subtitle: Run a browser automation from start to finish
---
Let's run a real automation. You'll tell Skyvern to visit a website, extract data, and return it as JSON. Then watch the entire thing happen live.
## Step 1: Write your prompt
Open [app.skyvern.com](https://app.skyvern.com) and you'll land on the **Discover** page.
<img src="/images/cloud/skyvern-cloud-discover.png" alt="Discover page with a prompt entered" />
The Discover page has a single input field. Type your instructions and include the target URL in the same prompt. For this example, enter:
```
Get the title of the #1 post on the front page for https://news.ycombinator.com
```
That's it. Skyvern parses the URL and figures out how to navigate the page and extract the data.
Below the input, you'll see quick-action chips like "Add a product to cart" and "What's the top post on hackernews". Click any of these to try a pre-filled example instead.
<Tip>
The more specific your prompt, the better. "Get the title of the #1 post" works much better than "get some data." Include the exact fields you want, what success looks like, and any constraints.
</Tip>
## Step 2: Pick an engine and run
Next to your prompt, you'll see an engine selector. Click it to switch engines:
| Engine | When to use it |
|--------|---------------|
| **Skyvern 1.0** | Tasks with a simple, single goal: filling a form, searching for information on Google, reading content from a page |
| **Skyvern 2.0** | Complex, multi-step tasks. Scores state-of-the-art 85.85% on the WebVoyager benchmark |
Click the **send button** (arrow icon to the right of the input). Skyvern generates a workflow from your prompt and opens it in the workflow editor. Click **Run** in the top right, confirm the parameters, then click **Run workflow** to start execution.
<Accordion title="Optional: Advanced settings">
Click the **gear icon** next to send to configure additional options before running:
| Setting | What it does |
|---------|-------------|
| **Webhook Callback URL** | Endpoint to receive the extracted data when the run completes |
| **Proxy Location** | Route Skyvern through one of the available proxies |
| **Browser Session ID** | Reuse a persistent browser session to keep login state |
These are all optional. The defaults work for most tasks.
</Accordion>
## Step 3: Watch the live browser
This is where it gets interesting. Once the task starts, you'll see the run detail page with a live view of the browser:
<img src="/images/cloud/discover-prompt-in-process.png" alt="Run detail page showing a live browser navigating Hacker News" />
On the left, a **live browser view**. You'll see pages load, elements highlight, and actions fire.
On the right, the **agent log**. A running stream of the AI's Thoughts, Decisions, and block executions. If something goes wrong, this is where you'll figure out why.
## Step 4: Review the results
When the task finishes, the status badge flips to **completed** and the extracted data appears at the top of the page.
<img src="/images/cloud/discover-workflow-completed.png" alt="Completed run showing extracted data and result tabs" />
### Extracted data
The **Extracted Information** block shows your results as structured JSON:
```json
[
{
"top_post_title": "Don't rent the cloud, own instead"
- **Overview**: The AI's reasoning timeline alongside browser screenshots. Each Thought, Block, and Action card shows what the agent saw and why it acted.
- **Output**: The complete JSON output and any downloaded files.
