Skyvern: Create a session

Skyvern browserSessions.createBrowserSession: arguments, response, policy and SDK examples.

← Browser sessions operations · Get started

Operation skyvern.create_browser_session_v1_browser_sessions_post

Provider route: POST /v1/browser_sessions. Alter supplies the connection’s credentials and routing.

Call through Alter

Install @alter-ai/sdk @alter-ai/skyvern with npm, or alter-sdk-skyvern with pip. Supply your connected customer’s grant ID and the arguments described below.

import { App } from "@alter-ai/sdk";
import { SkyvernIntegration } from "@alter-ai/skyvern";

async function execute(input: Parameters<SkyvernIntegration["browserSessions"]["createBrowserSession"]>[0]) {
  const app = new App({ apiKey: process.env.ALTER_API_KEY! });
  try {
    const provider = new SkyvernIntegration(app, { grantId: process.env.PROVIDER_GRANT_ID! });
    const call = await provider.browserSessions.createBrowserSession(input);
    const result = await call.wait();
    return result.bodyJson();
  } finally {
    await app.close();
  }
}

import os
from alter_sdk import App
from alter_sdk_skyvern import SkyvernIntegration

async def execute(arguments):
    async with App(api_key=os.environ["ALTER_API_KEY"]) as app:
        provider = SkyvernIntegration(app, {"grant_id": os.environ["PROVIDER_GRANT_ID"]})
        call = await provider.browser_sessions.create_browser_session(arguments)
        result = await call.wait()
        return result.body_json()

Input

Field	Type	Presence	Description and constraints
`$`	object	Root	Additional keys: not allowed
`body`	Model	Optional	Expand Create a session — request body — body Default: {“generate_browser_profile”: false, “needs_live_view”: false, “timeout”: 60}

Referenced models: Create a session — request body — body

Response

Response media type: application/json. The table describes the pinned successful response. Referenced models link to their complete fields.

Field	Type	Presence	Description and constraints
`$`	Model	Root	Expand Get a session — response body

Referenced models: Get a session — response body

Schemas

1 more schema is linked from the tables above, on the schema pages.

Create a session — request body — body

Field	Type	Presence	Description and constraints
`$`	object	Root
`browser_profile_id`	JSON	Optional	ID of a browser profile to load into this session (restores cookies, localStorage, etc.). browser_profile_id starts with `bp_`.
`browser_profile_id (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative	Pattern: ^bp_
`browser_profile_id (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`browser_settings`	JSON	Optional	Settings applied when the session's browser is created. A timezone_id here takes precedence over the timezone implied by proxy_location.
`browser_settings (anyOf 1)`	Model	Alternative	Expand Get a session — response body — browser settings timezone id
`browser_settings (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`browser_type`	JSON	Optional	The type of browser to use for the session.
`browser_type (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative	One of: msedge, chrome, stealth-chromium
`browser_type (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`extensions`	JSON	Optional	A list of extensions to install in the browser session.
`extensions (anyOf 1)`	array	Alternative
`extensions (anyOf 1)[]`	string	Each item	One of: ad-blocker, captcha-solver
`extensions (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`generate_browser_profile`	boolean	Optional	When true, the session's browser profile (cookies, localStorage, etc.) is saved to storage when the session ends so it can be turned into a reusable browser profile. Defaults to false to avoid storing profiles for sessions that never need them. Sessions started with a browser_profile_id always persist their profile regardless of this flag. Default: false
`needs_live_view`	boolean	Optional	Whether a person will watch this session's browser live. Defaults to false, which suits unattended automation; the Skyvern app sets it because a session opened in the UI is watched. It requests a capability, not a particular browser, and cannot be used to select where the session runs. Default: false
`proxy_location`	JSON	Optional	Geographic Proxy location to route the browser traffic through. This is only available in Skyvern Cloud. Available geotargeting options: - RESIDENTIAL: the default value. Skyvern Cloud uses a random US residential proxy. - RESIDENTIAL_ES: Spain - RESIDENTIAL_IE: Ireland - RESIDENTIAL_GB: United Kingdom - RESIDENTIAL_IN: India - RESIDENTIAL_JP: Japan - RESIDENTIAL_FR: France - RESIDENTIAL_DE: Germany - RESIDENTIAL_NZ: New Zealand - RESIDENTIAL_PH: Philippines - RESIDENTIAL_KR: South Korea - RESIDENTIAL_SA: Saudi Arabia - RESIDENTIAL_ZA: South Africa - RESIDENTIAL_AR: Argentina - RESIDENTIAL_AU: Australia - RESIDENTIAL_BR: Brazil - RESIDENTIAL_TR: Turkey - RESIDENTIAL_CA: Canada - RESIDENTIAL_MX: Mexico - RESIDENTIAL_IT: Italy - RESIDENTIAL_NL: Netherlands - RESIDENTIAL_ISP: ISP proxy - US-CA: California (deprecated, routes through RESIDENTIAL_ISP) - US-NY: New York (deprecated, routes through RESIDENTIAL_ISP) - US-TX: Texas (deprecated, routes through RESIDENTIAL_ISP) - US-FL: Florida (deprecated, routes through RESIDENTIAL_ISP) - US-WA: Washington (deprecated, routes through RESIDENTIAL_ISP) - NONE: No proxy For self-hosted deployments, you can pass a custom proxy URL as a dict: {"url": "http://user:password@proxy.example:8080"}. This routes the browser through your own proxy server and takes precedence over any globally configured proxy pool. Can also be a GeoTarget object for granular city/state targeting: {"country": "US", "subdivision": "CA", "city": "San Francisco"}, or a custom proxy URL dict for self-hosted deployments: {"url": "http://user:password@proxy.example:8080"}
`proxy_location (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative	One of: RESIDENTIAL, US-CA, US-NY, US-TX, US-FL, US-WA, RESIDENTIAL_ES, RESIDENTIAL_IE, RESIDENTIAL_GB, RESIDENTIAL_IN, RESIDENTIAL_JP, RESIDENTIAL_FR, RESIDENTIAL_DE, RESIDENTIAL_NZ, RESIDENTIAL_ZA, RESIDENTIAL_AR, RESIDENTIAL_AU, RESIDENTIAL_BR, RESIDENTIAL_TR, RESIDENTIAL_CA, RESIDENTIAL_MX, RESIDENTIAL_IT, RESIDENTIAL_NL, RESIDENTIAL_PH, RESIDENTIAL_KR, RESIDENTIAL_SA, RESIDENTIAL_ISP, NONE
`proxy_location (anyOf 2)`	Model	Alternative	Expand Update an agent — response body — proxy location city, country, is ISP, subdivision
`proxy_location (anyOf 3)`	object	Alternative	Additional keys: allowed
`proxy_location (anyOf 4)`	null	Alternative
`proxy_session_id`	JSON	Optional	Opaque Skyvern-managed proxy sticky-session id for pinned Residential ISP sessions.
`proxy_session_id (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative
`proxy_session_id (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`timeout`	JSON	Optional	Timeout in minutes for the session. Timeout is applied after the session is started. Must be between 5 and 240. Defaults to 60. Default: 60
`timeout (anyOf 1)`	integer	Alternative	Minimum: 5.0
`timeout (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`url`	JSON	Optional	Optional URL to open when the standalone browser session starts.
`url (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative
`url (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative

