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For setup, configuration, and troubleshooting, see Browser. This page is the reference for the local control HTTP API, the openclaw browser CLI, and scripting patterns (snapshots, refs, waits, debug flows).

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Control API (optional)

For local integrations only, the Gateway exposes a small loopback HTTP API:
  • Status/start/stop: GET /, POST /start, POST /stop
  • Tabs: GET /tabs, POST /tabs/open, POST /tabs/focus, DELETE /tabs/:targetId
  • Snapshot/screenshot: GET /snapshot, POST /screenshot
  • Actions: POST /navigate, POST /act
  • Hooks: POST /hooks/file-chooser, POST /hooks/dialog
  • Downloads: POST /download, POST /wait/download
  • Debugging: GET /console, POST /pdf
  • Debugging: GET /errors, GET /requests, POST /trace/start, POST /trace/stop, POST /highlight
  • Network: POST /response/body
  • State: GET /cookies, POST /cookies/set, POST /cookies/clear
  • State: GET /storage/:kind, POST /storage/:kind/set, POST /storage/:kind/clear
  • Settings: POST /set/offline, POST /set/headers, POST /set/credentials, POST /set/geolocation, POST /set/media, POST /set/timezone, POST /set/locale, POST /set/device
All endpoints accept ?profile=<name>. If shared-secret gateway auth is configured, browser HTTP routes require auth too:
  • Authorization: Bearer <gateway token>
  • x-openclaw-password: <gateway password> or HTTP Basic auth with that password
Notes:
  • This standalone loopback browser API does not consume trusted-proxy or Tailscale Serve identity headers.
  • If gateway.auth.mode is none or trusted-proxy, these loopback browser routes do not inherit those identity-bearing modes; keep them loopback-only.

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/act error contract

POST /act uses a structured error response for route-level validation and policy failures: 
{ "error": "<message>", "code": "ACT_*" }
Current code values:
  • ACT_KIND_REQUIRED (HTTP 400): kind is missing or unrecognized.
  • ACT_INVALID_REQUEST (HTTP 400): action payload failed normalization or validation.
  • ACT_SELECTOR_UNSUPPORTED (HTTP 400): selector was used with an unsupported action kind.
  • ACT_EVALUATE_DISABLED (HTTP 403): evaluate (or wait --fn) is disabled by config.
  • ACT_TARGET_ID_MISMATCH (HTTP 403): top-level or batched targetId conflicts with request target.
  • ACT_EXISTING_SESSION_UNSUPPORTED (HTTP 501): action is not supported for existing-session profiles.
Other runtime failures may still return { "error": "<message>" } without a code field.

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Playwright requirement

Some features (navigate/act/AI snapshot/role snapshot, element screenshots, PDF) require Playwright. If Playwright isn’t installed, those endpoints return a clear 501 error. What still works without Playwright:
  • ARIA snapshots
  • Page screenshots for the managed openclaw browser when a per-tab CDP WebSocket is available
  • Page screenshots for existing-session / Chrome MCP profiles
  • existing-session ref-based screenshots (--ref) from snapshot output
What still needs Playwright:
  • navigate
  • act
  • AI snapshots / role snapshots
  • CSS-selector element screenshots (--element)
  • full browser PDF export
Element screenshots also reject --full-page; the route returns fullPage is not supported for element screenshots. If you see Playwright is not available in this gateway build, repair the bundled browser plugin runtime dependencies so playwright-core is installed, then restart the gateway. For packaged installs, run openclaw doctor --fix. For Docker, also install the Chromium browser binaries as shown below.

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Docker Playwright install

If your Gateway runs in Docker, avoid npx playwright (npm override conflicts). Use the bundled CLI instead: 
docker compose run --rm openclaw-cli \
  node /app/node_modules/playwright-core/cli.js install chromium
To persist browser downloads, set PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH (for example, /home/node/.cache/ms-playwright) and make sure /home/node is persisted via OPENCLAW_HOME_VOLUME or a bind mount. See Docker.

