Imported from Bitterbot-AI/bitterbot-desktop (
skills/notte/SKILL.md). Install upstream withnpx skills add Bitterbot-AI/bitterbot-desktop --skill notte. Copyright stays with the author.
Notte
Hosted browser infrastructure with a CLI that does three things the bundled browser tool and Firecrawl cannot:
- Functions — deploy a browser automation script as a serverless, API-callable endpoint with built-in cron scheduling. The natural fit for crystallized skills and dream-engine cycles.
- Vault-backed login — passwords auto-fill on matching URLs without ever entering the model's context.
- Stealth sessions — residential proxies + inline captcha solving, for sites where the bundled Chromium gets locked out.
Functions — deploy a browser flow as a callable API
Crystallized skills and dream-cycle automations both want the same thing: a stable, repeatable browser action the agent can call by name on a schedule. Notte Functions is exactly that.
# 1. Capture an agent's run as deterministic Python (or hand-write it).
notte agents workflow-code # exports the latest agent's steps as Python
notte sessions workflow-code # or export from a CLI session
# 2. Deploy the script as a Function (one-shot — no servers, no infra).
notte functions create --file workflow.py
# → returns function_id
# 3. Run on demand, or schedule.
notte functions run # one-off
notte functions schedule-set --cron "0 */2 * * *" # every 2h, matches dream cycles
notte functions runs # invocation history
notte functions fork # version forward without losing the original
# 4. Or invoke via HTTP from anywhere (skill scripts, gateway hooks, channels).
curl -X POST https://api.notte.cc/functions/{function_id}/runs/start \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTTE_API_KEY" \
-d '{"url":"https://example.com","query":"laptop"}'
Why this matters for Bitterbot:
- A crystallized skill that ends in "open this URL and grab the data" can be backed by a Function — fast, deterministic, no LLM tokens per execution.
- Function
schedule-setaligns directly with dream-engine cron triggers (every 2h consolidation, daily syncs, hourly monitors). notte agents workflow-codeis structurally the same pattern as Bitterbot's dream engine crystallizing execution paths — the agent figures out the steps, then the deterministic Function takes over for production.- Functions auto-inherit Notte's session capabilities: vault credentials, stealth proxies, captcha solving — without re-deploying anything.
When to use Notte vs the bundled tools
| Need | Use |
|---|---|
| Open a tab, click around, take a snapshot | Bundled browser tool (src/browser/) |
| Pull a single page through a stealth fetch | Firecrawl via web_fetch (docs/tools/firecrawl.md) |
| Crystallize a recurring browser flow into a callable API endpoint | notte functions |
| Schedule a browser flow on a cron (dream-cycle aligned) | notte functions schedule-set |
| Run a multi-step task on an authenticated site | notte session |
| Log in without exposing the password to the LLM | notte vault |
| The bundled browser is being challenged with captcha / Cloudflare / DataDome | notte (--solve-captchas, --proxy) |
| Need a residential / geo-located IP | notte |
| Hand a browsing goal to an agent and get a structured answer | notte agents |
notte does not replace the bundled browser. It's the deployment + infrastructure layer for browser flows that need to outlive a single agent run.
Setup
# Install (handled by the install metadata above).
brew tap nottelabs/notte-cli https://github.com/nottelabs/notte-cli.git && brew install notte
# or:
go install github.com/nottelabs/notte-cli/cmd/notte@latest
# Authenticate. Stores the API key in the system keyring.
notte auth login
# or: export NOTTE_API_KEY=...
Quick start
notte sessions start --proxy --solve-captchas
notte page goto "https://news.ycombinator.com"
notte page observe
notte page scrape --instructions "Top 10 story titles, points, and URLs as JSON"
notte sessions stop -y
observe returns interactive element IDs (@B3, @I1, @L9). Use those with click / fill, or fall back to Playwright selectors (#submit, button:has-text('Submit')) — both are accepted.
