> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://browseruse-0aece648-larsen-v1-unified-docs.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Authentication

> Log into websites and stay logged in. Save login state once in a profile, reuse it on every run.

To do anything behind a login — check email, post to a dashboard, pull data from an account — the browser needs to be authenticated. A **browser profile** saves that login state (cookies, sessions) so you log in once and reuse it forever.

There are two ways to get a logged-in profile: **let the agent log in**, or **sync your existing local logins**.

## Option 1 — the agent logs in with your credentials

Create a profile, then have the agent log in inside it. The session is saved back to the profile.

<CodeGroup>
  ```python Python theme={null}
  from browser_use import BrowserUse

  client = BrowserUse()

  # 1. create a profile to hold the login
  profile = client.browser_profiles.create(name="my-gmail")

  # 2. log in once (the profile now remembers it)
  client.agents.browser_use.run(
      task="Log into gmail.com with email me@example.com and password ...",
      browser={"profile_id": profile.id},
  )

  # 3. reuse forever — already logged in
  run = client.agents.browser_use.run(
      task="Summarize my unread emails",
      browser={"profile_id": profile.id},
  )
  print(run.output)
  ```

  ```bash curl theme={null}
  # reuse the profile on any run
  curl -X POST https://api.browser-use.com/api/v1/agents/browser-use/runs \
    -H "X-Browser-Use-API-Key: $BROWSER_USE_API_KEY" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{"task": "Summarize my unread emails", "browser": {"profile_id": "bp_123"}}'
  ```
</CodeGroup>

<Warning>
  Prefer not to send raw passwords in a task? [Sync your existing browser logins](/cloud/browser/sync-cookies) instead — no credentials in the request.
</Warning>

## Option 2 — sync your existing logins

If you're already logged into these sites in your own browser, sync those cookies into a profile — no passwords, no re-login. See [Sync cookies](/cloud/browser/sync-cookies).

## Two-factor authentication (2FA)

For accounts with 2FA, the agent can pause and hand control to you to complete the challenge, then continue.

## How it fits together

* A **profile** is standalone, project-owned login state — [create and manage it](/cloud/create-profile).
* Pass `browser_profile_id` into any **run** (or standalone [browser](/cloud/create-browser)) to start logged in.
* One profile per identity you automate (my-gmail, my-linkedin, …); reuse across as many runs as you like.