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Overview

The browserbase-cli skill teaches AI coding agents how to use the official Browserbase CLI (bb). The CLI is the primary interface for managing Browserbase infrastructure — it covers Functions lifecycle, platform resource management, page fetching, and web search. Use this skill when you want your agent to stay inside the CLI for tasks like:
  • Functions — bb functions init, dev, publish, and invoke for the full serverless browser automation lifecycle
  • Sessions — bb sessions list, get, create, update, debug, logs, recording, downloads, and uploads to manage browser sessions
  • Projects — bb projects list, get, and usage for project-level configuration
  • Contexts — bb contexts create, get, update, and delete to manage persistent browser state (cookies, localStorage)
  • Extensions — bb extensions upload, get, and delete for custom browser extensions
  • Fetch — bb fetch <url> to retrieve page content through Browserbase proxies with redirect control and JSON output
  • Search — bb search <query> to search the web through the Browserbase Search API
The browserbase-cli skill is for bb-driven workflows. For interactive browser control like navigation, clicking, typing, and snapshots, use the browser skill instead.

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Choose the Right Skill

SkillBest for
browserInteractive browser automation with the browse CLI
fetchLightweight page retrieval via the Browserbase Fetch API — no browser session needed
functionsFocused Browserbase Functions workflows
browserbase-cliBroader bb workflows across functions, sessions, projects, contexts, extensions, fetch, and search

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Installation

1

Install the skill

npx skills add browserbase/skills --skill browserbase-cli
2

Install the Browserbase CLI

npm install -g @browserbasehq/cli

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Authentication

All bb commands require your API key: 
export BROWSERBASE_API_KEY="your_api_key"
For bb functions dev and bb functions publish, you also need a project ID: 
export BROWSERBASE_PROJECT_ID="your_project_id"

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Common Workflows

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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"}'

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Platform APIs

bb projects list
bb sessions get <session_id>
bb contexts create --body '{"region":"us-west-2"}'
bb extensions upload ./my-extension.zip

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Fetch API

bb fetch https://example.com
bb fetch https://example.com --allow-redirects --output page.html

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Search API

bb search "best headless browser" --num-results 5
bb search "browser automation" --output results.json

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Notes on bb browse

bb browse is a passthrough to the standalone browse CLI. Use it only when you explicitly want to stay inside a bb-centric workflow. For most interactive browsing tasks, prefer the browser skill directly. If you need bb browse, install the browse CLI too: 
npm install -g @browserbasehq/browse-cli

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Further Reading

Skills Repository

View the Browserbase skills source and installation instructions.

Browserbase Functions

Learn more about Browserbase Functions.