browser

openclaw browser

Manage OpenClaw’s browser control server and run browser actions (tabs, snapshots, screenshots, navigation, clicks, typing).

Related:

• Browser tool + API: Browser tool

Common flags

• --url <gatewayWsUrl>: Gateway WebSocket URL (defaults to config).
• --token <token>: Gateway token (if required).
• --timeout <ms>: request timeout (ms).
• --browser-profile <name>: choose a browser profile (default from config).
• --json: machine-readable output (where supported).

Quick start (local)

openclaw browser profiles
openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw start
openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw open https://example.com
openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw snapshot

If the command is missing

If openclaw browser is an unknown command, check plugins.allow in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json.

When plugins.allow is present, the bundled browser plugin must be listed explicitly:

{
  plugins: {
    allow: ["telegram", "browser"],
  },
}

browser.enabled=true does not restore the CLI subcommand when the plugin allowlist excludes browser.

Related: Browser tool

Profiles

Profiles are named browser routing configs. In practice:

• openclaw: launches or attaches to a dedicated OpenClaw-managed Chrome instance (isolated user data dir).
• user: controls your existing signed-in Chrome session via Chrome DevTools MCP.
• custom CDP profiles: point at a local or remote CDP endpoint.

openclaw browser profiles
openclaw browser create-profile --name work --color "#FF5A36"
openclaw browser create-profile --name chrome-live --driver existing-session
openclaw browser delete-profile --name work

Use a specific profile:

openclaw browser --browser-profile work tabs

Tabs

openclaw browser tabs
openclaw browser open https://docs.openclaw.ai
openclaw browser focus <targetId>
openclaw browser close <targetId>

Snapshot / screenshot / actions

Snapshot:

openclaw browser snapshot

Screenshot:

openclaw browser screenshot

Navigate/click/type (ref-based UI automation):

openclaw browser navigate https://example.com
openclaw browser click <ref>
openclaw browser type <ref> "hello"

Existing Chrome via MCP

Use the built-in user profile, or create your own existing-session profile:

openclaw browser --browser-profile user tabs
openclaw browser create-profile --name chrome-live --driver existing-session
openclaw browser create-profile --name brave-live --driver existing-session --user-data-dir "~/Library/Application Support/BraveSoftware/Brave-Browser"
openclaw browser --browser-profile chrome-live tabs

This path is host-only. For Docker, headless servers, Browserless, or other remote setups, use a CDP profile instead.

Remote browser control (node host proxy)

If the Gateway runs on a different machine than the browser, run a node host on the machine that has Chrome/Brave/Edge/Chromium. The Gateway will proxy browser actions to that node (no separate browser control server required).

Use gateway.nodes.browser.mode to control auto-routing and gateway.nodes.browser.node to pin a specific node if multiple are connected.

Security + remote setup: Browser tool, Remote access, Tailscale, Security