How does the browser get into the right account?
Website authentication crosses several boundaries: the user who authorizes access, the system that holds credentials, the browser that submits them, and any model or code driving the page. Reusing a login and collecting a new identity are separate workflows.
For a customer-facing app, associate each stored connection with the correct application user before opening a browser. Reusing another user's profile can produce a technically successful run in the wrong account.
Compare the login path
Steel: Steel's Credentials API stores credentials for users or agents. Its cookbook demonstrates using stored credentials with Playwright, while profiles and auth contexts preserve signed-in browser state.
AWS AgentCore Browser: AWS credentials and IAM control access to the Browser Tool. Website login remains a separate concern: the identity used to authorize an AWS API call does not automatically sign the browser in to a third-party application.
Compare saved state
Steel: The Profiles API documents reusable browser context, cookies, extensions, credentials and browser settings. Steel also documents lighter auth-context reuse, which should not be confused with a complete profile.
AWS AgentCore Browser: The Browser Tool documentation describes ephemeral sessions that reset after use. State that must outlive a session needs an explicit storage or authentication design rather than an assumption of permanent browser state.
Compare the evidence from a run
Steel: Steel documents live and past sessions as well as Agent Traces. Browser recordings answer what happened on the page; traces add context around the agent or application driving it.
AWS AgentCore Browser: Live View allows real-time browser interaction. Custom browsers support recording to your S3 bucket, with replay through the AWS Console. CloudWatch and CloudTrail provide additional operational visibility.
How to evaluate this choice
Compare the concrete login path. A vault can fill a secret while your code controls the workflow; a managed connection may own more of the login process. Neither should be described as a universal guarantee that every website remains signed in.
- Identify whether the task uses an existing account or creates an approved new identity.
- Separate profile restoration from credential fill and connection readiness.
- Document which component can access credential values and which only handles references.
- Verify the expected tenant and account after login.
- Provide a human handoff when the website requires user interaction.
Requirements side by side
| Requirement | Steel | AWS AgentCore Browser |
|---|---|---|
| Saved browser state | Documented | Explicit state design |
| Credential handling | Credentials API | AWS / application composition |
| Website sign-in | Profile / credential flows | Separate identity design |
Sources: docs.steel.dev [1] ↗docs.steel.dev [2] ↗docs.steel.dev [3] ↗docs.steel.dev [4] ↗docs.steel.dev [5] ↗docs.steel.dev [6] ↗docs.aws.amazon.com [7] ↗
Which approach fits?
Choose Steel when you want browser infrastructure that can fit a self-hosted deployment, with profiles and credentials available through browser-focused APIs.
Steel tradeoff: Hosted and self-hosted Steel are different operating choices. A cloud feature's documentation does not establish identical packaging, retention or operational support in a self-hosted installation.
Choose AWS AgentCore Browser when your application already uses AWS identity, logging and storage, and browser workflows need to fit those systems.
AWS AgentCore Browser tradeoff: The browser tool is not the entire AgentCore platform. Do not assign capabilities from unrelated AgentCore execution or identity products to a browser session without specifying the composition.
A useful acceptance check
Write a pass/fail result for the real task before running the evaluation. Record the account, configuration and code version next to that result. Repeat failures need an explanation, not an automatically different browser configuration.
When Notte belongs on this shortlist
Steel's managed and self-hosted choices make infrastructure ownership a concrete deciding factor. Keep that option on the shortlist when operating the browser is intentional; evaluate Notte when owning fewer execution and authentication components is the actual goal.
AgentCore Browser's AWS integration can matter more than moving a browser endpoint. Retain AWS identity and observability requirements in the evaluation, and separately account for the code runner and website login before comparing Notte's integrated workflow.
Notte: Vaults substitute credential placeholders in supported browser actions outside the model context. Managed Auth checks requested saved connections before automation. Personas supply an inbox and optional phone number for verification workflows.
Consider this third option when its documented mechanism addresses a requirement left open by the two providers above. A working configuration on either original provider can still be the better choice; compare the task and ownership cost before switching.
Sources: docs.steel.dev [1] ↗docs.aws.amazon.com [2] ↗docs.notte.cc [3] ↗