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How it works (internal)

A small loopback control server accepts HTTP requests and connects to Chromium-based browsers via CDP. Advanced actions (click/type/snapshot/PDF) go through Playwright on top of CDP; when Playwright is missing, only non-Playwright operations are available. The agent sees one stable interface while local/remote browsers and profiles swap freely underneath.

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CLI quick reference

All commands accept --browser-profile <name> to target a specific profile, and --json for machine-readable output. 
openclaw browser status
openclaw browser start
openclaw browser stop            # also clears emulation on attach-only/remote CDP
openclaw browser tabs
openclaw browser tab             # shortcut for current tab
openclaw browser tab new
openclaw browser tab select 2
openclaw browser tab close 2
openclaw browser open https://example.com
openclaw browser focus abcd1234
openclaw browser close abcd1234

openclaw browser screenshot
openclaw browser screenshot --full-page
openclaw browser screenshot --ref 12        # or --ref e12
openclaw browser snapshot
openclaw browser snapshot --format aria --limit 200
openclaw browser snapshot --interactive --compact --depth 6
openclaw browser snapshot --efficient
openclaw browser snapshot --labels
openclaw browser snapshot --selector "#main" --interactive
openclaw browser snapshot --frame "iframe#main" --interactive
openclaw browser console --level error
openclaw browser errors --clear
openclaw browser requests --filter api --clear
openclaw browser pdf
openclaw browser responsebody "**/api" --max-chars 5000

openclaw browser navigate https://example.com
openclaw browser resize 1280 720
openclaw browser click 12 --double           # or e12 for role refs
openclaw browser type 23 "hello" --submit
openclaw browser press Enter
openclaw browser hover 44
openclaw browser scrollintoview e12
openclaw browser drag 10 11
openclaw browser select 9 OptionA OptionB
openclaw browser download e12 report.pdf
openclaw browser waitfordownload report.pdf
openclaw browser upload /tmp/openclaw/uploads/file.pdf
openclaw browser fill --fields '[{"ref":"1","type":"text","value":"Ada"}]'
openclaw browser dialog --accept
openclaw browser wait --text "Done"
openclaw browser wait "#main" --url "**/dash" --load networkidle --fn "window.ready===true"
openclaw browser evaluate --fn '(el) => el.textContent' --ref 7
openclaw browser highlight e12
openclaw browser trace start
openclaw browser trace stop

openclaw browser cookies
openclaw browser cookies set session abc123 --url "https://example.com"
openclaw browser cookies clear
openclaw browser storage local get
openclaw browser storage local set theme dark
openclaw browser storage session clear
openclaw browser set offline on
openclaw browser set headers --headers-json '{"X-Debug":"1"}'
openclaw browser set credentials user pass            # --clear to remove
openclaw browser set geo 37.7749 -122.4194 --origin "https://example.com"
openclaw browser set media dark
openclaw browser set timezone America/New_York
openclaw browser set locale en-US
openclaw browser set device "iPhone 14"
Notes:
  • upload and dialog are arming calls; run them before the click/press that triggers the chooser/dialog.
  • click/type/etc require a ref from snapshot (numeric 12 or role ref e12). CSS selectors are intentionally not supported for actions.
  • Download, trace, and upload paths are constrained to OpenClaw temp roots: /tmp/openclaw{,/downloads,/uploads} (fallback: ${os.tmpdir()}/openclaw/...).
  • upload can also set file inputs directly via --input-ref or --element.
Snapshot flags at a glance:
  • --format ai (default with Playwright): AI snapshot with numeric refs (aria-ref="<n>").
  • --format aria: accessibility tree, no refs; inspection only.
  • --efficient (or --mode efficient): compact role snapshot preset. Set browser.snapshotDefaults.mode: "efficient" to make this the default (see Gateway configuration).
  • --interactive, --compact, --depth, --selector force a role snapshot with ref=e12 refs. --frame "<iframe>" scopes role snapshots to an iframe.
  • --labels adds a viewport-only screenshot with overlayed ref labels (prints MEDIA:<path>).

