Web Application Testing

Use agent-browser CLI for all browser automation and web app testing.

Core Workflow

1. Navigate: agent-browser open <url>
2. Snapshot: agent-browser snapshot -i (returns elements with refs like @e1, @e2)
3. Interact using refs from the snapshot
4. Re-snapshot after navigation or significant DOM changes

Decision Tree

User task -> Is it static HTML?
    |-- Yes -> Read HTML file directly, or open with agent-browser
    |
    |-- No (dynamic webapp) -> Is the server already running?
        |-- No -> Start server first, then use agent-browser
        |
        |-- Yes -> Reconnaissance-then-action:
            1. agent-browser open <url>
            2. agent-browser wait --load networkidle
            3. agent-browser snapshot -i
            4. Interact using @refs from snapshot

Quick Reference

agent-browser open <url>              # Navigate
agent-browser snapshot -i             # Get interactive elements with refs
agent-browser click @e1               # Click by ref
agent-browser fill @e2 "text"         # Fill input by ref
agent-browser screenshot page.png     # Take screenshot
agent-browser wait --load networkidle # Wait for page load
agent-browser close                   # Close browser

Example: Form Testing

agent-browser open http://localhost:5173/form
agent-browser snapshot -i
# Output: textbox "Email" [ref=e1], textbox "Password" [ref=e2], button "Submit" [ref=e3]

agent-browser fill @e1 "user@example.com"
agent-browser fill @e2 "password123"
agent-browser click @e3
agent-browser wait --load networkidle
agent-browser snapshot -i  # Verify result

Common Pitfall

• Don’t snapshot before the page has loaded on dynamic apps
• Do use agent-browser wait --load networkidle before inspecting

Best Practices

• Always snapshot before interacting to get current @refs
• Use --json flag for machine-readable output
• Use semantic locators as alternatives: agent-browser find role button click --name "Submit"
• Save auth state with agent-browser state save auth.json for reuse