Steel Browser Infrastructure for AI Agents

What is Steel?

Steel offers an open-source browser API enabling users to manage and control numerous browser instances operating in the cloud. It is specifically designed to serve as the underlying infrastructure for AI agents, facilitating tasks that require web interaction and data extraction. The platform allows developers to spin up on-demand browser sessions via simple API calls, integrating seamlessly with existing AI workflows.

By providing robust browser infrastructure, Steel simplifies the development of applications ranging from large-scale web scraping projects to fully autonomous AI agents. It supports popular automation frameworks like Puppeteer, Playwright, and Selenium, allowing developers to run their existing scripts in the cloud with minimal changes. The service focuses on reliability and ease of use for building sophisticated browser automation solutions.

Features

Open-Source Browser API: Control fleets of browsers in the cloud programmatically.
Sessions API: Spin up on-demand browser sessions with a simple API call.
Auto CAPTCHA Solving: Built-in functionality to handle CAPTCHA challenges automatically.
Proxy and Browser Fingerprinting: Tools to manage proxies and browser identities to avoid detection.
Quick Session Start: Average session start time under 1 second in the same region.
Long Session Support: Sessions can run continuously for up to 24 hours.
Context Management: Save and reuse cookies and local storage across sessions.
Framework Compatibility: Supports Puppeteer, Playwright, and Selenium with minimal code changes.
Session Viewer: Observe and debug live or recorded browser sessions.
SDK Support: Provides SDKs for Python and Node.js.

Use Cases

Developing AI Agents requiring web interaction.
Training Foundational Models using web data.
Building AI Shopping Assistants.
Performing large-scale Web Scraping tasks.
Creating Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Software.
Automating Sales processes involving web actions.
Developing QA Software for web application testing.
Building automated Customer Service Agents.

FAQs

Is Steel open source?

Yes, Steel is open-source. You can run sessions locally or self-hosted using their Docker container available on GitHub.
What automation frameworks does Steel support?

Steel supports Puppeteer, Playwright, and Selenium.
How long can a browser session run?

Each session can run for up to 24 hours.
Does Steel help with avoiding bot detection?

Yes, it provides features like proxy and browser fingerprinting management, as well as auto CAPTCHA solving.
Are there grants available for researchers?

Yes, Steel offers Research Grants in the form of free credits for those doing research for a school. You can apply by emailing research@steel.dev from your school email.