Overview
IntelliBuddies supports web automation through a rich set of activities that simulate browser-based user interactions across websites and web applications. These activities are grouped under the Web Automation category and enable reliable automation of modern web interfaces.
The error message Oops! Failed to communicate with Bridge service, encountered during the execution of any web automation activity, indicates a communication failure with the Bridge service.
The Bridge service is a core IntelliBuddies component that enables secure and coordinated communication between the Buddy runtime and the browser extension, ensuring seamless browser automation.
For detailed troubleshooting steps, refer to the guide available here.
Parallel Browser Automation
The web automation framework supports running multiple browser instances in parallel, enabling scalable and concurrent automation execution.
Each invocation of the Open Browser activity creates a dedicated browser instance that is isolated to the current workflow execution and thread.
- Multiple instances of the same browser type can now run simultaneously.
- Supported browser types include Chrome, Edge, and Firefox.
- Previously, only one instance per browser type could run at a time.
- Existing workflows continue to work without any changes.
- This enhancement improves scalability, enables parallel execution, and increases overall automation reliability.
Supported Scenarios
| Scenario | Supported |
|---|---|
| Multiple Chrome instances | Yes |
| Multiple Edge instances | Yes |
| Multiple Firefox instances | Yes |
| Mixed browsers in parallel | Yes |
Behavioral Changes
- Each automation request opens its own isolated browser instance.
- Browser instances are automatically closed and cleaned up when the process completes or exits.
- Significantly reduces failures when multiple automations use the same browser type.
- Improves reliability in highly parallel execution environments.
- Reduces workflows waiting indefinitely until timeout.
- Improves success rates for scheduled and triggered executions.
- Prevents cross-session mismatches and shared-state conflicts.
- Enables more accurate event-driven automation.
The number of concurrent browser instances is subject to available system resources and machine capacity.
Activities
The Web Automation category provides activities for browser lifecycle management, navigation, element interaction, data extraction, synchronization, and API integration.
| Activity | Description |
|---|---|
| Open Browser | Opens a browser and navigates to a specified URL |
| Navigate To URL | Navigates to the specified URL in the indicated browser |
| Get Web Page Information | Extracts required information from the web page and returns it as name–value pairs |
| Go Back | Navigates back based on browser tab history |
| Go Forward | Navigates forward based on browser tab history |
| Refresh Browser | Refreshes the current web page |
| Get IFrame | Retrieves an IFrame to perform automation on embedded content |
| Get Element Value | Extracts the text value from a specified web UI element |
| Get Storage Item | Retrieves values from local storage, session storage, or cookies |
| Get Element Attributes | Extracts element attributes and returns them as key–value pairs |
| Set Element Attribute | Sets the value of a specified element attribute |
| Click Element | Performs left, double, or right click actions on a web UI element |
| Click Link | Clicks a link element on the web page |
| Click Download Link | Clicks a link that initiates a file download |
| Hover Mouse Over Element | Hovers the mouse over a specified element |
| Create New Tab | Creates a new tab in a running browser instance |
| Download File | Downloads and stores a file from the browser |
| Execute Action | Executes a defined action on a specified element |
| Element Exists | Checks whether a specified element exists on the page |
| Close Tab | Closes a specified browser tab |
| Focus Textbox | Sets focus on a specified text input element |
| Set Text Field Value | Enters text into a specified input element |
| Submit Form | Submits a form on the web page |
| Scroll To Element | Scrolls to a specified element |
| Set Dropdown Field Value | Selects a value from a dropdown or list box |
| Set Checkbox Field Value | Selects or clears a checkbox element |
| Set Radio Button Field Value | Selects or clears a radio button element |
| Set Storage Item | Sets values in local storage, session storage, or cookies |
| Extract Data | Extracts structured data across one or more web pages |
| Take Screenshot | Captures a screenshot of the web page |
| Text Exists | Checks whether specified text exists on the page |
| Upload File | Uploads a file to a web application |
| Wait for Element | Waits for an element to appear or disappear |
| Wait for Text | Waits for specified text to appear or disappear |
| Http Request | Sends an HTTP request with the specified parameters |
| Close Browser | Closes the specified browser instance |
| Invoke Web Service | Invokes a web service and returns the response |
| Authorization Scope | Creates an authorization scope for reuse across API calls |