Local Chromium Browser

The local (alias Chrome-Local) backend launches a Chromium controlled by Playwright on the same machine running bubench. It’s the default for development, low-volume runs, and any case where you don’t need a cloud session.

The local browser does NOT inherit your operating-system or shell proxy. If you have clash/v2ray/Surge running and you can browse bloomberg.com in your everyday Chrome, the bench’s launched Chromium still bypasses the tunnel by default — until you set local_proxy_server below. Failing to do so silently produces net::ERR_CONNECTION_RESET / ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT on sites that need a tunnel, and the agent will look like it failed for “model” reasons.

Configuration

Under any agent that supports browser_id: local, add the proxy fields:

# config.yaml
agents:
  skyvern:
    browser:
      browser_id: local
      headless: false
      # Optional proxy. Empty server == no proxy (direct connection).
      local_proxy_server: "http://127.0.0.1:7890"   # clash default; v2ray often 1087/10809; SOCKS scheme socks5://...
      # local_proxy_username: ""                    # optional auth
      # local_proxy_password: ""
      # local_proxy_bypass: "127.0.0.1,localhost,*.local"

Field	Type	Default	Notes
`local_proxy_server`	string	`""` (no proxy)	Full URL: `http(s)://host:port` or `socks5://host:port`
`local_proxy_username`	string	—	Optional auth username
`local_proxy_password`	string	—	Optional auth password
`local_proxy_bypass`	string	—	Comma-separated hosts/patterns to bypass the proxy

Agent Support Matrix

Agent	`local_proxy_*` honoured?	How
`skyvern`	✅ Yes	Passes `--proxy-server=...` (and `--proxy-bypass-list=...` if set) directly via `args` to `Skyvern.launch_local_browser()`. Note: bench uses Skyvern’s library-mode launch which bypasses Skyvern’s own `setup_proxy()` / `HOSTED_PROXY_POOL` env vars, so the Chrome flag is the working path
`browser-use`	✅ Yes	Constructs `browser_use.browser.profile.ProxySettings` and passes it to the SDK’s `Browser(...)`
`Agent-TARS`	❌ No (warns)	The `agent-tars` CLI launches Chromium itself and exposes no proxy flag. Bench logs a one-time WARNING when configured
`claude-code`	❌ No (warns)	Delegates to `@playwright/mcp`; no proxy passthrough today. Same WARNING
`openai-cua`	❌ No (warns)	Same WARNING
`deepbrowse`	❌ No (warns)	Same WARNING

For the unsupported agents, the recommendation is to switch to the cloud backend — see Lexmount Cloud Browser. Lexmount sessions egress from outside mainland China (international region) so most “GFW-blocked” sites are reachable without any local proxy on your side.

Security Note: Credentials in Chrome Process Args

For the skyvern agent, local_proxy_username / local_proxy_password are URL-encoded into the proxy URL and passed to Chrome via --proxy-server=http://user:pass@host:port. Chrome process args are visible to anyone running ps -ef (Linux) or ps auxe (macOS) on the box. If your proxy password is sensitive (e.g. shared corporate credentials), prefer one of:

Run a local unauthenticated forwarder — most clash / v2ray clients can listen on 127.0.0.1:7890 and handle upstream auth themselves. Then leave local_proxy_username / _password unset; only local_proxy_server: http://127.0.0.1:7890 reaches Chrome.
Use the browser-use agent — credentials go directly to Playwright via in-process ProxySettings(...) and never appear in the Chrome command line.

Verifying the Proxy Is Active

Run a single task that needs the tunnel and inspect runtime.log:

bubench run --agent skyvern --data LexBench-Browser --mode by_id --id 89

If local_proxy_server is set, you should see Skyvern log Connected to proxy http://... and the navigation succeed. If you see net::ERR_CONNECTION_RESET or ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT on a site you can otherwise reach in your daily browser, the proxy is not wired — double-check the config block and that your tunnel client is actually listening on the configured port.

Get Started

Features

Examples

Development

Configuration

Agent Support Matrix

Security Note: Credentials in Chrome Process Args

Verifying the Proxy Is Active

​Configuration

​Agent Support Matrix

​Security Note: Credentials in Chrome Process Args

​Verifying the Proxy Is Active

Configuration

Agent Support Matrix

Security Note: Credentials in Chrome Process Args

Verifying the Proxy Is Active