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Agent Browser is a headless browser automation CLI for AI agents built by Vercel. It provides a fast Rust CLI with Node.js fallback, making it ideal for AI-powered browser automation. By integrating with Kernel, you can run Agent Browser automations with cloud-hosted browsers.

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Using the native Kernel provider

Agent Browser has built-in support for Kernel as a cloud browser provider. This is the simplest way to use Kernel with Agent Browser.

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Quick start

Use the -p flag to enable Kernel: 
export KERNEL_API_KEY="your-api-key"
agent-browser -p kernel open https://example.com
Get your API key from the Kernel Dashboard.

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Configuration options

Configure Kernel via environment variables:
VariableDescriptionDefault
AGENT_BROWSER_PROVIDERSet to kernel as an alternative to the -p kernel flag(none)
KERNEL_HEADLESSRun browser in headless mode (true/false)false
KERNEL_STEALTHEnable stealth mode to avoid bot detection (true/false)true
KERNEL_TIMEOUT_SECONDSSession timeout in seconds300
KERNEL_PROFILE_NAMEBrowser profile name for persistent cookies/logins(none)

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Profile persistence

When KERNEL_PROFILE_NAME is set, the profile will be created if it doesn’t already exist. Cookies, logins, and session data are automatically saved back to the profile when the browser session ends, making them available for future sessions. 
export KERNEL_API_KEY="your-api-key"
export KERNEL_PROFILE_NAME="my-profile"
agent-browser -p kernel open https://example.com

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Connecting via CDP (alternative)

Use this approach when you need full control of the Kernel browser session creation logic beyond what the agent-browser environment variables support. 
# Create a Kernel browser and extract the CDP URL
SESSION=$(kernel browsers create --stealth -o json)
CDP_URL=$(echo "$SESSION" | jq -r '.cdp_ws_url')
SESSION_ID=$(echo "$SESSION" | jq -r '.session_id')

# Connect agent-browser to the Kernel session
agent-browser connect "$CDP_URL"

# Run your automation
agent-browser open https://example.com
agent-browser snapshot

# Clean up
agent-browser close
kernel browsers delete "$SESSION_ID"

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Programmatic usage

Use this approach if you want to use agent-browser as an alternative to Playwright within a Node.js or Python application while maintaining programmatic control over browser session lifecycle. 
import Kernel from '@onkernel/sdk';
import { execSync } from 'child_process';

const kernel = new Kernel();
const browser = await kernel.browsers.create({ stealth: true });

console.log("Live view url:", browser.browser_live_view_url);

try {
  execSync(`agent-browser connect "${browser.cdp_ws_url}"`, { stdio: 'inherit' });
  execSync('agent-browser open https://example.com', { stdio: 'inherit' });
  execSync('agent-browser snapshot', { stdio: 'inherit' });
  execSync('agent-browser close', { stdio: 'inherit' });
} finally {
  await kernel.browsers.deleteByID(browser.session_id);
}

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Benefits of using Kernel with Agent Browser

  • No local browser management: Run automations without installing or maintaining browsers locally
  • Scalability: Launch multiple browser sessions in parallel
  • Stealth mode: Built-in anti-detection features for web scraping
  • Session state: Maintain browser state across runs via Profiles
  • Live view: Debug your automations with real-time browser viewing

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Next steps