{"collection":{"slug":"browser-automation","name":"Browser Automation & Scraping"},"digest":{"id":"cwd_j8Bctd4hrQkX4u-oY1ALg","weekStart":"2026-06-01","title":"Stagehand puts vision into extract and lowers the barrier to local automation","intro":"Stagehand 3.5.0 ships a screenshot-aware extract mode for visual content, and the browse CLI now steers new users toward local-first automation. Meanwhile, Crawlee v3.17.0 hardens sitemap discovery and fixes a Puppeteer page-binding bug.","body":"### Extract with eyes\n\nThe biggest story this week is that [Stagehand 3.5.0](/release/rel_PCu3cAUcI_PDnBRtYDtjC-browserbasehq-stagehand-3-5-0) gives `extract()` a new `screenshot` option. When you pass `screenshot: true`, the method sends the current viewport screenshot alongside the accessibility tree to the model. This matters because charts, data visualizations, and layout-dependent content are invisible to the a11y tree alone. The same release adds native clipboard API support for copy/paste flows, expands Claude Opus 4.8 support for Computer Use, and introduces Google Vertex AI auth parameters across the SDK and API schemas. You can also now use `ignoreDefaultArgs` to strip chrome-launcher's built-in flags when running locally. The [Browserbase changelog](/release/rel_bi-2PKunN-hydFWbNhZUo-extract-with-vision-in-stagehand-3-5) provides a more detailed walkthrough of the vision feature and the smaller additions.\n\n### Lead with local\n\nAlongside the SDK update, [Stagehand browse@0.8.3](/release/rel_FZPh6DSXFZ27FwEwnk1Vf-browse-0-8-3) reworks the onboarding experience for the CLI. The error message when a user hasn't set an API key now explicitly tells them that local browser automation needs no key and points them to `browse open <url> --local`. The remote-mode driver error has also been clarified so users can more easily determine when a key is required versus when local mode is appropriate. This is a small but thoughtful change; every new developer who hits that error is now redirected to the fastest path to running a Stagehand step.\n\n### Crawlee stability patch\n\nApify's [Crawlee v3.17.0](/release/rel_eJrzbeS4UvG_6WwEK3C8k-v3-17-0) fixes two bugs that could cause frustrating hangs. The `discoverValidSitemaps` function now applies network timeouts on each request, preventing indefinite waits when a sitemap server is unresponsive. Separately, `Browser.pages()` is now correctly bound in the `PuppeteerPlugin` via a standalone one-liner, which prevents a `Cannot read properties of undefined` error when calling `pages()` after the browser has been used. Both are the kind of reliability fixes that keep a crawler running unattended — exactly what you want from a framework that's meant to run for hours.","releaseIds":["rel_PCu3cAUcI_PDnBRtYDtjC","rel_bi-2PKunN-hydFWbNhZUo","rel_FZPh6DSXFZ27FwEwnk1Vf","rel_eJrzbeS4UvG_6WwEK3C8k"],"releaseCount":5,"generatedAt":"2026-07-11T16:37:02.076Z","releases":[{"id":"rel_PCu3cAUcI_PDnBRtYDtjC","title":"@browserbasehq/stagehand@3.5.0","path":"/release/rel_PCu3cAUcI_PDnBRtYDtjC-browserbasehq-stagehand-3-5-0","org":{"slug":"browserbase","name":"Browserbase"},"importance":null},{"id":"rel_bi-2PKunN-hydFWbNhZUo","title":"Extract with vision in Stagehand 3.5","path":"/release/rel_bi-2PKunN-hydFWbNhZUo-extract-with-vision-in-stagehand-3-5","org":{"slug":"browserbase","name":"Browserbase"},"importance":null},{"id":"rel_FZPh6DSXFZ27FwEwnk1Vf","title":"browse@0.8.3","path":"/release/rel_FZPh6DSXFZ27FwEwnk1Vf-browse-0-8-3","org":{"slug":"browserbase","name":"Browserbase"},"importance":null},{"id":"rel_eJrzbeS4UvG_6WwEK3C8k","title":"v3.17.0","path":"/release/rel_eJrzbeS4UvG_6WwEK3C8k-v3-17-0","org":{"slug":"apify","name":"Apify"},"importance":null}]}}