> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.firecrawl.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Browser Sandbox

> A secure browser sandbox where agents can interact with the web.

<Info>
  For agent workflows, use [Interact](/features/interact). Interact is the supported CLI/MCP path and can be driven with prompts or code after a scrape; MCP also supports opening from a URL directly.
</Info>

| Surface         | Use it for                                                                                                             | Entry point                                                                                     | Agent surface                                      |
| --------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| Browser Sandbox | Standalone browser sessions for API/SDK users that need a sandbox, CDP URL, live view, or persistent session lifecycle | `POST /v2/interact`                                                                             | API and SDKs; hidden CLI browser command is legacy |
| Interact        | Acting on a scraped page; MCP can also open from a URL with `firecrawl_interact` URL mode                              | `POST /v2/scrape/{scrapeId}/interact`, CLI `interact` after scrape, or MCP `firecrawl_interact` | Recommended for CLI/MCP agent workflows            |

Firecrawl Browser Sandbox gives API and SDK users a secure browser environment where agents can interact with the web. Fill out forms, click buttons, authenticate, and more.
No local setup, no Chromium installs, no driver compatibility issues. Agent browser and playwright are pre-installed.

Available via [API](/api-reference/endpoint/browser-create), [Node SDK](/sdks/node#browser), [Python SDK](/sdks/python#browser), and [Vercel AI SDK](/developer-guides/llm-sdks-and-frameworks/vercel-ai-sdk). The hidden `firecrawl browser` CLI command is legacy; CLI and MCP agent flows should use scrape + interact instead.

To add Interact support to an AI coding agent (Claude Code, Codex, Open Code, Cursor, etc.), install the Firecrawl skill:

```bash theme={null}
npx -y firecrawl-cli@latest init --all --browser
```

Each session runs in an isolated, disposable or persistent sandbox that scales without managing infrastructure.

## Quick Start

Create a session, execute code, and close it:

<CodeGroup>
  ```js Node theme={null}
  // npm install firecrawl
  import { Firecrawl } from 'firecrawl';

  const firecrawl = new Firecrawl({ apiKey: "fc-YOUR-API-KEY" });

  // 1. Launch a session
  const session = await firecrawl.browser();
  console.log(session.cdpUrl); // wss://cdp-proxy.firecrawl.dev/cdp/...

  // 2. Execute code
  const result = await firecrawl.browserExecute(session.id, {
    code: `
      await page.goto("https://news.ycombinator.com");
      const title = await page.title();
      console.log(title);
    `,
    language: "node",
  });
  console.log(result.result); // "Hacker News"

  // 3. Close
  await firecrawl.deleteBrowser(session.id);
  ```

  ```python Python theme={null}
  # pip install firecrawl
  from firecrawl import Firecrawl

  app = Firecrawl(api_key="fc-YOUR-API-KEY")

  # 1. Launch a session
  session = app.browser()
  print(session.cdp_url)  # wss://cdp-proxy.firecrawl.dev/cdp/...

  # 2. Execute code
  result = app.browser_execute(
      session.id,
      code='await page.goto("https://news.ycombinator.com")\ntitle = await page.title()\nprint(title)',
      language="python",
  )
  print(result.result)  # "Hacker News"

  # 3. Close
  app.delete_browser(session.id)
  ```

  ```bash CLI theme={null}
  # Install the Firecrawl CLI
  npm install -g firecrawl-cli

  # Shorthand - auto-launches a session, no "execute" needed
  firecrawl browser "open https://news.ycombinator.com"
  firecrawl browser "snapshot"
  firecrawl browser "scrape"

  # Close when done
  firecrawl browser close
  ```

  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  # 1. Launch a session
  curl -X POST "https://api.firecrawl.dev/v2/interact" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $FIRECRAWL_API_KEY" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json"

