Create a Browser

on-demand browsers for your agents

Kernel browsers were designed to be lightweight and fast. Your agent can quickly create them on-demand and tear them down as soon as it is done using them. They can be used as part of the Kernel app platform or connected to from another service with the Chrome DevTools Protocol.

1. Create a Kernel browser

First, install the Kernel SDK:

• Typescript/Javascript: npm install @onkernel/sdk
• Python: pip install kernel

Use our SDK to create a browser:

Typescript/Javascript

import Kernel from '@onkernel/sdk';

const kernel = new Kernel();

const kernelBrowser = await kernel.browsers.create();
console.log(kernelBrowser.session_id);

2. Connect to the browser

Kernel browsers support three connection methods: CDP for framework-level browser automation, WebDriver BiDi for W3C-standard control, and Computer Controls for OS-level mouse/keyboard input ideal for vision-based LLM loops.

CDP

Connect with any Chrome DevTools Protocol framework like Playwright or Puppeteer. Use cdp_ws_url from the created browser session.

Typescript/Javascript

import { chromium } from 'playwright';

const browser = await chromium.connectOverCDP(kernelBrowser.cdp_ws_url);
const context = browser.contexts()[0];
const page = context.pages()[0];

await page.goto('https://example.com');
const title = await page.title();
console.log(title);

WebDriver BiDi

Connect with Vibium or any WebDriver BiDi-compatible client. Use webdriver_ws_url from the created browser session.

Typescript/Javascript

import { browser } from 'vibium';

const bro = await browser.start(kernelBrowser.webdriver_ws_url);
const page = await bro.page();

await page.goto('https://example.com');
const title = await page.title();
console.log(title);

Computer Controls

Control the browser’s mouse, keyboard, and screen directly through the Kernel SDK — no CDP or WebDriver connection needed. This is ideal for vision-based LLM loops like Claude Computer Use.

Typescript/Javascript

import Kernel from '@onkernel/sdk';

const kernel = new Kernel();
const kernelBrowser = await kernel.browsers.create();

// Take a screenshot
const response = await kernel.browsers.computer.captureScreenshot(kernelBrowser.session_id);

// Click at coordinates
await kernel.browsers.computer.clickMouse(kernelBrowser.session_id, {
  x: 100,
  y: 200,
});

// Type text
await kernel.browsers.computer.typeText(kernelBrowser.session_id, {
  text: 'Hello, World!',
});

3. Tear it down

When you’re finished with the browser, you can delete it:

Typescript/Javascript

import Kernel from '@onkernel/sdk';

const kernel = new Kernel();

await kernel.browsers.deleteByID(kernelBrowser.session_id);

Browsers automatically delete after a timeout (default 60 seconds) if they don’t receive a CDP or live view connection. You can configure this timeout when creating the browser.

Full example

Once you’ve connected to the Kernel browser, you can do anything with it.

Kernel browsers launch with a default context and page. Make sure to access the existing context and page (contexts()[0] and pages()[0]), rather than trying to create a new one.

Typescript/Javascript

import Kernel from '@onkernel/sdk';
import { chromium } from 'playwright';

const kernel = new Kernel();

const kernelBrowser = await kernel.browsers.create();
const browser = await chromium.connectOverCDP(kernelBrowser.cdp_ws_url);

try {
  const context = browser.contexts()[0] || (await browser.newContext());
  const page = context.pages()[0] || (await context.newPage());
  await page.goto('https://www.onkernel.com');
  const title = await page.title();
} catch (error) {
  console.error(error);
} finally {
  await browser.close();
  await kernel.browsers.deleteByID(kernelBrowser.session_id);
}