Getting Started

Installing chrome-use is just three things: install the CLI with one command, add the Chrome extension and register the local bridge, and pull the agent skills into your project. It ships as prebuilt binaries via GitHub Releases—no npm, no token—so neither the publisher nor you has to log into any account. Once installed, run chrome-use doctor to self-check in one shot.

Install the CLI in one line

Download the prebuilt binary for your platform from the latest GitHub Release to install chrome-use (plus the short alias abs). This is the primary distribution channel—it doesn't go through npm and needs no token.

$ curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/leeguooooo/chrome-use/main/install.sh | sh

Other install methods

When you need a pinned version, a custom install directory, or manual placement on Windows:

# pin a specific version
$ AGENT_BROWSER_VERSION=v1.5.70 curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/leeguooooo/chrome-use/main/install.sh | sh

# install to a custom directory
$ AGENT_BROWSER_BIN_DIR=$HOME/bin curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/leeguooooo/chrome-use/main/install.sh | sh

• Windows: download chrome-use-win32-x64.tar.gz from the Releases page and put chrome-use.exe on your PATH. The extension path for connecting to your real Chrome works on Windows too—see the next section.
• npm (legacy): npm install -g chrome-use is still published, but GitHub Releases is the primary channel now.

Install with Nix

Run directly from the repository flake, or import its Home Manager or NixOS module for a declarative installation:

# run once without installing
$ nix run github:leeguooooo/chrome-use -- --help

# flake input
inputs.chrome-use.url = "github:leeguooooo/chrome-use";

# Home Manager: install and register the native-messaging host on activation
imports = [ inputs.chrome-use.homeManagerModules.default ];
programs.chrome-use.enable = true;

# NixOS: install system-wide and optionally force-install the extension
imports = [ inputs.chrome-use.nixosModules.default ];
programs.chrome-use = {
  enable = true;
  forceInstallExtension = true;
};

The NixOS module writes the managed Chrome and Chromium extension policies. Native-messaging registration is per user; run chrome-use extension connect once after switching, or use the Home Manager module above.

For the list of pinnable tags, see Lineage—how the tags evolved from the agent-browser fork (early v0.x-fork.N tags) to today's chrome-use v1.5.x tags.

Install the extension, connect your real Chrome

To drive the real Chrome you're already logged into (reusing existing sessions, no confirmation prompts), install the browser extension and register the local bridge once. This is the recommended path.

1. Install the chrome-use extension from the Chrome Web Store with a one-click Add to Chrome. The store build stays stable across restarts, which suits unattended use. Confirm you got the right one by the listing name chrome-use and extension ID knfcmbamhjmaonkfnjhldjedeobeafmk (its repo codename is ab-connect).
2. Register the native-messaging host—one time:

# register the local bridge (one time)
$ chrome-use extension install

# after that, open drives your already-logged-in Chrome directly
$ chrome-use open https://x.com/home

From then on, chrome-use open drives your real, already-logged-in Chrome through native messaging—no debug port, no token, and never an "Allow remote debugging?" prompt. The extension auto-updates and stays connected across restarts, so you never confirm again on later calls. For how the connection works, see Connecting to your real Chrome.

$ chrome-use extension install --no-profile      # never writes the policy profile
$ chrome-use extension install --all-profiles    # opens the Store page in each missing profile

$ profiles remove -identifier com.leeguoo.chrome-use.connect

Pull the agent skills

Claude Code — plugin marketplace (recommended): installs the skill globally (all projects), auto-updates, and lists the rest of the *-use family:

> /plugin marketplace add leeguooooo/plugins
> /plugin install chrome-use@leeguooooo-plugins

Other agent runners (Cursor, Codex, CodeBuddy, Trae, Windsurf, Cline, custom scripts): pull the SKILL.md with skills.sh. Add -g for a global install (visible to every project); drop it to install only into the current project:

$ npx skills add leeguooooo/chrome-use -g

Codex users: Codex ships its own browser plugin and picks it for browser tasks. Measured on a machine with many skills installed, Codex also trims every skill description to a few characters or none, so the skill's description cannot win the routing, and naming chrome-use in the prompt was not enough either. What worked was one line in the project's AGENTS.md:

Use the `chrome-use` CLI from the shell for every browser task; start with `chrome-use skills get core`.
Do not use the built-in Chrome plugin for browser work here.

Either way the AI agent gets the right usage patterns and pre-authorized bash permissions for chrome-use and abs; the specialized guides (electron / slack / agentcore / …) are served by the binary itself via chrome-use skills get <name>, so they always match the installed version. Once installed, it's worth reading The core loop first.

Run your first command

The browser stays running across commands, so the ones below feel like a single session. When you're done, wrap up with chrome-use close (or close --all).

# take a screenshot of a page
$ chrome-use open https://example.com
$ chrome-use screenshot home.png
$ chrome-use close

For the full open → snapshot -i → fill → click walkthrough (search, click a result, screenshot again), read The core loop; for every command and flag, see Commands.

Diagnose install problems

When a command fails unexpectedly (Unknown command, Failed to connect, a stuck daemon, a version mismatch after upgrade, Chrome not found, and so on), run doctor before anything else.

# full diagnostic: environment, Chrome, daemon, config, providers, network, launch self-test
$ chrome-use doctor
$ chrome-use doctor --offline --quick   # fast, purely local
$ chrome-use doctor --fix               # run destructive fixes (reinstall Chrome, clear stale state…)
$ chrome-use doctor --json              # structured output for programmatic use

Every doctor run automatically cleans up stale socket / pid / version sidecar files; destructive operations only run when you add --fix. Exit codes: 0 when everything passes (warnings included), 1 on any failure.