  # 2. Execute code
  curl -X POST "https://api.firecrawl.dev/v2/interact/YOUR_SESSION_ID/execute" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $FIRECRAWL_API_KEY" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{
      "code": "await page.goto(\"https://news.ycombinator.com\")\ntitle = await page.title()\nprint(title)"
    }'

  # 3. Close
  curl -X DELETE "https://api.firecrawl.dev/v2/interact/YOUR_SESSION_ID" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $FIRECRAWL_API_KEY"
  ```
</CodeGroup>

* **No Driver Installation** - No Chromium binary, no `playwright install`, no driver compatibility issues
* **Python, JavaScript & Bash** - Send code via API, CLI, or SDK and get results back. All three languages run remotely in the sandbox
* **agent-browser** - Pre-installed CLI with 60+ commands. AI agents write simple bash commands instead of Playwright code
* **Playwright loaded** - Playwright comes pre-installed in the sandbox. Agents can write Playwright code if they prefer.
* **CDP Access** - Connect your own Playwright instance over WebSocket when you need full control
* **Live View** - Watch sessions in real time via embeddable stream URL
* **Interactive Live View** - Let users interact with the browser directly through an embeddable interactive stream

## Launch a Session

Returns a session ID, CDP URL, and live view URL.

<CodeGroup>
  ```js Node theme={null}
  import { Firecrawl } from 'firecrawl';

  const firecrawl = new Firecrawl({ apiKey: "fc-YOUR-API-KEY" });

  const session = await firecrawl.browser({
    ttl: 120,
    activityTtl: 60,
  });

  console.log(session.id);
  console.log(session.cdpUrl);      // wss://cdp-proxy.firecrawl.dev/cdp/...
  console.log(session.liveViewUrl); // https://liveview.firecrawl.dev/...
  ```

  ```python Python theme={null}
  from firecrawl import Firecrawl

  app = Firecrawl(api_key="fc-YOUR-API-KEY")

  session = app.browser(
      ttl=120,
      activity_ttl=60,
  )

  print(session.id)
  print(session.cdp_url)        # wss://cdp-proxy.firecrawl.dev/cdp/...
  print(session.live_view_url)  # https://liveview.firecrawl.dev/...
  ```

  ```bash CLI theme={null}
  # Launch with live view and custom TTL
  firecrawl browser launch-session --stream --ttl 120 --ttl-inactivity 60

  # Launch and save session info to file
  firecrawl browser launch-session -o session.json --json
  ```

  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  curl -X POST "https://api.firecrawl.dev/v2/interact" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $FIRECRAWL_API_KEY" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{
      "ttl": 120,
      "activityTtl": 60
    }'
  ```
</CodeGroup>

```json Response theme={null}
{
  "success": true,
  "id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
  "cdpUrl": "wss://browser.firecrawl.dev/cdp/550e8400...?token=abc123...",
  "liveViewUrl": "https://liveview.firecrawl.dev/...",
  "interactiveLiveViewUrl": "https://liveview.firecrawl.dev/...",
  "expiresAt": "2025-01-15T10:40:00Z"
}
```

## Execute Code

Run Python, JavaScript, or bash code in your session. Output is returned via `stdout`; for Node.js, the last expression value is also available in `result`.

<CodeGroup>
  ```js Node theme={null}
  import { Firecrawl } from 'firecrawl';

  const firecrawl = new Firecrawl({ apiKey: "fc-YOUR-API-KEY" });

  const result = await firecrawl.browserExecute("YOUR_SESSION_ID", {
    code: 'await page.goto("https://example.com"); const title = await page.title(); console.log(title);',
    language: "node",
  });

  console.log(result);
  ```

  ```python Python theme={null}
  from firecrawl import Firecrawl

  app = Firecrawl(api_key="fc-YOUR-API-KEY")

  result = app.browser_execute(
      "YOUR_SESSION_ID",
      code='await page.goto("https://example.com")\ntitle = await page.title()\nprint(title)',
      language="python",
  )

  print(result)
  ```

  ```bash CLI theme={null}
  # agent-browser commands (default - "agent-browser" is auto-prefixed)
  firecrawl browser execute "open https://example.com"
  firecrawl browser execute "snapshot"
  firecrawl browser execute "scrape"

  # Execute Playwright Python code
  firecrawl browser execute --python 'await page.goto("https://example.com")
  print(await page.title())'

  # Execute Playwright JavaScript code
  firecrawl browser execute --node 'await page.goto("https://example.com"); document.title'

  # Execute arbitrary bash in the sandbox
  firecrawl browser execute --bash 'ls /tmp'

  # Target a specific session
  firecrawl browser execute --session <id> "snapshot"
  ```

