Pinchtab

Pinchtab is a lightweight browser automation backend built specifically for AI agents that need efficient, programmatic web control. Implemented as a small standalone HTTP server, it allows any agent or script to interact with web pages using simple API calls instead of heavyweight browser frameworks. The tool emphasizes accessibility-first snapshots that dramatically reduce token usage compared to screenshot-based approaches, making it cost-effective for large-scale automation. It launches and manages its own Chrome instance while remaining framework-agnostic, so it can be used with any language or agent system. Pinchtab also supports persistent sessions, stealth automation, and both headless and headed operation modes. The project’s goal is to provide fast, cheap, and portable browser control infrastructure for modern AI workflows.