Browserbase

The connection change is one line: swap the Browserbase connectUrl for Kernel’s cdp_ws_url. Everything else is optional — but a few Browserbase concepts have no Kernel equivalent because Kernel handles them differently.

Concept mapping

Concept	Browserbase	Kernel
Create a session	`bb.sessions.create({ projectId })`	`kernel.browsers.create()` — no project ID required (projects are optional isolation)
CDP endpoint	`session.connectUrl`	`browser.cdp_ws_url`
End a session	`bb.sessions.update(id, { status: 'REQUEST_RELEASE' })`	`kernel.browsers.deleteByID(session_id)`, or let `timeout_seconds` do it
Live view	Debug URL from `sessions.debug()`	`browser.browser_live_view_url`, returned on create
Recording	Session recording API	Replays — `replays.start()` / `replays.stop()`, MP4 output
Persisted state	Contexts	Profiles — `profile: { name, save_changes: true }`
Logging in	Your own credential handling	Managed auth performs and maintains the login
Stealth	Advanced stealth setting	Anti-detection on by default; `stealth: true` adds the managed proxy and CAPTCHA solver
Proxies	Proxy configuration, billed per GB	Proxies, unmetered on Kernel-provided types
Keep-alive	`keepAlive` on the session	Standby mode — automatic, and idle time isn’t billed
Warm sessions	—	Browser pools
Run your code near the browser	—	Playwright execution and the App Platform

The connection change

Browserbase

import Browserbase from '@browserbasehq/sdk';
import { chromium } from 'playwright-core';

const bb = new Browserbase({ apiKey: process.env.BROWSERBASE_API_KEY });
const session = await bb.sessions.create({ projectId: process.env.BROWSERBASE_PROJECT_ID });

const browser = await chromium.connectOverCDP(session.connectUrl);
const page = browser.contexts()[0].pages()[0];
await page.goto('https://example.com');
await browser.close();

Kernel

import Kernel from '@onkernel/sdk';
import { chromium } from 'playwright-core';

const kernel = new Kernel();
const kernelBrowser = await kernel.browsers.create({ timeout_seconds: 600 });

const browser = await chromium.connectOverCDP(kernelBrowser.cdp_ws_url);
const page = browser.contexts()[0].pages()[0];
await page.goto('https://example.com');
await browser.close();

await kernel.browsers.deleteByID(kernelBrowser.session_id);

Then drop the CDP connection entirely

The migration above keeps your CDP round trips. If the automation is a script or an agent tool, playwright execution is strictly better: the same Playwright API, running inside the browser’s VM, returning values to you.

const { result } = await kernel.browsers.playwright.execute(kernelBrowser.session_id, {
  code: `
    await page.goto('https://example.com');
    return await page.title();
  `,
});

No playwright install to version-pin, no Chromium download, no connection to reconnect, and no CDP fingerprint on the wire. See how you drive the browser for when to keep CDP anyway.

Contexts become profiles

A Browserbase context and a Kernel profile both persist cookies and storage between sessions. Two differences worth knowing:

A profile is writable per browser. Pass save_changes: true and the browser writes its state back on exit; leave it off and the profile loads read-only.
Profiles are what managed auth populates. Instead of scripting the login yourself, create an auth connection against a domain, point it at a profile name, and Kernel performs the login, monitors the session, and reauthenticates supported flows in the background.

const browser = await kernel.browsers.create({
  profile: { name: 'user-8f21c3', save_changes: true },
  stealth: true,
});

Things to check before cutting over

Region. Browsers default to us-east. Co-locate your loop with playwright execution or the App Platform if latency matters.
Concurrency and create rate. Both are per plan and separate from each other — see concurrency and limits.
Proxy behavior. Kernel’s datacenter proxies rotate per request; ISP proxies are static. If your automation assumed a stable exit IP, use ISP or a custom proxy.

Moving a large workload? Talk to us first — pools versus on-demand browsers is usually the decision that matters most, and it depends on your traffic shape.

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Concept mapping

The connection change

Then drop the CDP connection entirely

Contexts become profiles

Things to check before cutting over

​Concept mapping

​The connection change

​Then drop the CDP connection entirely

​Contexts become profiles

​Things to check before cutting over

Concept mapping

The connection change

Then drop the CDP connection entirely

Contexts become profiles

Things to check before cutting over