Browser Profiles

A browser profile is a saved snapshot of browser state — cookies, localStorage, and session files. Load a profile into a new browser session and the browser starts with that saved state restored, skipping login flows you’ve already completed. Profiles are ideal when you:

Run the same automation repeatedly with the same account (daily reports, scheduled data extraction)
Want to skip login steps that consume credits and time
Need multiple workflows to share the same authenticated state

Looking to manage profiles from code? See the API & SDK guide instead.

How profiles are created

Browser profiles are created automatically when you test a password credential with the Save browser session option enabled. There is no standalone “create profile” button — the profile is a byproduct of a successful login test.

Creating a profile from a credential

Go to the Credentials page

Click Credentials in the left sidebar under General.

Create or edit a password credential

Click + Add → Password to create a new credential, or click the pencil icon on an existing one. Enter the username and password. See Password Credentials for details.

Add password credential dialog with name, username, and password fields

Enable Save browser session

Below the password fields, enable the Save browser session option. Enter the login URL for the site (e.g., https://app.example.com/login). You can also add optional context to help the AI navigate the login flow.

Test the credential

Click Test. Skyvern opens a browser, navigates to the login URL, signs in with the credential, and — if the login succeeds — saves the browser state as a profile. The profile is linked to this credential automatically.

Confirm the profile was saved

When the test completes, the credential row shows a saved-profile badge with the site hostname. This means the browser profile is ready to use.

The Save browser session flow is the easiest way to create a profile. It handles the full lifecycle: open browser, log in, save state. No workflows or API calls required.

When to refresh profiles

Cookies and session tokens expire. A profile that worked last week may not work today if the site’s authentication tokens have a short lifespan. Signs a profile needs refreshing:

Tasks that use the profile start failing with login-related errors
The browser loads a login page instead of the authenticated dashboard
The site forces re-authentication after a set period

To refresh: go back to the credential, click Test again with Save browser session enabled. The new profile replaces the old one.

For sites with short-lived sessions (banks, healthcare portals), refresh profiles before each batch of runs. For sites with long-lived cookies (most SaaS apps), weekly or monthly refreshes are usually sufficient.

Sessions vs profiles

	Browser Session	Browser Profile
What it is	Live browser instance	Saved snapshot of browser state
Lifetime	Minutes to hours	Days to months
State	Current page, cookies, open connections	Cookies, localStorage, session files
Billing	Charged while open	No cost when not in use
Best for	Back-to-back tasks, human-in-the-loop	Repeated logins, scheduled workflows

What’s next

Browser Sessions

Keep a browser open across multiple tasks

Password Credentials

Store the login details that profiles are built from