  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  # Execute Playwright Python code
  curl -X POST "https://api.firecrawl.dev/v2/interact/YOUR_SESSION_ID/execute" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $FIRECRAWL_API_KEY" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{
      "code": "await page.goto(\"https://example.com\")\ntitle = await page.title()\nprint(title)",
      "language": "python"
    }'

  # Execute Playwright JavaScript code
  curl -X POST "https://api.firecrawl.dev/v2/interact/YOUR_SESSION_ID/execute" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $FIRECRAWL_API_KEY" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{
      "code": "await page.goto(\"https://example.com\"); const title = await page.title(); console.log(title);",
      "language": "node"
    }'
  ```

  ```bash cURL (Bash / agent-browser) theme={null}
  # Navigate to a page
  curl -X POST "https://api.firecrawl.dev/v2/interact/YOUR_SESSION_ID/execute" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $FIRECRAWL_API_KEY" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{ "code": "agent-browser open https://example.com", "language": "bash" }'

  # Get accessibility snapshot with @ref IDs
  curl -X POST "https://api.firecrawl.dev/v2/interact/YOUR_SESSION_ID/execute" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $FIRECRAWL_API_KEY" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{ "code": "agent-browser snapshot", "language": "bash" }'

  # Interact using @ref IDs from the snapshot
  curl -X POST "https://api.firecrawl.dev/v2/interact/YOUR_SESSION_ID/execute" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $FIRECRAWL_API_KEY" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{ "code": "agent-browser click @e5", "language": "bash" }'

  # Extract page content as markdown
  curl -X POST "https://api.firecrawl.dev/v2/interact/YOUR_SESSION_ID/execute" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $FIRECRAWL_API_KEY" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{ "code": "agent-browser scrape", "language": "bash" }'
  ```
</CodeGroup>

```json Response theme={null}
{
  "success": true,
  "stdout": "",
  "result": "Example Domain",
  "stderr": "",
  "exitCode": 0,
  "killed": false
}
```

### Handling File Downloads

Files downloaded inside a session can be captured and returned as base64. Use Playwright's download API via the execute endpoint:

<CodeGroup>
  ```python Python theme={null}
  import base64

  async with page.expect_download() as download_info:
      await page.click('a#download-link')  # Click the element that triggers the download

  download = download_info.value
  path = await download.path()

  # Optionally save to a known path
  # await download.save_as('/tmp/myfile.pdf')

  # Read and output file content as base64
  with open(path, "rb") as f:
      content = base64.b64encode(f.read()).decode()
      print(content)
  ```

  ```javascript Node theme={null}
  // Get the download URL from the link element
  const href = await page.getAttribute('a#download-link', 'href');

  // Fetch the file in the browser context and convert to base64
  const b64 = await page.evaluate(async (url) => {
    const resp = await fetch(url);
    const blob = await resp.blob();
    return new Promise((resolve) => {
      const reader = new FileReader();
      reader.onloadend = () => resolve(reader.result.split(',')[1]);
      reader.readAsDataURL(blob);
    });
  }, href);

