silicon-browser 1.0.7

Terminal-native cloud browser CLI for AI agents.

Silicon Browser

A terminal-native browser CLI for AI agents — same command surface as the original silicon-browser, but every browser runs through Browserbase. No local Chromium, no stealth-patch maintenance: Silicon Browser gives you a fast, scriptable CLI with a stable @ref element model and shareable remote-access links.

How it works

• Each named session is a cloud browser, driven over CDP via Playwright.
• The browser lives remotely and persists between commands; Silicon Browser keeps a small local state file per session (~/.silicon-browser/sessions/<name>.json) recording the session id, active tab, and the last snapshot's @ref → element map.
• Every command opens a short-lived CDP connection, does its work, and disconnects. Disconnecting does not end the cloud browser — only close (or the session timeout) does.

Install

Install directly from GitHub (no clone needed):

uv tool install git+https://github.com/teamofsilicons/silicon-browser.git
# or:  pipx install git+https://github.com/teamofsilicons/silicon-browser.git

Or from a local clone:

git clone https://github.com/teamofsilicons/silicon-browser.git
cd silicon-browser
uv tool install .          # or: pipx install .

Then save your key — the easiest way is the login command, which prompts for the key (hidden input), verifies it, and stores it persistently in ~/.silicon-browser/config.env (owner-only 0600):

silicon-browser login          # prompts for your key, verifies & saves it
# or non-interactively:
silicon-browser login --key <browserbase-api-key>

Once saved, every command picks it up automatically — no need to re-export it. Prefer environment variables? Those still work and take precedence:

export SILICON_BROWSER_API_KEY=<browserbase-api-key>   # or put it in a project-local .env file
# or:
export BROWSERBASE_API_KEY=<browserbase-api-key>
silicon-browser install        # verifies your key + connectivity

Resolution order (first wins): SILICON_BROWSER_API_KEY env var → BROWSERBASE_API_KEY env var → project-local ./.env → saved ~/.silicon-browser/config.env.

Browserbase caps session/link lifetimes at 6 hours; Silicon Browser clamps higher requested values automatically and tells you when it does.

Usage

silicon-browser open example.com         # start a 180-minute session and navigate
silicon-browser open example.com --timeout 60
silicon-browser snapshot -i              # list interactive elements with @refs
silicon-browser click @e1                # click by ref
silicon-browser fill @e2 "hello"         # fill an input
silicon-browser type "search query"      # keystroke-level typing
silicon-browser get text @e3             # extract text / html / value
silicon-browser screenshot               # saved under ~/.silicon-browser/screenshots
silicon-browser evaluate "document.title"
silicon-browser file session upload ./data.csv
silicon-browser file input @e4 /tmp/.uploads/data.csv
silicon-browser file session archive
silicon-browser tabs                     # list tabs
silicon-browser tab new example.org      # open / switch tabs
silicon-browser tab select 0
silicon-browser close                    # release the cloud browser

Commands

Command	Description
open <url> [--timeout min]	Navigate (starts a session if none active; default 180 min)
snapshot [-i] [--json]	Accessibility tree with @refs; -i = interactive only
click @ref	Click an element
fill @ref "text"	Fill an input
type "text" [--delay ms]	Type at the keyboard level
select @ref "value"	Select a dropdown option
hover @ref	Hover an element
scroll [down|up|top|bottom] [--amount px]	Scroll the page
get text|html|value @ref	Extract from an element
screenshot [path] [--full-page]	Capture a screenshot
evaluate "js"	Run JavaScript, print the result
file session list|upload|download|archive|delete|clear	Manage files in the active browser session
file global list|upload|download|delete	Not supported on Browserbase
file input @ref /tmp/.uploads/name	Set a file input to one or more session files
tabs / tab new [url] / tab select <n>	Manage tabs
share [--expiry min] [--view-only] [--new]	Remote access link (see below)
status / sessions	Inspect sessions
profile list|save <name>|delete <name>	Persistent identities
proxy current|status|connect|disconnect	Inspect or change proxy routing
close	Release the cloud browser
login [--key ...]	Enter & save your provider API key (prompts if no --key)
install	Verify credentials

