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OpenClaw Integration

OpenClaw is an open-source personal AI assistant that runs locally and can autonomously browse the web, fill out forms, scrape data, and interact with online services. By connecting OpenClaw to Browserless, you offload browser execution to the cloud — gaining stealth, residential proxies, CAPTCHA solving, and scalable sessions without running a local browser.

Why use Browserless with OpenClaw?​

OpenClaw's built-in managed browser works well for local tasks, but cloud and headless deployments (servers, Docker, CI) have no display. Browserless solves this and adds a host of other features:

  • Stealth and anti-bot resilience — bypass bot detection that trips up standard Chromium
  • CAPTCHA and Cloudflare solving — automatically handle verification challenges
  • Residential proxies — rotate IPs to avoid rate limits and geo-restrictions
  • No local browser required — ideal for headless servers, Docker, and cloud VMs
  • Regional endpoints — choose US West, UK, or Amsterdam for lower latency

Prerequisites​

Step 1: Get your API token​

Go to your Browserless Account Dashboard and copy your API token. You will add it to your OpenClaw configuration in the next step.

tip

Store your token in an environment variable instead of hardcoding it in config files:

export BROWSERLESS_API_TOKEN="your-token-here"

Step 2: Configure a Browserless browser profile​

OpenClaw uses browser profiles defined in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json. Add a browserless profile that points to a Browserless regional endpoint via its CDP URL.

Open your config file and add the following:

// ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
{
  browser: {
    enabled: true,
    defaultProfile: "browserless",
    remoteCdpTimeoutMs: 2000,
    remoteCdpHandshakeTimeoutMs: 4000,
    profiles: {
      browserless: {
        cdpUrl: "https://production-sfo.browserless.io?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN",
        color: "#FF4500"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace YOUR_API_TOKEN with your actual Browserless token, or use an environment variable reference if your setup supports it.

Choose a regional endpoint​

Pick the region closest to you for lower latency:

RegionCDP URL
US Westhttps://production-sfo.browserless.io?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN
Europe UKhttps://production-lon.browserless.io?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN
Europe Amsterdamhttps://production-ams.browserless.io?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN

Step 3: Verify the connection​

Confirm that OpenClaw can reach the Browserless endpoint:

openclaw browser status

You should see the browserless profile listed as reachable. If the profile shows as unreachable, double-check your API token and network connectivity.

You can also start a quick browser session and take a screenshot to validate:

openclaw browser start
openclaw browser screenshot

Step 4: Use browser automation​

Once connected, OpenClaw's AI can use Browserless just like a local browser. Ask it to perform tasks in natural language through your preferred chat interface (WhatsApp, Discord, Slack, etc.):

  • "Go to example.com and take a screenshot"
  • "Fill out the contact form on browserless.io/practice-form"
  • "Scrape the pricing table from that page"

OpenClaw will route all browser actions through Browserless automatically.

Using the CLI directly​

You can also drive the browser with OpenClaw's CLI commands:

# Navigate to a page
openclaw browser navigate "https://example.com"

# Take a snapshot (returns element references for interaction)
openclaw browser snapshot --efficient

# Click an element by reference
openclaw browser click @e1

# Take a full-page screenshot
openclaw browser screenshot --full-page
note

Always take a new snapshot after every action — element references (@e1, @e2, etc.) become stale when the DOM changes.

Keeping a local profile alongside Browserless​

You can define multiple profiles and switch between them. This is useful for local development (managed browser) and production (Browserless):

// ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
{
  browser: {
    enabled: true,
    defaultProfile: "browserless",
    profiles: {
      local: {
        cdpPort: 18800,
        color: "#0066CC"
      },
      browserless: {
        cdpUrl: "https://production-sfo.browserless.io?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN",
        color: "#FF4500"
      }
    }
  }
}

Switch profiles on any command with the ?profile=<name> parameter, or change defaultProfile in your config.

Troubleshooting​

Connection timeout​

If openclaw browser status shows the Browserless profile as unreachable:

  1. Verify your API token is correct and active in the Browserless dashboard
  2. Increase timeout values: 
    {
      browser: {
        remoteCdpTimeoutMs: 5000,
        remoteCdpHandshakeTimeoutMs: 8000
      }
    }
  3. Check that outbound HTTPS traffic on port 443 is allowed by your firewall

Playwright not installed​

Some advanced OpenClaw browser features (element snapshots, PDFs, AI snapshots) require Playwright. If you see 501 errors, install it:

npm install playwright

Rate limit or plan errors​

If you hit rate limits, check your usage in the Browserless dashboard and consider upgrading your plan. Browserless returns HTTP 429 when concurrency or request limits are exceeded.

Additional resources​