  process.stdout.write(b64);
  ```
</CodeGroup>

<Note>
  The sandbox filesystem is ephemeral — downloaded files are lost when the session ends. To persist files, read their content within the session and save it to your own storage. Persistent profiles preserve browser state (cookies, localStorage) but not files on disk.
</Note>

## agent-browser (Bash Mode)

[agent-browser](https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-browser) is a headless browser CLI pre-installed in every sandbox. Instead of writing Playwright code, agents send simple bash commands. The CLI auto-injects `--cdp` so agent-browser connects to your active session automatically.

<Note>
  The `firecrawl browser` CLI examples below are for legacy Browser Sandbox sessions. For CLI/MCP agent workflows, prefer `firecrawl interact` or the MCP `firecrawl_interact` tool.
</Note>

### Shorthand

The fastest way to use browser. Both the shorthand and `execute` send commands to agent-browser automatically. The shorthand just skips `execute` and auto-launches a session if needed:

```bash theme={null}
firecrawl browser "open https://example.com"
firecrawl browser "snapshot"
firecrawl browser "click @e5"
```

### CLI

The explicit form uses `execute`. Commands are sent to agent-browser automatically -- you don't need to type `agent-browser` or use `--bash`:

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash Navigate & Snapshot theme={null}
  firecrawl browser execute "open https://example.com"
  firecrawl browser execute "snapshot"
  ```

  ```bash Interact theme={null}
  firecrawl browser execute "click @e5"
  firecrawl browser execute "fill @e3 'search query'"
  firecrawl browser execute "scrape"
  ```
</CodeGroup>

### API & SDK

Use `language: "bash"` to run agent-browser commands via the API or SDKs:

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  curl -X POST "https://api.firecrawl.dev/v2/interact/YOUR_SESSION_ID/execute" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $FIRECRAWL_API_KEY" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{
      "code": "agent-browser snapshot",
      "language": "bash"
    }'
  ```

  ```javascript Node theme={null}
  const result = await app.browserExecute(sessionId, {
    code: "agent-browser snapshot",
    language: "bash",
  });
  ```

  ```python Python theme={null}
  result = app.browser_execute(
      session_id,
      code="agent-browser snapshot",
      language="bash",
  )
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Session Management

### Persistent Sessions

By default, each browser session starts with a clean slate. With `profile`, you can save and reuse browser state across sessions. This is useful for staying logged in and preserving preferences.

To save or select a profile, use the `profile` parameter when creating a session.

<CodeGroup>
  ```js Node theme={null}
  const session = await firecrawl.browser({
    ttl: 600,
    profile: {
      name: "my-profile",
      saveChanges: true,
    },
  });
  ```

  ```python Python theme={null}
  session = app.browser(
      ttl=600,
      profile={
          "name": "my-profile",
          "save_changes": True,
      },
  )
  ```

  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  curl -X POST "https://api.firecrawl.dev/v2/interact" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $FIRECRAWL_API_KEY" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{
      "ttl": 600,
      "profile": {
        "name": "my-profile",
        "saveChanges": true
      }
    }'
  ```

  ```bash CLI theme={null}
  # Launch with a profile (saves changes by default)
  firecrawl browser launch-session --profile my-profile

  # Launch with a profile in read-only mode
  firecrawl browser launch-session --profile my-profile --no-save-changes

  # Shorthand: launch with profile + execute in one step
  firecrawl browser --profile my-profile "open https://example.com"
  ```
</CodeGroup>

| Parameter     | Default | Description                                                                                                                                                                |
| ------------- | ------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `name`        | —       | A name for the persistent profile. Sessions with the same name share storage.                                                                                              |
| `saveChanges` | `true`  | When `true`, browser state is saved back to the profile on close. Set to `false` to load existing data without writing — useful when you need multiple concurrent readers. |

<Note>
  Only one session can save to a profile at a time. If another session is already saving, you'll get a `409` error. You can still open the same profile with `saveChanges: false`, or try again later.
</Note>

The browser session state only saves when the session is closed. So we recommend closing the browser session when you are done with it so it can be reused. Once a session is closed, its session ID is no longer valid — you cannot reuse it. Instead, create a new session with the same profile name and use the new session ID returned in the response. To save and close it:

<CodeGroup>
  ```js Node theme={null}
  import { Firecrawl } from 'firecrawl';

