Browserbase Functions Node SDK

The Browserbase Functions SDK lets you define, develop, and deploy serverless browser automation functions on Browserbase. Each function gets a managed browser session — write your automation logic, test it locally, and publish it to the cloud.

The full documentation can be found on docs.browserbase.com.

Installation

pnpm add @browserbasehq/sdk-functions

or with npm:

npm install @browserbasehq/sdk-functions

Quick Start

Scaffold a new project with the CLI:

pnpm dlx @browserbasehq/sdk-functions init my-project
cd my-project

Add your Browserbase credentials to .env:

BROWSERBASE_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
BROWSERBASE_PROJECT_ID=your_project_id_here

Start the local development server:

pnpm bb dev index.ts

When ready, publish to Browserbase:

pnpm bb publish index.ts

Usage

Basic Function

import { defineFn } from "@browserbasehq/sdk-functions";

defineFn("hello-world", async () => {
  return { message: "Hello from Browserbase!" };
});

Browser Automation

Every function receives a context with a managed browser session. Connect to it with Playwright:

import { defineFn } from "@browserbasehq/sdk-functions";
import { chromium } from "playwright-core";

defineFn("scrape-titles", async (context) => {
  const browser = await chromium.connectOverCDP(context.session.connectUrl);
  const page = browser.contexts()[0]!.pages()[0]!;

  await page.goto("https://news.ycombinator.com");
  const titles = await page.$$eval(".titleline > a", (els) =>
    els.slice(0, 5).map((el) => el.textContent),
  );

  return { titles };
});

Parameter Validation

Use Zod schemas to validate parameters passed to your function:

import { defineFn } from "@browserbasehq/sdk-functions";
import z from "zod";

defineFn(
  "multiply",
  async (_context, params) => {
    return { result: params.a * params.b };
  },
  {
    parametersSchema: z.object({
      a: z.number(),
      b: z.number(),
    }),
  },
);

Custom Browser Configuration

Pass sessionConfig to customize the browser session (uses the same options as the Browserbase SDK session create params):

import { defineFn } from "@browserbasehq/sdk-functions";
import { chromium } from "playwright-core";

defineFn(
  "stealth-scraper",
  async (context) => {
    const browser = await chromium.connectOverCDP(context.session.connectUrl);
    const page = browser.contexts()[0]!.pages()[0]!;

    await page.goto("https://example.com");
    return { content: await page.textContent("body") };
  },
  {
    sessionConfig: {
      browserSettings: { advancedStealth: true },
    },
  },
);

CLI Reference

The bb CLI is included with the package.

Command	Description
bb init [project-name]	Scaffold a new project (defaults to my-browserbase-function)
bb dev <entrypoint>	Start a local development server
bb publish <entrypoint>	Deploy your function to Browserbase
bb invoke <functionId>	Invoke a deployed function

bb init

bb init my-project
bb init my-project --package-manager npm

Options:

• -p, --package-manager <manager> — Package manager to use (npm or pnpm, defaults to pnpm)

bb dev

bb dev index.ts
bb dev index.ts --port 3000

Options:

• -p, --port <number> — Port to listen on (default: 14113)
• -h, --host <string> — Host to bind to (default: 127.0.0.1)

bb publish

bb publish index.ts
bb publish index.ts --dry-run

Options:

• --dry-run — Show what would be published without uploading
• -u, --api-url <url> — Custom API endpoint URL

bb invoke

bb invoke <functionId>
bb invoke <functionId> --params '{"key": "value"}'

Options:

• -p, --params <json> — JSON parameters to pass to the function
• --no-wait — Don't wait for the invocation to complete
• --check-status <invocationId> — Check the status of an existing invocation
• -u, --api-url <url> — Custom API endpoint URL

Configuration

Set your Browserbase credentials as environment variables or in a .env file:

Variable	Required	Description
BROWSERBASE_API_KEY	Yes	Your Browserbase API key
BROWSERBASE_PROJECT_ID	Yes	Your Browserbase project ID

Get your API key and project ID from browserbase.com.

Requirements

• Node.js 18+
• TypeScript >= 4.5