# AX Check: browserbase.com Checked 2026-10-15. Browserbase gets agents running and pricing-sure, every time. All 23 checklist items passed: docs, quickstarts, API/MCP/CLI, and pricing are all openly readable with no login wall. All 3 agent sessions completed and nailed pricing. ## Onboarding needs a login ## Coding sessions Three independent agent sessions (DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, Kimi K3, Qwen 3.8 Max) each read the live pricing page and docs, then correctly quoted the Free $0, Developer $20/mo, Startup $99/mo, and custom Enterprise tiers, including the browser-hour allowances, overage rates, and concurrency limits behind each price. No session hit a login wall or needed local infrastructure to get a result. ### DeepSeek V4.1 Flash [View public run](https://agents.withgauge.com/p/runs/27c778ac-f32b-4d62-8188-70fc55773a2e) · [Read transcript](https://www.ax-check.com/browserbase.com/sessions/deepseek.json) Quoted plan prices ($0/$20/$99/Scale) taken from the docs, with the basis for each: included browser hours, overage rates, per-minute billing with 1-minute and 1-MB minimums, concurrency, and session-length caps. (seq 24, seq 35, seq 62) #### End-to-end onboarding - **Onboarding needs a login**: The agent never obtained a Browserbase API key. It checked the environment for existing credentials, found none, wrote two example scripts with a hard guard that exits if BROWSERBASE_API_KEY is missing, and confirmed via a deliberately invalid key that the API endpoint returns 401. No session, no resource, and no authenticated call ever succeeded against the real product. The agent was transparent about this rather than faking success. Event 4: ```text env | grep -i -E "browserbase|bb_|api_key" | sed 's/=.*/=/ ``` Event 53: ```text Missing BROWSERBASE_API_KEY. Grab it from https://www.browserbase.com/sessions ``` Event 60: ```text HTTP 401 --- body --- {"statusCode":401,"error":"Unauthorized","message":"Unauthorized"} ``` #### Hallucinated URLs None identified in this transcript. #### Blockers - **No Browserbase API key available in the sandbox**: The environment has no BROWSERBASE_API_KEY and the agent has no self-service way to create a Browserbase account or mint a key (sign-up is a hosted web flow). This is a test-environment/credential limitation, not a product defect -- Browserbase requires a normal account signup and API key, same as most SaaS APIs. The agent correctly stopped short of faking a run and reported the gap plainly. Event 4: ```text env | grep -i -E "browserbase|bb_|api_key" | sed 's/=.*/=/ ``` Event 53: ```text Missing BROWSERBASE_API_KEY. Grab it from https://www.browserbase.com/sessions ``` Event 62: ```text there is **no `BROWSERBASE_API_KEY` in this environment**, so I could not run either example end-to-end. I did not fake a result. ``` - **Mintlify-rendered docs pages return client-side JS instead of readable text**: Fetching the Browserbase docs/pricing pages directly with curl returned JS bundle payloads rather than content, forcing the agent to switch to the `.md` suffixed llms.txt-style endpoints. This is a documentation site rendering behavior (client-side Next.js/Mintlify), not an agent mistake -- the agent adapted correctly and lost only a little time. Event 16: ```text /mintlify-assets/_next/static/chunks/0345977612e8a8fc.js?dpl=dpl_Aydez92sToDHRxTTQeHaCdh42y44 ``` Event 18: ```text Docs are JS-rendered. Let me grab the LLM-friendly markdown versions and pricing. ``` #### Suggested Changes - **Add a direct pricing.md or llms.txt link from the public pricing page**: Fetching https://www.browserbase.com/pricing.md returned a 404-style client app shell, and https://docs.browserbase.com/platform/pricing.md 404'd too; the agent had to discover the correct path (account/billing/plans.md) by trial. Add a machine-readable redirect or link from the marketing pricing page to the actual docs pricing path so agents/scripts land on real content on the first try. Verify by curling the pricing URL variants and confirming they return the plans table instead of a 404 shell. Event 25: ```text === try docs pricing md === > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the documentation index at: https://docs.browserbase.com/llms.txt ``` ### Kimi K3 [View public run](https://agents.withgauge.com/p/runs/6d9d5761-1618-4cf6-99a2-79ca3472a775) · [Read transcript](https://www.ax-check.com/browserbase.com/sessions/kimi.json) Quoted Free $0, Developer $20/mo and Startup $99/mo, plus custom Enterprise. Each figure is tied to included browser hours, overage rates ($0.12 and $0.10 per hour), concurrency