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Auto Browser

Automates browser actions

Overview

The "Wait for Selector" operation in the Auto Browser node automates waiting for a specific element to appear on a web page within a browser profile. This is useful in scenarios where subsequent actions depend on the presence of certain elements, such as waiting for a button to load before clicking it or waiting for a form field to become available before typing.

Practical examples include:

  • Waiting for a login button to appear after navigating to a login page.
  • Pausing workflow execution until a dynamically loaded content section is visible.
  • Synchronizing automation steps with page load events or AJAX content updates.

Properties

Name Meaning
Profile The browser profile to use. This identifies which browser context/session to operate on.
Tab ID Optional tab identifier to specify which browser tab to target for the action.
Selector CSS selector of the element to wait for (e.g., #buttonId or .className).
Timeout Maximum time in milliseconds to wait for the selector to appear before timing out.

Output

The output JSON object includes the following fields:

  • profileId: The browser profile used for the operation.
  • tabId: The tab identifier where the wait occurred.
  • operation: The string "waitForSelector" indicating the performed operation.
  • status: Indicates success with the value "success".

No binary data is output by this operation.

Example output JSON:

{
  "profileId": "default",
  "tabId": "some-tab-id",
  "operation": "waitForSelector",
  "status": "success"
}

Dependencies

  • Requires an external Auto Browser API service accessible via a server URL configured in the node credentials.
  • The node needs an API key credential to authenticate requests to the Auto Browser API.
  • The API endpoint /browser/execute is used to send commands to the browser automation backend.

Troubleshooting

  • Timeout errors: If the selector does not appear within the specified timeout, the operation may fail or throw an error. Increase the timeout value if the page loads slowly.
  • Invalid selector: Using an incorrect or malformed CSS selector will cause the wait to fail. Verify the selector syntax and ensure the element exists on the page.
  • Missing or invalid profile/tab ID: Ensure the specified browser profile and tab ID are valid and active; otherwise, the request to the API may fail.
  • API connection issues: Errors related to the server URL or authentication indicate misconfiguration of the API credentials or network problems.

Links and References

Discussion