  const firecrawl = new Firecrawl({ apiKey: "fc-YOUR-API-KEY" });

  await firecrawl.deleteBrowser("YOUR_SESSION_ID");
  ```

  ```python Python theme={null}
  from firecrawl import Firecrawl

  app = Firecrawl(api_key="fc-YOUR-API-KEY")

  app.delete_browser("YOUR_SESSION_ID")
  ```

  ```bash CLI theme={null}
  # Close the active session
  firecrawl browser close

  # Close a specific session
  firecrawl browser close --session <id>
  ```

  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  curl -X DELETE "https://api.firecrawl.dev/v2/interact/YOUR_SESSION_ID" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $FIRECRAWL_API_KEY"
  ```
</CodeGroup>

### List Sessions

<CodeGroup>
  ```js Node theme={null}
  import { Firecrawl } from 'firecrawl';

  const firecrawl = new Firecrawl({ apiKey: "fc-YOUR-API-KEY" });

  const { sessions } = await firecrawl.listBrowsers();
  console.log(sessions);

  // Filter by status
  const { sessions: active } = await firecrawl.listBrowsers({ status: "active" });
  console.log(active);
  ```

  ```python Python theme={null}
  from firecrawl import Firecrawl

  app = Firecrawl(api_key="fc-YOUR-API-KEY")

  response = app.list_browsers()
  print(response.sessions)
  ```

  ```bash CLI theme={null}
  firecrawl browser list
  firecrawl browser list active
  ```

  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  curl -X GET "https://api.firecrawl.dev/v2/interact" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $FIRECRAWL_API_KEY"

  # Filter by status
  curl -X GET "https://api.firecrawl.dev/v2/interact?status=active" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $FIRECRAWL_API_KEY"
  ```
</CodeGroup>

```json Response theme={null}
{
  "success": true,
  "sessions": [
    {
      "id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
      "status": "active",
      "cdpUrl": "wss://browser.firecrawl.dev/cdp/550e8400...?token=abc123...",
      "liveViewUrl": "https://liveview.firecrawl.dev/...",
      "interactiveLiveViewUrl": "https://liveview.firecrawl.dev/...",
      "createdAt": "2025-01-15T10:30:00Z",
      "lastActivity": "2025-01-15T10:35:00Z"
    }
  ]
}
```

### TTL Configuration

Sessions have two TTL controls:

| Parameter     | Default       | Description                            |
| ------------- | ------------- | -------------------------------------- |
| `ttl`         | 600s (10 min) | Maximum session lifetime (30-3600s)    |
| `activityTtl` | 300s (5 min)  | Auto-close after inactivity (10-3600s) |

### Close a Session

<CodeGroup>
  ```js Node theme={null}
  import { Firecrawl } from 'firecrawl';

  const firecrawl = new Firecrawl({ apiKey: "fc-YOUR-API-KEY" });

  await firecrawl.deleteBrowser("YOUR_SESSION_ID");
  ```

  ```python Python theme={null}
  from firecrawl import Firecrawl

  app = Firecrawl(api_key="fc-YOUR-API-KEY")

  app.delete_browser("YOUR_SESSION_ID")
  ```

  ```bash CLI theme={null}
  # Close the active session
  firecrawl browser close

  # Close a specific session
  firecrawl browser close --session <id>
  ```

  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  curl -X DELETE "https://api.firecrawl.dev/v2/interact/YOUR_SESSION_ID" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $FIRECRAWL_API_KEY"
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Live View

Every session returns a `liveViewUrl` in the response that you can embed to watch the browser in real time. Useful for debugging, demos, or building browser-powered UIs.