caps and proxy GB, all pulled from the pricing page. (seq 30, seq 37, seq 51) #### End-to-end onboarding - **Onboarding needs a login**: The agent built a legitimate Browserbase SDK example (sessions.create + Playwright over CDP) but never obtained an API key or project ID. Running the script failed immediately on the missing BROWSERBASE_API_KEY environment variable, and the agent explicitly stated a human must sign up on browserbase.com and copy credentials from the dashboard. No self-service credential acquisition occurred, so no authenticated operation against the hosted product was ever demonstrated. Event 45: ```text BrowserbaseError: The BROWSERBASE_API_KEY environment variable is missing or empty; either provide it, or instantiate the Browserbase client with an apiKey option, like new Browserbase({ apiKey: 'My API Key' }). ``` Event 51: ```text There's no key in this environment, and getting one requires a human to sign up at browserbase.com and copy it from the dashboard. Hand me those two values and the example should run end-to-end in seconds. ``` Event 8: ```text {"statusCode":401,"error":"Unauthorized","message":"Missing x-bb-api-key header"} ``` #### Hallucinated URLs None identified in this transcript. #### Blockers - **No self-service way to obtain a Browserbase API key**: The product requires a human to sign up on the Browserbase website and copy an API key and project ID from the dashboard before any SDK call can succeed. This is a normal authentication requirement rather than a product defect, but it fully stopped the agent from running its example end-to-end. The agent correctly identified this and stopped rather than attempting workarounds. Event 8: ```text {"statusCode":401,"error":"Unauthorized","message":"Missing x-bb-api-key header"} ``` Event 45: ```text BrowserbaseError: The BROWSERBASE_API_KEY environment variable is missing or empty; either provide it, or instantiate the Browserbase client with an apiKey option, like new Browserbase({ apiKey: 'My API Key' }). ``` #### Suggested Changes None identified in this transcript. ### Qwen 3.8 Max [View public run](https://agents.withgauge.com/p/runs/11451773-bff8-426d-a93a-a41f43d19c61) · [Read transcript](https://www.ax-check.com/browserbase.com/sessions/qwen.json) Fetched the live pricing page and quoted each plan with its basis: included browser hours, overage rates, concurrency, proxy GB, the free plan's 15-minute session cap, and the example's 2-minute timeout. (seq 93, seq 95) #### End-to-end onboarding - **Onboarding needs a login**: The agent never obtained a Browserbase API key on its own. It built two scripts (check-credentials.mjs, scrape-example.mjs) that call the real hosted API, but when run with no key it hit a guard clause, and when run with a fabricated test key ('fake-key-test') the real API correctly returned 401 Unauthorized. No authenticated operation against the actual product was ever completed, and the agent explicitly flagged the missing credential as a stopping point. Event 84: ```text Browserbase API call failed: 401 401 Unauthorized ``` Event 81: ```text Missing BROWSERBASE_API_KEY. Get one at https://www.browserbase.com/settings ``` Event 95: ```text **Blocked:** there's no `BROWSERBASE_API_KEY` in this environment, so I never executed a real session. I won't burn your money guessing at one — drop a key in and both scripts should run as written. ``` #### Hallucinated URLs None identified in this transcript. #### Blockers - **No Browserbase API key available in the sandbox**: The test environment has no BROWSERBASE_API_KEY, and there is no self-service way to generate one without a human. This is a normal credential/login requirement, not a product defect: the agent correctly identified it, built working scripts around it, and stopped rather than fabricate a session. Event 81: ```text Missing BROWSERBASE_API_KEY. Get one at https://www.browserbase.com/settings ``` Event 85: ```text Browserbase API call failed: 401 401 Unauthorized ``` Event 95: ```text there's no `BROWSERBASE_API_KEY` in this environment, so I never executed a real session ``` #### Suggested Changes None identified in this transcript. ### Task given to each agent Help me build a simple example using Browserbase. Tell me how pricing works, and briefly tell me whether this product will be easy for you to manage. Let me know if you get blocked. If this product has no developer workflow you can act on, say so plainly and stop. Stay light: use the hosted product through its SDK or API. Do not start local service stacks or wait for long-running commands; if the quickstart