Files

Uploaded session files live inside the remote Browserbase VM under /tmp/.uploads. Upload a local file into the current session, then bind it to a web page file input:

silicon-browser snapshot -i
silicon-browser file session upload ./invoice.pdf
silicon-browser file input @e7 /tmp/.uploads/invoice.pdf

Browserbase downloads can be listed, downloaded by filename/id, or bundled into a local archive:

silicon-browser file session list
silicon-browser file session download report.csv ./report.csv
silicon-browser file session archive ./session-files.zip

Provider-global file storage is not available on Browserbase.

Global options

--session/-s <name> (parallel sessions) · --profile <name> · --incognito · --proxy <url> · --location <country[-state][-city]> · --user-agent <ua> · --solve-captcha

Remote access links

Generate a shareable link to watch — or take control of — the live cloud browser:

silicon-browser share                      # current session link, expires in 120 min
silicon-browser share --expiry 30          # custom expiry (minutes)
silicon-browser share --view-only          # watch only, no control
silicon-browser share --new --expiry 120   # fresh blank session dedicated to the link

The link's lifetime is the remote session timeout, so the expiry is enforced server-side: when it elapses, Browserbase tears the browser down and the link stops working. The default is 120 minutes (clamped to Browserbase's maximum if higher).

• Interactive (default): recipients can click and type in the live browser.
• View-only (--view-only): the Silicon Browser interface renders the Browserbase live view without pointer events.

Because the provider fixes a session's timeout at creation, share on an existing session reports that session's real expiry; use --new to mint a fresh session with exactly the expiry you ask for.

If there is no active local session, share fails instead of silently creating an about:blank link. Open a page first, or pass --new when you explicitly want a fresh blank shared browser.

Glass session archives

On a Glass-managed Silicon, each Browserbase session is registered with Glass when it starts. Closing, replacing, timing out, or completing the session queues an asynchronous archive: Glass copies every recorded tab and HLS segment, the provider session metadata, browser logs, and downloaded files into private S3 storage. Team operators can watch live sessions and replay completed sessions from the team's Browser page in Glass. Standalone installations continue to use Browserbase directly and do not attempt a Glass archive.

Profiles

A profile maps a local name to a Browserbase Context, so cookies, storage, and login state persist across sessions:

silicon-browser --profile work open github.com   # reuse saved context
silicon-browser --profile work close             # context is saved on close
silicon-browser profile list

Proxies

On Glass-managed silicons, proxy locations are resolved from Glass: assigned browser profile location first, then team default. A session-scoped location override is vpn-style and leaves the profile/default unchanged.

silicon-browser proxy status              # configured default/profile + session use
silicon-browser proxy current             # just the current session's proxy
silicon-browser proxy connect in-mumbai   # this session only
silicon-browser proxy disconnect          # back to profile/default routing
silicon-browser proxy set-location us-ny  # assigned profile, shared by its silicons
silicon-browser proxy set-default de      # profile-less fallback

If a configured proxy tunnel fails during browser startup or navigation, Silicon Browser warns and retries the open once in a replacement session without a proxy. That fallback session uses its direct IP.

Configuration

Variable	Purpose
SILICON_BROWSER_API_KEY / BROWSERBASE_API_KEY	Browserbase API key (required)
SILICON_BROWSER_PROJECT_ID / BROWSERBASE_PROJECT_ID	Optional Browserbase project id
SILICON_BROWSER_BASE_URL / BROWSERBASE_BASE_URL	Override the Browserbase API base URL
SILICON_BROWSER_INTERFACE_URL	Override the branded share-link host (default https://browser.teamofsilicons.com)
SILICON_BROWSER_HOME	State directory (default ~/.silicon-browser)

silicon-browser login writes SILICON_BROWSER_API_KEY to $SILICON_BROWSER_HOME/config.env (default ~/.silicon-browser/config.env, 0600). Delete that file to "log out".

License

Apache-2.0