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

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 invocation
• bb sessions, bb projects, bb contexts, bb extensions for Browserbase platform resources
• bb fetch <url> for Fetch API requests
• bb search "<query>" for Search API requests
• bb 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 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

Best practices

1. Prefer bb --help and subgroup --help before guessing flags.
2. Use dash-case flags exactly as shown in CLI help.
3. Use --output <file> on bb fetch and bb search to save results to a file.
4. Use environment variables for auth unless the user explicitly wants one-off overrides.
5. Pass structured request bodies with JSON strings in --body or --params.
6. Remember that bb functions ... uses --api-url, while platform API commands use --base-url.
7. 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.