--- site: steel.dev collection: blog canonical_url: https://steel.dev/blog/steel-cli-and-agent-skill markdown_url: https://steel.dev/blog/steel-cli-and-agent-skill.md content_signal: ai-input=yes, ai-train=yes, search=yes related: - https://steel.dev/blog/notte-on-steel.md - https://steel.dev/blog/introducing-steel-skills.md - https://steel.dev/blog/pricing-update.md title: "Introducing Steel CLI v0.2.0: Browser Automation Built for Agents" description: Today we are launching the Steel Browser CLI and the steel-browser skill so agents can run browser workflows and return clear outcomes with markdown, screenshots, or PDFs. date: 2026-03-03 authors: - Hussien Hussien category: Product minutes: 3 tldr: Steel CLI v0.2.0 and the steel-browser skill let agents run multi-step browser workflows with stealth, captcha solving, proxies and parallel background sessions, and return markdown, screenshots or PDFs. The CLI passes through agent-browser commands and moves the local runtime under steel dev. Install with npm i -g @steel-dev/cli. topics: - Command-line browser automation - Agent skills - Agent experience - CAPTCHA solving - Session lifecycle management - Local browser runtime entities: - Steel - Steel CLI - steel-browser - SKILL.md - agent-browser - skills.sh - "@steel-dev/cli" answers_questions: - How do I install the Steel CLI? - How do I install the steel-browser agent skill? - What is SKILL.md used for? - How do I solve a CAPTCHA with the Steel CLI? - How do I run Steel's browser runtime locally? - What can the Steel CLI and steel-browser skill do for agents? --- # Introducing Steel CLI v0.2.0: Browser Automation Built for Agents Today we're launching the new Steel CLI and `steel-browser` skill, which brings browser automation redesigned from the ground up for agents. Agents handle code, reasoning, and tool use well enough. Then they hit a real website and everything falls apart. Login walls, dynamic content, anti-bot systems, session state that doesn't persist. A five-minute human task becomes a twenty-minute debugging session. This release targets that gap. It's also our first serious implementation of [agent experience (AX)](https://biilmann.blog/articles/introducing-ax/): building tools where agents get clear inputs, predictable outputs, and failures they can recover from. ## TL;DR - New agent skill and CLI - agent-browser integration - Stealth: captcha solving & proxies for agents - Run background browser sessions in parallel [Video on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKkAwi8vt4Q) ## What this actually does The skill and CLI work together to make web tasks agents can finish reliably. - Run multi-step flows through login and dynamic UI - Pull clean markdown from cluttered pages - Capture screenshots and PDFs as evidence - Handle anti-bot measures and CAPTCHAs - Maintain session state across longer runs - Return structured outcomes you can verify A working agent web run should be boring. Predictable, reviewable, debuggable. Agent starts a browser session via CLI, follows the skill contract, executes commands (open, snapshot, click, fill, type, wait), collects artifacts, returns status. That's it. No heroics required. ![](https://steel.dev/assets/framerusercontent.com/images/mOaPI51aFVTuRmJBNWk0VACWtY.png) ## SKILL.md: A contract, not a prompt `SKILL.md` is a specification that tells an agent how to use a capability. For web tasks, it tells the agent: - When to invoke the skill - How to execute the workflow - What shape the output takes - How to handle blockers The goal is simple: less prompt glue, more repeatable behavior. Instead of rebuilding web handling for every project, your team adopts one stable path that carries across agents and harnesses. ## What the steel-browser skill handles This [`steel-browser`](https://docs.steel.dev/overview/skills/available-skills/steel-browser) skill is designed for autonomous web tasks where basic fetch tools fall short, often failing across many sites due to blocking, complexity, and other limitations. ### Anti-bot and CAPTCHA flow When automation is blocked, agent can use these patterns: ```sh steel browser start --session checkout-bot-check --session-solve-captcha steel browser open https://example.com steel browser captcha solve --session checkout-bot-check ``` For automation-first sessions: ```sh steel browser start --session checkout-bot-check --stealth ``` This is the difference between an agent that reports what it can't do and one that finishes the job. ## The new Steel Browser CLI workflow The CLI is the operator layer. It handles session lifecycle and gives agents and humans a clean interface for browsing work. ### Session lifecycle, cloud or local The CLI manages sessions and gives agents and humans a clean interface. ![](https://steel.dev/assets/framerusercontent.com/images/mdifGeQuPc61petQDWu3YqyCI.png) ### Passthrough commands for agent browser actions The `steel browser` command forwards inherited from awesome [agent-browser](https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-browser?utm_source=steel.dev) actions with a command prefix swap, including `open`, `snapshot`, `fill`, `click`, and `wait`. ### Local runtime now lives under `steel dev` Local runtime orchestration is now explicit and separate: - `steel dev install`: install dependencies - `steel dev start`: start local runtime - `steel dev stop`: stop it This makes it easier to develop and debug workflows locally, then run the same shape of workflow in the cloud. ## Get started ```sh # Install and auth npm i -g @steel-dev/cli steel login ``` Full command reference: [Steel CLI docs](https://docs.steel.dev/overview/steel-cli). ## Install the skill Available in the CLI repo's skills package or via [skills.sh](https://skills.sh/steel-dev/cli/steel-browser?utm_source=steel.dev): ```sh npx skills add steel-dev/cli --skill steel-browser ``` ## Where this helps This is not about browsing for its own sake. It is about unlocking agents and workflows where the web is the source of truth. - Competitive research with verifiable screenshots - Lead enrichment from JavaScript-heavy sites - Bug reproduction with session recordings - QA testing on live interfaces - Compliance documentation captured as PDFs - Data extraction from gated portals ## Give your agent a real browser Run one real workflow. Tell us what worked and what didn't. Join our [Discord](https://discord.gg/steel-dev) and share your experience with the new skill and CLI.