@steel-dev/cli

Steel CLI for browser automation, API tools, and agent workflows.

This package now integrates agent-browser directly into steel browser, so you can keep familiar browser commands while using Steel-native session lifecycle, auth, and endpoint handling.

Jump To

• Install
• Quick Start
• Agent-Browser Integration
• Command Overview
• Endpoint Resolution
• Documentation Map

Install

Requirements:

• Node.js >=18

Install globally:

npm i -g @steel-dev/cli

Or run without installing globally:

npx @steel-dev/cli --help

Quick Start

Cloud mode (default)

steel login
steel browser start --session my-job
steel browser open https://example.com --session my-job
steel browser snapshot -i --session my-job
steel browser stop

Self-hosted endpoint

steel browser start --api-url https://steel.your-domain.dev/v1 --session my-job
steel browser open https://example.com --api-url https://steel.your-domain.dev/v1 --session my-job

Local runtime (localhost flow)

steel dev install
steel dev start
steel browser start --local --session local-job
steel browser open https://example.com --session local-job
steel browser stop
steel dev stop

Agent-Browser Integration

steel browser is directly backed by the vendored agent-browser runtime.

Steel-owned lifecycle commands:

• steel browser start
• steel browser stop
• steel browser sessions
• steel browser live

All other steel browser <command> calls are inherited from upstream runtime behavior and routed through Steel.

Migration from upstream agent-browser is typically command-prefix only:

• before: agent-browser <command> ...
• after: steel browser <command> ...

Read more:

• Migration guide
• Compatibility matrix
• Steel browser reference
• Synced command catalog

Command Overview

Group	Commands
Quickstart	forge, run
Browser lifecycle	browser start, browser stop, browser sessions, browser live
Browser passthrough	steel browser <inherited-command>
API tools	scrape, screenshot, pdf
Local runtime	dev install, dev start, dev stop
Account and utility	login, logout, config, settings, cache, docs, support, star, update

For full flags and argument schemas, use the generated reference:

• CLI reference

Endpoint Resolution

For browser lifecycle, browser passthrough bootstrap, and top-level API tools (scrape, screenshot, pdf), endpoint selection is deterministic.

Self-hosted precedence (highest to lowest):

1. --api-url <url>
2. STEEL_BROWSER_API_URL
3. STEEL_LOCAL_API_URL
4. browser.apiUrl in ~/.config/steel/config.json
5. http://localhost:3000/v1

Cloud precedence:

1. STEEL_API_URL
2. https://api.steel.dev/v1

Attach-flag override rule:

• If --cdp or --auto-connect is provided, Steel bootstrap injection is skipped and passthrough args are forwarded unchanged.

Output and Runtime Notes

• steel scrape defaults to markdown-first output for token efficiency; use --raw for full JSON payload.
• steel browser start and steel browser sessions emit display-safe connect URLs with sensitive query values redacted.
• Browser command paths bypass auto-update checks for lower interactive latency.

Auto-Update

# Update to latest
steel update

# Check without installing
steel update --check

# Force update
steel update --force

Disable automatic update checks:

steel run --no-update-check
STEEL_CLI_SKIP_UPDATE_CHECK=true steel run
CI=true steel run
NODE_ENV=test steel run

Update checks are cached for 24 hours.

Documentation Map

Primary docs:

• Docs index
• Generated CLI reference
• Browser compatibility
• agent-browser migration guide
• Upstream sync guide

Reference docs:

• References index
• Steel CLI reference (high-level)
• Steel browser reference (modes + contracts)
• Steel browser commands (synced + transformed)
• Agent troubleshooting playbook
• Pinned upstream source snapshot

Agent skill:

• Steel Browser skill package