BROWSER AUTOMATION
OpenClaw Browser Relay
Browser Relay lets OpenClaw work inside a real browser tab through the Chrome extension, which makes login-heavy, JavaScript-heavy, and interactive tasks far more reliable.
What Browser Relay actually does
Browser Relay is the bridge between your OpenClaw agent and a live Chrome tab. Instead of working only through fetches or server-side scripts, the agent can see and act inside the page you already have open.
- Use it for authenticated sessions and dashboards
- Use it for JavaScript-heavy websites that do not render well otherwise
- Use it when human-in-the-loop control matters
How to connect the Chrome extension
- Install and enable the OpenClaw Browser Relay extension in Chrome.
- Open the exact tab you want the agent to control.
- Click the Browser Relay toolbar button so the tab is attached.
- Ask the agent to use Browser Relay for that page.
- Keep the tab open while the task is running.
If the extension is not attached, the agent will not be able to take over your current Chrome tab. That is the most common setup mistake.
When to use Browser Relay vs normal browsing
Use Browser Relay
- Logged-in dashboards
- Single-page apps
- Complex UI workflows
- Extension-assisted browser tasks
Use normal fetch/search tools
- Simple reading and summarization
- Public documentation pages
- Lightweight research
- Pages that do not need interaction
Common Browser Relay issues
- The tab is not attached, so the agent cannot see it
- The wrong tab is attached
- The user expects Browser Relay to work without the extension enabled
- The page needs human login first before the agent can continue
Next step after Browser Relay
Once your browser layer works, the next leverage point is creating reusable skills so the same workflow can run again without re-explaining it.