name	browserless
description	Headless browser as a service for screenshots, PDFs, scraping, and automation
vm0_secrets	BROWSERLESS_API_TOKEN

Browserless

Headless Chrome browser as a service. Take screenshots, generate PDFs, scrape JS-rendered pages, and run Puppeteer/Playwright scripts without managing browser infrastructure.

Official docs: https://docs.browserless.io/

When to Use

Use this skill when you need to:

Scrape JavaScript-heavy pages (React, Vue, Angular)
Take full-page or element screenshots
Generate PDFs from web pages
Execute custom JavaScript in a browser context
Bypass bot detection with stealth mode
Run Puppeteer/Playwright scripts in the cloud

Prerequisites

Create an account at https://www.browserless.io/
Get your API token from https://account.browserless.io/

Set environment variable:

export BROWSERLESS_API_TOKEN="your-api-token-here"

Important: When using $VAR in a command that pipes to another command, wrap the command containing $VAR in bash -c '...'. Due to a Claude Code bug, environment variables are silently cleared when pipes are used directly.
bash -c 'curl -s "https://api.example.com" -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY"' | jq .

How to Use

1. Scrape Data (CSS Selectors)

Extract structured JSON using CSS selectors:

Write to /tmp/browserless_request.json:

{
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "elements": [
    {"selector": "h1"},
    {"selector": "p"}
  ]
}

Then run:

bash -c 'curl -s -X POST "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/scrape?token=${BROWSERLESS_API_TOKEN}" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/browserless_request.json' | jq .

With wait options:

Write to /tmp/browserless_request.json:

{
  "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com",
  "elements": [{"selector": ".titleline > a"}],
  "gotoOptions": {
    "waitUntil": "networkidle2",
    "timeout": 30000
  }
}

Then run:

bash -c 'curl -s -X POST "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/scrape?token=${BROWSERLESS_API_TOKEN}" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/browserless_request.json' | jq '.data[0].results[:3]'

2. Take Screenshots

Full page screenshot:

Write to /tmp/browserless_request.json:

{
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "options": {
    "fullPage": true,
    "type": "png"
  }
}

Then run:

curl -s -X POST "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/screenshot?token=${BROWSERLESS_API_TOKEN}" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/browserless_request.json --output screenshot.png

Element screenshot:

Write to /tmp/browserless_request.json:

{
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "options": {
    "type": "png"
  },
  "selector": "h1"
}

Then run:

curl -s -X POST "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/screenshot?token=${BROWSERLESS_API_TOKEN}" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/browserless_request.json --output element.png

With viewport size:

Write to /tmp/browserless_request.json:

{
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "viewport": {
    "width": 1920,
    "height": 1080
  },
  "options": {
    "type": "jpeg",
    "quality": 80
  }
}

Then run:

curl -s -X POST "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/screenshot?token=${BROWSERLESS_API_TOKEN}" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/browserless_request.json --output screenshot.jpg

3. Generate PDF

Write to /tmp/browserless_request.json:

{
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "options": {
    "format": "A4",
    "printBackground": true,
    "margin": {
      "top": "1cm",
      "bottom": "1cm"
    }
  }
}

Then run:

curl -s -X POST "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/pdf?token=${BROWSERLESS_API_TOKEN}" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/browserless_request.json --output page.pdf

4. Get Rendered HTML

Get fully rendered HTML after JavaScript execution:

Write to /tmp/browserless_request.json:

{
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "gotoOptions": {
    "waitUntil": "networkidle0"
  }
}

Then run:

curl -s -X POST "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/content?token=${BROWSERLESS_API_TOKEN}" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/browserless_request.json

5. Execute Custom JavaScript (Click, Type, etc.)

Run Puppeteer code with full interaction support:

Click element:

curl -s -X POST "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/function?token=${BROWSERLESS_API_TOKEN}" -H "Content-Type: application/javascript" -d 'export default async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto("https://example.com");
  await page.click("a");
  return { data: { url: page.url() }, type: "application/json" };
  }' | jq .

Type into input:

curl -s -X POST "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/function?token=${BROWSERLESS_API_TOKEN}" -H "Content-Type: application/javascript" -d 'export default async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto("https://duckduckgo.com");
  await page.waitForSelector("input[name=q]");
  await page.type("input[name=q]", "hello world");
  const val = await page.$eval("input[name=q]", e => e.value);
  return { data: { typed: val }, type: "application/json" };
  }' | jq .

Form submission:

curl -s -X POST "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/function?token=${BROWSERLESS_API_TOKEN}" -H "Content-Type: application/javascript" -d 'export default async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto("https://duckduckgo.com");
  await page.type("input[name=q]", "test query");
  await page.keyboard.press("Enter");
  await page.waitForNavigation();
  return { data: { title: await page.title() }, type: "application/json" };
  }' | jq .

Extract data with custom script:

curl -s -X POST "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/function?token=${BROWSERLESS_API_TOKEN}" -H "Content-Type: application/javascript" -d 'export default async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto("https://news.ycombinator.com");
  const links = await page.$$eval(".titleline > a", els => els.slice(0,5).map(a => ({title: a.innerText, url: a.href})));
  return { data: links, type: "application/json" };
  }' | jq .

6. Unblock Protected Sites

Bypass bot detection:

Write to /tmp/browserless_request.json:

{
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "browserWSEndpoint": false,
  "cookies": false,
  "content": true,
  "screenshot": false
}

Then run:

bash -c 'curl -s -X POST "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/unblock?token=${BROWSERLESS_API_TOKEN}" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/browserless_request.json' | jq .