Vault-backed login (the biggest UX win over the bundled browser)
docs/tools/browser-login.md recommends manual login because automated logins trigger anti-bot defenses and can lock the account. Notte fixes this: store credentials in a vault and the browser auto-fills on matching URLs. The agent never sees the password.
notte vaults create --name "myservice"
notte vaults credentials add --vault-id <vault-id> \
--url "https://myservice.com" \
--email "user@example.com" \
--password "..." \
--mfa-secret "<TOTP_BASE32_SECRET>" # optional TOTP
notte sessions start
notte page goto "https://myservice.com/login"
# Credentials auto-fill from the matching vault entry.
This unblocks autonomous flows during dream cycles where there's no user available to log in manually.
Agent runtime (delegate the whole task)
For multi-step goals, hand the task to a Notte agent:
notte agents start --task "Find the cheapest non-stop SFO→CDG flight on Sep 14 and return the URL"
notte agents status
notte agents replay # session recording / step trace
Agents are cheaper than authoring step-by-step CLI calls when the task has many branches.
Stealth flags worth knowing
| Flag | Effect |
|---|---|
--proxy |
Route through Notte's residential proxy pool |
--proxy-country <c> |
ISO country code (us, gb, fr, de, …) |
--solve-captchas |
Auto-solve reCAPTCHA / hCaptcha / Cloudflare turnstile |
--user-agent <ua> |
Pin a specific UA string |
--cdp-url <url> |
Bring-your-own remote browser (e.g. Lightpanda) |
--headless=false |
Required when --cdp-url points to Lightpanda Cloud |
Page actions (cheat sheet)
notte page click "@B3" | "#submit-button"
notte page fill "@I1" "hello" # add --enter to submit
notte page check "#tos"
notte page select "#country" "France"
notte page upload "#file" --file ./report.pdf
notte page download "@L5"
notte page eval-js 'document.title'
notte page screenshot
notte page wait 500
notte page press "Enter" | "Escape" | "Tab"
notte page scroll-down [px] | scroll-up [px]
Navigation: goto, back, forward, reload, new-tab, switch-tab, close-tab.
Structured extraction
notte page scrape --instructions "Every job posting: title, company, location, salary range" -o json
notte page scrape --instructions "Article body and author" --only-main-content
Note: for routine single-page extraction without auth or anti-bot needs, web_fetch (with Firecrawl) is the lighter path. Use notte page scrape when extraction lives behind login or after a multi-step navigation.
MCP path (no install required)
Notte ships an MCP server (notte-mcp). It can be called through the existing mcporter skill without installing the Notte CLI:
NOTTE_API_KEY=... mcporter call --stdio "uv run --with notte-mcp python -m notte_mcp.server" \
notte_scrape url=https://example.com instructions="Extract pricing tiers"
Use the CLI by default — the MCP path is mainly useful inside flows already orchestrating MCP calls.
Live viewer (debugging)
notte sessions start -o json | jq -r '.viewer_url'
# or
notte sessions viewer
Environment variables
| Variable | Purpose |
|---|---|
NOTTE_API_KEY |
API key (alternative to notte auth login) |
NOTTE_SESSION_ID |
Default session for page commands |
NOTTE_API_URL |
Override API endpoint |
NOTTE_MCP_SERVER_PROTOCOL |
stdio or sse (only for the MCP server) |
Tips
- Always
observebeforeclick/fill/scrape. Element IDs come from observe output. - After every navigation,
observeagain — IDs are scoped to the current DOM snapshot. - Stop sessions you start.
notte sessions stop -yskips the prompt. Idle sessions cost API budget. - Lightpanda +
--cdp-urlrequires--headless=false. Otherwise the CDP server returns 500. @B3clicking the wrong element? Fall back to a Playwright selector.- Modals blocking clicks?
notte page press "Escape"thennotte page wait 500.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Fix |
|---|---|
| Site keeps blocking / shows captcha | Restart with --proxy --solve-captchas |
| Empty / partial scrape | Add notte page wait 1000 then re-observe before scrape |
@B3 clicks the wrong thing |
Use a Playwright selector (button:has-text('Submit')) |
| Lightpanda CDP returns 500 | Add --headless=false to sessions start |
| Agent stuck on a captcha | Stop session, restart with --solve-captchas |
| 401 / auth errors | Re-run notte auth login or set NOTTE_API_KEY |