OpenClaw Integration

browsy integrates with OpenClaw as a first-class plugin, giving every agent fast, zero-render browsing capabilities without Playwright or Chromium.

Why use browsy in OpenClaw?

OpenClaw's built-in browser uses Playwright + CDP: ~300MB RAM, 2-5s per page. browsy handles 70%+ of agent browsing tasks at 10x speed and 60x less memory. The plugin auto-starts a browsy server and injects 14 browsing tools into every agent.

Installation

# Install the OpenClaw plugin
npm install openclaw-browsy

# Install the browsy CLI (needed for the server)
cargo install browsy

Configuration

Add to your OpenClaw config:

{
  "plugins": {
    "openclaw-browsy": {
      "port": 3847,
      "autoStart": true,
      "allowPrivateNetwork": false,
      "preferBrowsy": true,
      "serverTimeout": 10000
    }
  }
}

Plugin registration

// openclaw.config.ts
import { register } from "openclaw-browsy";
export default { register };

The plugin registers four components following OpenClaw's standard pattern:

1. preToolExecution hook — intercepts built-in browser tools (browser, web_browser, playwright_browser, browse_web) and redirects them through browsy when preferBrowsy is enabled
2. agent:bootstrap hook — injects 14 browsy tools into every agent's toolset at startup
3. browsy-server service — manages the browsy serve process lifecycle (auto-start, health polling, shutdown)
4. Gateway methods + CLI commands — browsy.status, browsy.restart, /browsy-status, /browsy-sessions

Available tools

Every agent gets these 14 tools automatically:

How it works

The plugin is a pure proxy — it talks to browsy's REST API via fetch() and manages sessions:

Agent → browsy_browse("https://example.com")
  → Plugin ensures browsy server is running
  → Plugin gets/creates session for this agent
  → POST /api/browse with X-Browsy-Session header
  → browsy fetches, parses, and returns Spatial DOM
  → Plugin updates session token
  → Agent receives page content

Each agent gets its own isolated session with independent cookies, history, and form state.

SimpleClaw and other OpenClaw-compatible frameworks

The openclaw-browsy plugin works with any framework that implements the OpenClaw plugin API. This includes SimpleClaw and other lightweight agent orchestrators built on the OpenClaw standard.

SimpleClaw quick start

import { SimpleClaw } from "simpleclaw";
import { register } from "openclaw-browsy";

const claw = new SimpleClaw({
  plugins: [{ register }],
  config: {
    "openclaw-browsy": {
      port: 3847,
      preferBrowsy: true,
    },
  },
});

// Agents automatically get browsy tools
const agent = claw.createAgent({
  name: "researcher",
  instructions: "You browse the web and extract information.",
});

const result = await agent.run("Search for 'Rust web frameworks' and summarize the top 3 results");

Standalone usage (no framework)

You can also use the browsy client directly without OpenClaw:

import { BrowsyContext } from "openclaw-browsy";

const ctx = new BrowsyContext({ port: 3847, autoStart: false });

// Assumes browsy serve is already running
const page = await ctx.executeToolCall("browse", { url: "https://example.com" });
console.log(page);

const info = await ctx.executeToolCall("pageInfo", {});
console.log(info);

Custom agent orchestrators

Any orchestrator that implements the four-method OpenClawPluginApi interface can use the plugin:

interface OpenClawPluginApi {
  registerHook(name: string, handler: (...args: unknown[]) => unknown): void;
  registerService(name: string, service: { start?: () => void | Promise<void>; stop?: () => void | Promise<void> }): void;
  registerGatewayMethod(name: string, handler: (...args: unknown[]) => unknown): void;
  registerCommand(name: string, handler: (...args: unknown[]) => unknown): void;
}

Call register(api) with your implementation and browsy tools become available to your agents.

preferBrowsy mode

When preferBrowsy is enabled (the default), the plugin intercepts calls to built-in browser tools and aborts them with a message directing the agent to use browsy_browse instead. This provides a transparent speed upgrade for agents that were previously using Playwright.

The intercepted tool names are:

• browser
• web_browser
• playwright_browser
• browse_web

To disable interception and run browsy alongside the built-in browser:

{
  "openclaw-browsy": {
    "preferBrowsy": false
  }
}

When to fall back to a full browser

browsy handles server-rendered pages, forms, search, and data extraction. Fall back to Playwright for:

• JS-heavy SPAs — React, Vue, Angular apps that render entirely client-side
• Screenshots — when you need visual/pixel-level inspection
• Complex JS interactions — drag-and-drop, infinite scroll, WebSocket-driven UIs
• PDF generation — print-to-PDF workflows

With preferBrowsy: false, both browsy and the built-in browser are available. Agents can choose the right tool for each task.

Bundled skills

The plugin includes three runtime skills for common browsing patterns:

browse-and-extract

Navigate to a URL and extract data, automatically handling cookie consent and login walls.

web-research

Search the web, visit multiple pages, and compile a research summary with source attribution.

form-filler

Detect form fields using browsy's page intelligence, fill them with provided data, and submit.