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Snapshots and refs

OpenClaw supports two “snapshot” styles:
  • AI snapshot (numeric refs): openclaw browser snapshot (default; --format ai)
    • Output: a text snapshot that includes numeric refs.
    • Actions: openclaw browser click 12, openclaw browser type 23 "hello".
    • Internally, the ref is resolved via Playwright’s aria-ref.
  • Role snapshot (role refs like e12): openclaw browser snapshot --interactive (or --compact, --depth, --selector, --frame)
    • Output: a role-based list/tree with [ref=e12] (and optional [nth=1]).
    • Actions: openclaw browser click e12, openclaw browser highlight e12.
    • Internally, the ref is resolved via getByRole(...) (plus nth() for duplicates).
    • Add --labels to include a viewport screenshot with overlayed e12 labels.
Ref behavior:
  • Refs are not stable across navigations; if something fails, re-run snapshot and use a fresh ref.
  • If the role snapshot was taken with --frame, role refs are scoped to that iframe until the next role snapshot.

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Wait power-ups

You can wait on more than just time/text:
  • Wait for URL (globs supported by Playwright):
    • openclaw browser wait --url "**/dash"
  • Wait for load state:
    • openclaw browser wait --load networkidle
  • Wait for a JS predicate:
    • openclaw browser wait --fn "window.ready===true"
  • Wait for a selector to become visible:
    • openclaw browser wait "#main"
These can be combined: 
openclaw browser wait "#main" \
  --url "**/dash" \
  --load networkidle \
  --fn "window.ready===true" \
  --timeout-ms 15000

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Debug workflows

When an action fails (e.g. “not visible”, “strict mode violation”, “covered”):
  1. openclaw browser snapshot --interactive
  2. Use click <ref> / type <ref> (prefer role refs in interactive mode)
  3. If it still fails: openclaw browser highlight <ref> to see what Playwright is targeting
  4. If the page behaves oddly:
    • openclaw browser errors --clear
    • openclaw browser requests --filter api --clear
  5. For deep debugging: record a trace:
    • openclaw browser trace start
    • reproduce the issue
    • openclaw browser trace stop (prints TRACE:<path>)

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JSON output

--json is for scripting and structured tooling. Examples: 
openclaw browser status --json
openclaw browser snapshot --interactive --json
openclaw browser requests --filter api --json
openclaw browser cookies --json
Role snapshots in JSON include refs plus a small stats block (lines/chars/refs/interactive) so tools can reason about payload size and density.

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State and environment knobs

These are useful for “make the site behave like X” workflows:
  • Cookies: cookies, cookies set, cookies clear
  • Storage: storage local|session get|set|clear
  • Offline: set offline on|off
  • Headers: set headers --headers-json '{"X-Debug":"1"}' (legacy set headers --json '{"X-Debug":"1"}' remains supported)
  • HTTP basic auth: set credentials user pass (or --clear)
  • Geolocation: set geo <lat> <lon> --origin "https://example.com" (or --clear)
  • Media: set media dark|light|no-preference|none
  • Timezone / locale: set timezone ..., set locale ...
  • Device / viewport:
    • set device "iPhone 14" (Playwright device presets)
    • set viewport 1280 720

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Security and privacy

  • The openclaw browser profile may contain logged-in sessions; treat it as sensitive.
  • browser act kind=evaluate / openclaw browser evaluate and wait --fn execute arbitrary JavaScript in the page context. Prompt injection can steer this. Disable it with browser.evaluateEnabled=false if you do not need it.
  • For logins and anti-bot notes (X/Twitter, etc.), see Browser login + X/Twitter posting.
  • Keep the Gateway/node host private (loopback or tailnet-only).
  • Remote CDP endpoints are powerful; tunnel and protect them.
Strict-mode example (block private/internal destinations by default): 
{
  browser: {
    ssrfPolicy: {
      dangerouslyAllowPrivateNetwork: false,
      hostnameAllowlist: ["*.example.com", "example.com"],
      allowedHostnames: ["localhost"], // optional exact allow
    },
  },
}