February 6, 2026
Clicks, tokens, and comment carnage
Show HN: Smooth CLI – Token-efficient browser for AI agents
Bots that browse for you? Hype meets “but is it secure” vibes
TLDR: Smooth CLI launches a browser that lets AI describe tasks and auto‑click through the web, promising major speed and cost gains. Commenters are split: some see a QA testing breakthrough, others demand security details and Vercel comparisons, with jokes about the “token‑efficient” site and a no‑JavaScript future.
Smooth CLI just dropped a browser for AI sidekicks that promises to do the clicking for you—no more micromanaging buttons. The pitch: tell it “find the cheapest NYC→LA flight,” and it handles the messy web, claiming 20x faster and 5x cheaper. There’s even a Playground and a buzzing Discord. But the comments? Oh, they’re the real show.
One camp is ready to throw a parade. As one tester put it, front‑end QA (quality assurance) is a slog, and this could finally automate the pain. Another commenter even imagines a future “mirror web” that’s ultra‑simple—think old‑school HTML—with no JavaScript, just to make bots happy. The nostalgia is strong.
Then the plot twist: trust. A top‑liked skeptic says they couldn’t find proper security details—only a “zero data retention” line—raising eyebrows since Smooth’s browsers run in the cloud (even if you can route traffic through your own IP to dodge captchas). Meanwhile, someone roasted the marketing copy with, “Ironically, the docs aren’t all that token‑efficient,” a wink at Smooth’s big claim about saving the AI’s “word budget.”
And looming over it all: comparisons to Vercel’s Agent Browser. Users want receipts, benchmarks, and a head‑to‑head. Verdict so far: excitement, suspicion, and plenty of popcorn-worthy takes.
Key Points
- •Smooth CLI is a cloud-managed browser interface designed for AI agents to operate the web via natural language goals instead of low-level actions.
- •It claims up to 20x faster performance and 5x lower cost by reducing token usage and delegating UI actions to a specialized model.
- •The platform supports unlimited parallel browsers, launched on demand, with no setup or configuration required.
- •Security and networking features include isolated default permissions and the ability to route traffic through the user’s own IP to avoid captchas and access geo-restricted content.
- •Feature set includes file upload/download, persistent browser profiles, proxies, live share, session recording, structured output, custom extensions, and an Automation SDK, with guides for various use cases.