7. Download Files

Trigger and capture file downloads:

Write to /tmp/browserless_request.json:

{
  "url": "https://example.com/file.pdf"
}

Then run:

curl -s -X POST "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/download?token=${BROWSERLESS_API_TOKEN}" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/browserless_request.json --output downloaded.pdf

8. Stealth Mode

Enable stealth mode to avoid detection:

Write to /tmp/browserless_request.json:

{
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "elements": [{"selector": "body"}]
}

Then run:

bash -c 'curl -s -X POST "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/scrape?token=${BROWSERLESS_API_TOKEN}&stealth=true" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/browserless_request.json' | jq .

9. Export Page with Resources

Fetch a URL and get content in native format. Can bundle all resources (CSS, JS, images) as zip:

Basic export:

Write to /tmp/browserless_request.json:

{
  "url": "https://example.com"
}

Then run:

curl -s -X POST "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/export?token=${BROWSERLESS_API_TOKEN}" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/browserless_request.json --output page.html

Export with all resources as ZIP:

Write to /tmp/browserless_request.json:

{
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "includeResources": true
}

Then run:

curl -s -X POST "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/export?token=${BROWSERLESS_API_TOKEN}" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/browserless_request.json --output webpage.zip

10. Performance Audit (Lighthouse)

Run Lighthouse audits for accessibility, performance, SEO, best practices:

Full audit:

Write to /tmp/browserless_request.json:

{
  "url": "https://example.com"
}

Then run:

bash -c 'curl -s -X POST "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/performance?token=${BROWSERLESS_API_TOKEN}" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/browserless_request.json' | jq '.data.categories | to_entries[] | {category: .key, score: .value.score}'

Specific category (accessibility, performance, seo, best-practices, pwa):

Write to /tmp/browserless_request.json:

{
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "config": {
    "extends": "lighthouse:default",
    "settings": {
      "onlyCategories": ["performance"]
    }
  }
}

Then run:

bash -c 'curl -s -X POST "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/performance?token=${BROWSERLESS_API_TOKEN}" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/browserless_request.json' | jq '.data.audits | to_entries[:5][] | {audit: .key, score: .value.score, display: .value.displayValue}'

Specific audit (e.g., unminified-css, first-contentful-paint):

Write to /tmp/browserless_request.json:

{
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "config": {
    "extends": "lighthouse:default",
    "settings": {
      "onlyAudits": ["first-contentful-paint", "largest-contentful-paint"]
    }
  }
}

Then run:

bash -c 'curl -s -X POST "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/performance?token=${BROWSERLESS_API_TOKEN}" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/browserless_request.json' | jq '.data.audits'

API Endpoints

Endpoint	Method	Description
`/scrape`	POST	Extract data with CSS selectors
`/screenshot`	POST	Capture screenshots (PNG/JPEG)
`/pdf`	POST	Generate PDF documents
`/content`	POST	Get rendered HTML
`/function`	POST	Execute custom Puppeteer code
`/unblock`	POST	Bypass bot protection
`/download`	POST	Download files
`/export`	POST	Export page with resources as ZIP
`/performance`	POST	Lighthouse audits (a11y, perf, SEO)

Common Options

gotoOptions

Control page navigation:

{
  "gotoOptions": {
  "waitUntil": "networkidle2",
  "timeout": 30000
  }
}

waitUntil values:

load - Wait for load event
domcontentloaded - Wait for DOMContentLoaded
networkidle0 - No network connections for 500ms
networkidle2 - Max 2 network connections for 500ms

waitFor Options

{
  "waitForTimeout": 1000,
  "waitForSelector": {"selector": ".loaded", "timeout": 5000},
  "waitForFunction": {"fn": "() => document.ready", "timeout": 5000}
}

Viewport

{
  "viewport": {
  "width": 1920,
  "height": 1080,
  "deviceScaleFactor": 2
  }
}

Query Parameters

Parameter	Description
`token`	API token (required)
`stealth`	Enable stealth mode (`true`/`false`)
`blockAds`	Block advertisements
`proxy`	Use proxy server

Response Format

Scrape response:

{
  "data": [
  {
  "selector": "h1",
  "results": [
  {
  "text": "Example Domain",
  "html": "Example Domain",
  "attributes": [{"name": "class", "value": "title"}],
  "width": 400,
  "height": 50,
  "top": 100,
  "left": 50
  }
  ]
  }
  ]
}

Guidelines

waitUntil: Use networkidle2 for most pages, networkidle0 for SPAs
Timeouts: Default is 30s; increase for slow pages
Stealth Mode: Enable for sites with bot detection
Screenshots: Use jpeg with quality 80 for smaller files
Rate Limits: Check your plan limits at https://account.browserless.io/
Regions: Use region-specific endpoints for better latency:

production-sfo.browserless.io (US West)
production-lon.browserless.io (Europe)

browserless

Install Skill

SKILL.md

Browserless

When to Use

Prerequisites

How to Use

1. Scrape Data (CSS Selectors)

2. Take Screenshots

3. Generate PDF

4. Get Rendered HTML

5. Execute Custom JavaScript (Click, Type, etc.)

6. Unblock Protected Sites

7. Download Files

8. Stealth Mode

9. Export Page with Resources

10. Performance Audit (Lighthouse)

API Endpoints

Common Options

gotoOptions

waitFor Options

Viewport

Query Parameters

Response Format

Guidelines