Quickstart

If you are already familiar with browser vendors and are looking to quickly switch to Kernel browsers, follow the instructions here.

Getting started

This quickstart guide will help you deploy and invoke your first browser automation on Kernel. You’ll create a simple automation using Playwright, Computer Use, or a web agent framework like Browser Use.

Prerequisites

brew for the Kernel CLI
A Kernel account

Note: You can also deploy and invoke apps using the Kernel MCP server from AI assistants (Cursor, Goose, Claude, etc.).

1. Install the Kernel CLI

# Using brew
brew install onkernel/tap/kernel

# Using pnpm
pnpm install -g @onkernel/cli

# Using npm
npm install -g @onkernel/cli

Verify the installation exists:

which kernel

2. Create a new Kernel app

kernel create

3. Authenticate with Kernel

The easiest way to authenticate is using OAuth:

kernel login

This will open your browser to complete the authentication flow. Your credentials will be securely stored and automatically refreshed.

4. Deploy the sample app on Kernel

cd sample-app
kernel deploy index.ts # --env-file .env if environment variables are needed

cd sample-app
kernel deploy main.py # --env-file .env if environment variables are needed

5. Invoke the app

# Sample app
kernel invoke ts-basic get-page-title --payload '{"url": "https://www.google.com"}'

# CAPTCHA Solver
kernel invoke ts-captcha-solver test-captcha-solver

# Stagehand
kernel invoke ts-stagehand teamsize-task --payload '{"company": "Kernel"}'

# Magnitude
kernel invoke ts-magnitude mag-url-extract --payload '{"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random"}'

# Anthropic Computer Use
kernel invoke ts-anthropic-cua cua-task --payload '{"query": "Return the first url of a search result for NYC restaurant reviews Pete Wells"}'

# OpenAI Computer Use
kernel invoke ts-openai-cua cua-task --payload '{"task": "Go to https://news.ycombinator.com and get the top 5 articles"}'

# Gemini Computer Use
kernel invoke ts-gemini-cua gemini-cua-task --payload '{"startingUrl": "https://www.magnitasks.com/", "instruction": "Click the Tasks option in the left-side bar, and move the 5 items in the To Do and In Progress items to the Done section of the Kanban board"}'

# Sample app
kernel invoke python-basic get-page-title --payload '{"url": "https://www.google.com"}'

# CAPTCHA Solver
kernel invoke python-captcha-solver test-captcha-solver

# Browser Use
kernel invoke python-bu bu-task --payload '{"task": "Compare the price of gpt-4o and DeepSeek-V3"}'

# Anthropic Computer Use
kernel invoke python-anthropic-cua cua-task --payload '{"query": "Return the first url of a search result for NYC restaurant reviews Pete Wells"}'

# OpenAI Computer Use
kernel invoke python-openai-cua cua-task --payload '{"task": "Go to https://news.ycombinator.com and get the top 5 articles"}'

# OpenAGI Computer Use
kernel invoke python-openagi-cua openagi-default-task --payload '{"instruction": "Navigate to https://agiopen.org and click the What is Computer Use? button", "record_replay": "True"}'

Next steps

Nice work! With Kernel, you:

Developed an app that uses Playwright, Computer Use, or a web agent framework like Browser Use
Deployed and invoked it in the cloud

You can now update your browser automation with your own logic and deploy it again. Install our MCP server to give your coding agent our search_docs tool.

Sample apps reference

These are the sample apps currently available when you run kernel create:

Template	Description	Framework
sample-app	Implements a basic Kernel app	Playwright
captcha-solver	Demo of Kernel’s auto-CAPTCHA solving capability	Playwright
browser-use	Implements Browser Use SDK	Browser Use
stagehand	Implements the Stagehand v3 SDK	Stagehand
anthropic-computer-use	Implements an Anthropic computer use agent	Anthropic Computer Use API
openai-computer-use	Implements an OpenAI computer use agent	OpenAI Computer Use API
gemini-computer-use	Implements a Gemini computer use agent	Gemini Computer Use API
openagi-computer-use	Implements an OpenAGI computer use agent	OpenAGI Computer Use API
magnitude	Implements the Magnitude.run SDK	Magnitude.run

Getting started

Working with your browser

Agent Auth

Building your app

Integrations

Migrations

Community

Info

Getting started

Prerequisites

1. Install the Kernel CLI

2. Create a new Kernel app

3. Authenticate with Kernel

4. Deploy the sample app on Kernel

5. Invoke the app

Next steps

Sample apps reference

​Getting started

​Prerequisites

​1. Install the Kernel CLI

​2. Create a new Kernel app

​3. Authenticate with Kernel

​4. Deploy the sample app on Kernel

​5. Invoke the app

​Next steps

​Sample apps reference

Getting started

Prerequisites

1. Install the Kernel CLI

2. Create a new Kernel app

3. Authenticate with Kernel

4. Deploy the sample app on Kernel

5. Invoke the app

Next steps

Sample apps reference