Tell your agent:
Install the browser-act Skill from https://github.com/browser-act/skills/tree/main/browser-act
The agent automatically downloads the SKILL file into its Skills directory. Once installed, the agent becomes aware of BrowserAct and invokes it when appropriate.
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Entry Skill (the installed file) │
│ Lightweight, stable, rarely changes │
│ Teaches the agent: "browser-act exists"│
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Runtime content (get-skills CLI) │
│ Environment-aware, version-matched │
│ Teaches the agent: "use it like this" │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
The file installed into the agent's Skills directory. It's intentionally minimal:
- Triggers agent awareness of BrowserAct
- Contains trigger words that activate it
- Points the agent to
get-skillsfor actual instructions
The entry Skill rarely changes — it's the stable entry point.
The agent's first command must always be:
browser-act get-skills core --skill-version <version>It returns everything the agent needs for the current session:
- Environment state — CLI version, API Key status
- Browser list — All available browsers with their IDs, types, and descriptions
- Active sessions — Currently running sessions
- Core commands — Interaction reference
- Directives — Dynamic rules based on the current state
| Command | Content | When to use |
|---|---|---|
get-skills core --skill-version <v> |
Core workflow, commands, environment state | Always first |
get-skills advanced |
Proxy, Profile, privacy mode, advanced patterns | When core isn't enough |
get-skills main |
Latest SKILL.md content for self-update | When a version mismatch is detected |
- Most tasks only need
get-skills core— covers 80% of use cases - Load
get-skills advancedonly when needed — proxy config, Profile import, etc. - Avoid pulling unrelated information all at once
The --skill-version parameter lets the CLI detect incompatibilities:
# The Skill claims version 2.0.2
browser-act get-skills core --skill-version 2.0.2If the CLI version is incompatible with the Skill version, the output includes upgrade guidance:
- CLI too old →
uv tool upgrade browser-act-cli - Skill too old →
browser-act get-skills mainfor the latest Skill content
Version compatibility is automatic: the Skill file declares its version, the CLI checks compatibility. When incompatible, the upgrade guidance lands directly in the output and the agent runs it automatically.
get-skills output includes "Directives" — context-aware rules generated based on the current state:
| Directive | Trigger |
|---|---|
| Multi-browser directive | When multiple browsers exist, provides selection guidance based on desc matching |
| Session directive | When existing sessions are detected, reminds the agent of ownership rules |
| Authentication directive | When the API Key is missing, steers away from stealth operations |
Directives are BrowserAct's mechanism for adapting guidance to the agent's current situation without hard-coding every scenario in the Skill.
1. User says "check the price on example.com"
2. The agent's entry Skill activates (trigger word match)
3. Agent runs: browser-act get-skills core --skill-version 2.0.2
4. Agent receives: environment state + browser list + commands + dynamic directives
5. Agent picks an appropriate browser (desc match)
6. Agent confirms with the user (confirmation gate)
7. Agent executes browser operations
8. Agent closes the session, updates the browser's desc
Works with any agent that can:
- Read SKILL files from a Skills directory
- Execute shell commands
- Parse text output
Compatibility list:
- Claude Code — SKILL.md in
.claude/skills/ - GitHub Copilot — Discovered via the Skills directory
- Cursor — Rules / Skills directory
- Windsurf — Agent Skills system
- Google Gemini CLI — AGENTS.md integration
- OpenCode — Skills system
- Codex — Skills integration
- Quick Start — Run your first automation
- Commands — Complete command reference
- Skill Forge — Bake operations into reusable Skills