> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://tbd-6fc993ce-hypeship-docs-ia-v2.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Configure Overview

> Create a browser, pick its shape, and choose what it carries onto a site

A KERNEL browser works with no configuration: create one and drive it. This page covers the settings most agents touch at creation time. The rest of Configure covers the features that decide whether an agent gets through a real site: stealth, proxies, profiles, vaults, authentication, and payments.

## Create a browser

<CodeGroup>
  ```typescript TypeScript theme={null}
  import Kernel from '@onkernel/sdk';

  const kernel = new Kernel();

  const browser = await kernel.browsers.create();
  console.log(browser.session_id, browser.browser_live_view_url);
  ```

  ```python Python theme={null}
  from kernel import Kernel

  kernel = Kernel()

  browser = kernel.browsers.create()
  print(browser.session_id, browser.browser_live_view_url)
  ```

  ```go Go theme={null}
  package main

  import (
  	"context"
  	"fmt"

  	"github.com/kernel/kernel-go-sdk"
  )

  func main() {
  	ctx := context.Background()
  	client := kernel.NewClient()

  	browser, err := client.Browsers.New(ctx, kernel.BrowserNewParams{})
  	if err != nil {
  		panic(err)
  	}
  	fmt.Println(browser.SessionID, browser.BrowserLiveViewURL)
  }
  ```

  ```bash CLI theme={null}
  kernel browsers create
  ```
</CodeGroup>

The response includes everything you need to drive the browser: `session_id`, `cdp_ws_url`, `webdriver_ws_url`, and `browser_live_view_url`. See [create a browser](/introduction/create) for the full walkthrough, including creating from a [browser pool](/browsers/pools).

## Pick a browser type

| Type | When to use it | How to set it |
| - | - | - |
| **Headful** (default) | Agents on real sites. It has a real display, so [live view](/browsers/live-view) and [replays](/browsers/replays) work and bot detectors see a normal browser. 8 GB of memory by default. | Nothing to set |
| **[Headless](/browsers/headless)** | Short-lived or highly concurrent jobs that don't need to be watched. Lighter, at 1 GB by default, but some bot detectors notice it. | `headless: true` |
| **[GPU-accelerated](/browsers/gpu-acceleration)** | WebGL, video, and canvas-heavy sites. Headful only, doesn't support standby, and has its own usage rate. | `gpu: true` |

## Set common options

<CodeGroup>
  ```typescript TypeScript theme={null}
  const browser = await kernel.browsers.create({
    viewport: { width: 1280, height: 800 },
    timeout_seconds: 300,
  });
  ```

  ```python Python theme={null}
  browser = kernel.browsers.create(
      viewport={"width": 1280, "height": 800},
      timeout_seconds=300,
  )
  ```
</CodeGroup>

* **[Viewport](/browsers/viewport):** defaults to 1920x1080 at 25Hz. A custom viewport restarts Chromium on creation, so use a [browser pool](/browsers/pools) if you need it to be instant.
* **[Standby](/browsers/standby):** after 5 seconds with no CDP, WebDriver, live view, or computer controls activity, a browser goes into standby. It keeps its state and stops accruing usage cost until something reconnects.
* **[Termination and timeouts](/browsers/termination):** `timeout_seconds` sets how long a browser can sit in standby before KERNEL deletes it. It defaults to 60 seconds and can be up to 72 hours. Delete browsers explicitly when you're done; Playwright's `browser.close()` doesn't delete them.

## More browser settings

Most agents never need these, but they're there when you do:

* **[Regions](/browsers/regions):** run browsers in `us-east`, `eu-west`, or `ap-southeast`, closer to your code and your users.
* **[Extensions](/browsers/extensions):** load unpacked Chrome extensions into a browser.
* **[Chrome policies](/browsers/chrome-policies):** apply Chrome enterprise policies, such as startup pages and bookmarks.
* **[Private networking](/browsers/private-networking):** reach services behind a VPN or tunnel from inside the browser session.

## What to configure next

<Columns className="responsive-columns" cols={4}>
  <Card title="Stealth" icon="user-secret" href="/browsers/bot-detection/overview">
    Anti-detection defaults, stealth mode, CAPTCHA handling, and Web Bot Auth.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Proxies" icon="globe" href="/proxies/overview">
    Route traffic through datacenter, ISP, residential, or mobile IPs, or bring your own.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Profiles" icon="id-card" href="/browsers/profiles">
    Save cookies, storage, and logins from one session and load them into the next.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Vaults" icon="vault" href="/vaults/overview">
    Store credentials and payment items that a browser fills into a page without your agent reading them.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Authentication" icon="key" href="/auth/overview">
    Fill logins from a vault, or let managed auth handle the login and keep the session alive.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Payments" icon="credit-card" href="/browsers/payments">
    Let agents complete checkouts through a wallet without handling raw card details.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Config Registry" icon="sliders" href="/config-registry">
    Get browser and proxy settings that have already worked on the site you're automating.
  </Card>
</Columns>


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