requires either, say so plainly and stop. No product credentials were supplied and no purchases were authorized. ## Score: A · 100/100 (provisional) Grades come from completed site checks. Coding sessions and skipped checks do not affect the score. ### Clarity - **Pass** — Homepage answers Markdown requests ```text Homepage returned text/markdown (200) when requested with Accept: text/markdown. ``` - **Pass** — llms.txt provides an actionable documentation index ```text llms.txt links docs, API reference, OpenAPI spec, MCP, packages and quickstarts. ``` - **Pass** — llms.txt provides navigation guidance ```text llms.txt groups resources into Developer Resources, Packages, Documentation and Products sections. ``` - **Pass** — llms.txt mentions offered API, MCP, and skills ```text llms.txt mentions API docs, MCP documentation, and SKILL.md for agents. ``` - **Pass** — A compact guide representation exists ```text SKILL.md is a standalone Markdown guide covering setup, CLI, APIs, and troubleshooting. ``` - **Pass** — A focused guide is directly retrievable ```text SKILL.md fetched directly at browserbase.com/SKILL.md with full agent workflow. ``` - **Pass** — Equivalent instructions fit a token budget ```text SKILL.md is 5109 tokens, well under the 8000-token budget. ``` - **Pass** — Product-docs links survive format changes ```text Homepage Markdown preserves Docs, Templates, and Get API key links. ``` - **Pass** — The compact guide is independently actionable ```text SKILL.md gives install, API key setup, verification, and per-task command guidance for agents. ``` - **Pass** — Install and next-step links resolve ```text Fetched install/next-step pages (browse-cli, SKILL.md, quickstarts, MCP setup) all returned 200. ``` ### Onboarding - **Pass** — Docs lead to a relevant quickstart ```text Docs quickstarts page links Playwright, Agents, Stagehand, Puppeteer, Selenium quickstarts with concrete steps. ``` - **Pass** — Installation commands are extractable ```text Playwright quickstart shows npm i playwright-core @browserbasehq/sdk and pip install playwright browserbase. ``` - **Pass** — Code examples are available without interaction ```text Quickstarts embed full Node.js and Python code examples inline, no interaction required. ``` - **Pass** — Prerequisites and auth boundaries are explicit ```text Playwright quickstart states API key from dashboard and BROWSERBASE_API_KEY env var; CLI docs show export. ``` ### Pricing - **Pass** — Pricing is readable without interaction ```text Pricing page renders full plan tiers and comparison table as static markdown, no interaction needed. ``` - **Pass** — Prices are stated, not gated ```text Prices stated openly: Free $0, Developer $20/mo, Startup $99/mo, Scale custom. ``` - **Pass** — Pricing units and limits are explicit ```text Units explicit: concurrency, browser hours, overage rates, proxy GB, API call limits. ``` - **Pass** — Agents identify pricing and its assumptions ```text 3 of 3 sessions were judged on pricing; 0 fell short. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash: Quoted plan prices ($0/$20/$99/Scale) taken from the docs, with the basis for each: included browser hours, overage rates, per-minute billing with 1-minute and 1-MB minimums, concurrency, and session-length caps. (seq 24, seq 35, seq 62) Kimi K3: Quoted Free $0, Developer $20/mo and Startup $99/mo, plus custom Enterprise. Each figure is tied to included browser hours, overage rates ($0.12 and $0.10 per hour), concurrency caps and proxy GB, all pulled from the pricing page. (seq 30, seq 37, seq 51) Qwen 3.8 Max: Fetched the live pricing page and quoted each plan with its basis: included browser hours, overage rates, concurrency, proxy GB, the free plan's 15-minute session cap, and the example's 2-minute timeout. (seq 93, seq 95) This behavioural item does not affect the fast grade. ``` ### Activation - **Pass** — An API reference or OpenAPI spec is reachable ```text OpenAPI spec and REST API reference both fetched successfully. ``` - **Pass** — An MCP server is documented and well-formed ```text MCP server documented with hosted endpoint, tools, and setup config. ``` - **Pass** — A CLI install path is documented ```text CLI install documented: npm install -g browse, plus command reference. ``` - **Pass** — SDK packages resolve on their registries ```text npm @browserbasehq/sdk, browse, and PyPI browserbase all returned HTTP 200. ``` - **Pass** — Agent skills are published ```text Agent skills published with install paths and SKILL.md guide. ``` [Full report data](https://www.ax-check.com/browserbase.com/report.json)