```json Response theme={null}
{
  "success": true,
  "id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
  "cdpUrl": "wss://browser.firecrawl.dev/cdp/550e8400...?token=abc123...",
  "liveViewUrl": "https://liveview.firecrawl.dev/...",
  "interactiveLiveViewUrl": "https://liveview.firecrawl.dev/...",
  "expiresAt": "2025-01-15T10:40:00Z"
}
```

```html theme={null}
<iframe src="LIVE_VIEW_URL" width="100%" height="600" />
```

### Interactive Live View

The response also includes an `interactiveLiveViewUrl`. Unlike the standard live view which is view-only, the interactive live view allows users to click, type, and interact with the browser session directly through the embedded stream. This is useful for building user-facing browser UIs, collaborative debugging, or any scenario where the viewer needs to control the browser.

```html theme={null}
<iframe src="INTERACTIVE_LIVE_VIEW_URL" width="100%" height="600" />
```

## Connecting via CDP

Every session exposes a CDP WebSocket URL. The execute API and `--bash` flag cover most use cases, but if you need full local control you can connect directly.

<CodeGroup>
  ```typescript TypeScript theme={null}
  import { Firecrawl } from 'firecrawl';
  import { chromium } from "playwright-core";

  const firecrawl = new Firecrawl({ apiKey: "fc-YOUR-API-KEY" });
  const session = await firecrawl.browser();

  const browser = await chromium.connectOverCDP(session.cdpUrl);
  const context = browser.contexts()[0];
  const page = context.pages()[0] || (await context.newPage());

  await page.goto("https://example.com");
  console.log(await page.title());

  await browser.close();
  await firecrawl.deleteBrowser(session.id);
  ```

  ```python Python theme={null}
  from firecrawl import Firecrawl
  from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright

  app = Firecrawl(api_key="fc-YOUR-API-KEY")
  session = app.browser()

  with sync_playwright() as p:
      browser = p.chromium.connect_over_cdp(session.cdp_url)
      context = browser.contexts[0]
      page = context.pages[0] if context.pages else context.new_page()

      page.goto("https://example.com")
      print(page.title())

      browser.close()

  app.delete_browser(session.id)
  ```

  ```bash agent-browser theme={null}
  # Use the cdpUrl from the session response
  agent-browser open https://example.com --cdp "$CDP_URL"
  agent-browser snapshot --cdp "$CDP_URL"
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## When to Use Browser

| Use Case                                             | Right Tool                             |
| ---------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- |
| Extract content from a known URL                     | [Scrape](/features/scrape)             |
| Search the web and get results                       | [Search](/features/search)             |
| Navigate pagination, fill forms, click through flows | **Browser**                            |
| Multi-step workflows with interaction                | **Browser**                            |
| Parallel browsing across many sites                  | **Browser** (each session is isolated) |

## Use Cases

* **Competitive intelligence** - Browse competitor sites, navigate search forms and filters, extract pricing and features into structured data
* **Knowledge base ingestion** - Navigate help centers, docs, and support portals that require clicks, pagination, or authentication
* **Market research** - Launch parallel browser sessions to build datasets from job boards, real estate listings, or legal databases

## Pricing

Pricing is straightforward: 2 credits per browser minute. Free users get 5 hours of free usage.

## Rate limits

For the initial launch, we allow all plans up to have up to 20 concurrent browser sessions.

## API Reference

* [Create Browser Session](/api-reference/endpoint/browser-create)
* [Execute Browser Code](/api-reference/endpoint/browser-execute)
* [List Browser Sessions](/api-reference/endpoint/browser-list)
* [Delete Browser Session](/api-reference/endpoint/browser-delete)

***

Have feedback or need help? Email [help@firecrawl.com](mailto:help@firecrawl.com) or reach out on [Discord](https://discord.gg/firecrawl).

> Are you an AI agent that needs a Firecrawl API key? See [firecrawl.dev/agent-onboarding/SKILL.md](https://www.firecrawl.dev/agent-onboarding/SKILL.md) for automated onboarding instructions.