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Overview

The Tasks API enables you to create, version, and execute reusable browser automation code in your Anchor Browser sessions. Tasks allow you to:
  • Write once, run anywhere: Create reusable automation scripts that can be executed across multiple sessions
  • Execution tracking: Monitor task execution history, performance, and results
  • Input: Pass dynamic inputs to your tasks for flexible execution
  • Output: Return exactly what you need: status, messages, and domain data tailored to your use case.
Tasks are executed in a secure sandbox environment and can access the full Anchor Browser API for automation capabilities.

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Creating Your First Task

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Writing Task Code

For reliable execution, follow these guidelines:
  • Write your code in TypeScript.
  • Export a single default async function.
  • In that function, return whatever your workflow requires as output (e.g., status, messages, domain data).
Tasks can receive values as inputs. All input names must be prefixed with ANCHOR_

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Basic Task Example

import AnchorClient from 'anchorbrowser';

// Initialize the Anchor client with your API key
const anchorClient = new AnchorClient({
    apiKey: process.env.ANCHOR_API_KEY,
});

// Export the main function as the default export
export default async function run() {

    // Create a new browser instance
    const browser = await anchorClient.browser.create();
    const page = browser.contexts()[0].pages()[0];

    // Access input values
    const targetUrl = process.env.ANCHOR_TARGET_URL;
    const maxPages = parseInt(process.env.ANCHOR_MAX_PAGES || '10');

    // Implement your automation logic
    await page.goto(targetUrl);
    console.log(`Scraping up to ${maxPages} pages from ${targetUrl}`);

    // Always close the browser when done
    await browser.close();

    // Return a result object with success status and message
    return {
        success: true,
        message: 'Task completed successfully'
    };
}

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Using the API

Create a new task using the AnchorBrowser API:
bash
curl -X POST https://api.anchorbrowser.io/v1/task \
  -H "anchor-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "web-scraper",
    "language": "typescript",
    "description": "A task to scrape product information from e-commerce sites",
    "code": "Y29uc3QgYW5jaG9yID0gcmVxdWlyZSgnYW5jaG9yYnJvd3NlcicpOwoKYXN5bmMgZnVuY3Rpb24gcnVuKCkgewogIGNvbnN0IHNlc3Npb24gPSBhd2FpdCBhbmNob3IuY3JlYXRlU2Vzc2lvbigpOwogIGF3YWl0IHNlc3Npb24uZ29UbygnaHR0cHM6Ly9leGFtcGxlLmNvbScpOwogIGNvbnN0IHRpdGxlID0gYXdhaXQgc2Vzc2lvbi5nZXRUaXRsZSgpOwogIGNvbnNvbGUubG9nKHRpdGxlKTsKICBhd2FpdCBzZXNzaW9uLmNsb3NlKCk7Cn0KcnVuKCk7"
  }'
Response: 
{
  "id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
  "name": "web-scraper",
  "teamId": "team-123",
  "description": "A task to scrape product information from e-commerce sites",
  "latestVersion": "draft",
  "code": "Y29uc3QgYW5jaG9yID0gcmVxdWlyZSgnYW5jaG9yYnJvd3NlcicpOwoKYXN5bmMgZnVuY3Rpb24gcnVuKCkgewogIGNvbnN0IHNlc3Npb24gPSBhd2FpdCBhbmNob3IuY3JlYXRlU2Vzc2lvbigpOwogIGF3YWl0IHNlc3Npb24uZ29UbygnaHR0cHM6Ly9leGFtcGxlLmNvbScpOwogIGNvbnN0IHRpdGxlID0gYXdhaXQgc2Vzc2lvbi5nZXRUaXRsZSgpOwogIGNvbnNvbGUubG9nKHRpdGxlKTsKICBhd2FpdCBzZXNzaW9uLmNsb3NlKCk7Cn0KcnVuKCk7",
  "language": "typescript",
  "deleted": false,
  "createdAt": "2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
  "updatedAt": "2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z"
}

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2. Run the Task

Run draft / deploed version with the relevant inputs:
bash
curl -X POST https://api.anchorbrowser.io/v1/task/run \
  -H "anchor-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "taskId": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
    "version": "draft", 
    "inputs": {
      "ANCHOR_TARGET_URL": "https://example.com",
      "ANCHOR_MAX_PAGES": "10"
    }
  }'

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3. Deploy to Anchor Production

Once tested, deploy the task to create a new published version:
bash
curl -X POST https://api.anchorbrowser.io/v1/task/550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000/deploy \
  -H "anchor-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "code": "Y29uc3QgYW5jaG9yID0gcmVxdWlyZSgnYW5jaG9yYnJvd3NlcicpOwoKYXN5bmMgZnVuY3Rpb24gcnVuKCkgewogIGNvbnN0IHNlc3Npb24gPSBhd2FpdCBhbmNob3IuY3JlYXRlU2Vzc2lvbigpOwogIGF3YWl0IHNlc3Npb24uZ29UbygnaHR0cHM6Ly9leGFtcGxlLmNvbScpOwogIGNvbnN0IHRpdGxlID0gYXdhaXQgc2Vzc2lvbi5nZXRUaXRsZSgpOwogIGNvbnNvbGUubG9nKHRpdGxlKTsKICBhd2FpdCBzZXNzaW9uLmNsb3NlKCk7Cn0KcnVuKCk7"
  }'

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Support

For additional help with the Tasks API:
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