Referenced models: Get a session — response body — browser settings timezone id, Update an agent — response body — proxy location city, country, is ISP, subdivision

Get a session — response body — browser settings timezone id

Field	Type	Presence	Description and constraints
`$`	object	Root
`timezone_id`	JSON	Optional	IANA timezone the browser reports to pages, for example `America/New_York`. Applied when a browser is created and takes precedence over any timezone implied by the proxy location. Offsets such as `+03:00` are rejected. Omit or set to null to keep the default behavior.
`timezone_id (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative
`timezone_id (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative

Update an agent — response body — proxy location city, country, is ISP, subdivision

Field	Type	Presence	Description and constraints
`$`	object	Root	Granular proxy geo-targeting request with country, optional subdivision, and optional city.
`city`	JSON	Optional	City name in English from GeoNames (e.g., 'New York', 'Los Angeles', 'London')
`city (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative	Maximum length: 100
`city (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`country`	string	Required within parent	ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code (e.g., 'US', 'GB', 'DE') Maximum length: 2 Minimum length: 2
`isISP`	boolean	Optional	Whether this geo target is marked as an ISP proxy location. Default: false
`subdivision`	JSON	Optional	ISO 3166-2 subdivision code without country prefix (e.g., 'CA' for California, 'NY' for New York)
`subdivision (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative	Maximum length: 10
`subdivision (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative

Login Task — response body — browser_settings_receipt / source: workflow version, session request, existing session, status: verified, mismatch, unapplied, unknown

Field	Type	Presence	Description and constraints
`$`	object	Root
`actual_timezone_id`	JSON	Optional	The timezone the browser reported when measured, or null when it could not be measured.
`actual_timezone_id (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative
`actual_timezone_id (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`requested_timezone_id`	string	Required within parent	The timezone that was requested.
`source`	string	Required within parent	Where the requested setting came from. Known values: workflow_version, session_request, existing_session
`status`	string	Required within parent	`verified` when the browser reported the requested timezone or an IANA alias of it (Chromium reports `Asia/Calcutta` for `Asia/Kolkata`), `mismatch` when it reported another zone, `unapplied` when the browser already existed and was left unchanged, `unknown` when it could not be measured. Known values: verified, mismatch, unapplied, unknown
`warning`	JSON	Optional
`warning (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative
`warning (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative

Get a session — response body — recordings array item

Field	Type	Presence	Description and constraints
`$`	object	Root	Information about a downloaded file, including URL and checksum.
`artifact_id`	JSON	Optional	Artifact row id for refresh-on-read
`artifact_id (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative
`artifact_id (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`checksum`	JSON	Optional	SHA-256 checksum of the file
`checksum (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative
`checksum (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`file_size`	JSON	Optional	Size of the file in bytes
`file_size (anyOf 1)`	JSON	Alternative
`file_size (anyOf 1) (anyOf 1)`	integer	Alternative
`file_size (anyOf 1) (anyOf 2)`	string	Alternative	Pattern: ^-?[0-9]+(?:\.[0-9]+)?(?:[eE][+-]?[0-9]+)?$
`file_size (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`filename`	JSON	Optional	Original filename
`filename (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative
`filename (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`modified_at`	JSON	Optional	Modified time of the file
`modified_at (anyOf 1)`	string	Alternative	Format: date-time
`modified_at (anyOf 2)`	null	Alternative
`url`	string	Required within parent	URL to access the file

Policy, approvals and errors

SDK function policy ID: skyvern.create_browser_session_v1_browser_sessions_post. Catalog operation: create_browser_session_v1_browser_sessions_post. Rules can name either ID; function rules distinguish managed calls and conservatively cover raw calls sharing the route. Existing grant permissions and policy rules apply. wait() returns an immediate result or waits for a required approval; it never approves the request itself. Persist the approval ID to resume after a restart.

Provider errors retain their response; JSON decoding raises ProviderAPIError for provider failures. ManagedOperationError identifies contract/input/retention errors. See error handling and provider-specific behavior. Sensitive input may be refused before approval storage. A decoding error never resubmits a write.

Official provider source

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