case form
bb browse install error: run npm install -g @browserbasehq/browse-cli
For command-by-command reference and more examples, see REFERENCE.md.
