> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.unbrowse.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.unbrowse.ai/whitepaper.md).

# Internal APIs Are All You Need

Companion docs for the Unbrowse whitepaper.

* Authors: Lewis Tham, Nicholas Mac Gregor Garcia, Jungpil Hahn
* arXiv: 2604.00694
* Canonical PDF: [unbrowse-whitepaper.pdf](https://github.com/unbrowse-ai/unbrowse/tree/main/docs/whitepaper/unbrowse-whitepaper.pdf)
* Paper draft synced here: April 1, 2026

> Important The PDF mixes research results, product behavior and forward-looking economic design. These docs separate the three: what the paper measured, what the hosted Unbrowse service does today, and what is still roadmap.

## The short version

Most of the web's value sits behind interfaces built for humans. Websites already call their own internal APIs.

Unbrowse learns those requests once, in a cloud browser, and compiles them into capabilities agents call over HTTP. Later agents skip the browser.

## What ships today

Unbrowse is a hosted service (`https://unbrowse.ai`, closed source) with an open-source client (this repo).

The service:

* records tasks in a cloud browser (patchright) and fulfils the first request while learning it
* compiles recorded sessions or HAR files into `learned.*` capabilities (harness YAML, `unbrowse/v1alpha1`)
* replays them over first-party HTTP, with a render fallback for reads HTTP cannot finish
* verifies outcomes: HTTP 200 is not success
* keeps a public registry of scrubbed, re-verified read-only site tools, each site also an MCP server and an OpenAPI document
* keeps logins in a password manager the model never reads, signs in on replay and reuses sessions
* bills only verified calls: 500 a month free, then $10 per 10,000
* routes plain-language tasks with Jev, with a deterministic fallback

The client is `@unbrowse/sdk` and a thin CLI over the service's REST API (`/api/v1`); agents use the remote MCP (`/mcp`).

Not built: per-route pricing, contributor payouts, validator markets, attestation.

## Pages

* [Unbrowse In Plain English](/whitepaper/plain-english.md)
* [What Is Unbrowse?](/whitepaper/what-is-unbrowse.md)
* [The Problem](/whitepaper/the-problem.md)
* [Mental Models](/whitepaper/mental-models.md)
* [How It Works](/whitepaper/how-it-works.md)
* [For Technical Readers](/whitepaper/for-technical-readers.md)
* [For Investors](/whitepaper/for-investors.md)
* [Public Registry and Maintenance](/whitepaper/network-layer.md)
* [Credential Sovereignty](/whitepaper/credential-sovereignty.md)
* [Key Concepts](/whitepaper/key-concepts.md)
* [System Today](/whitepaper/system-today.md)
* [Paper vs Product Status](/whitepaper/paper-vs-product.md)
* [Evaluation and Benchmarks](/whitepaper/evaluation.md)
* [Coming Soon](/whitepaper/coming-soon.md)

## Where to start

* Shortest explainer: [Plain English](/whitepaper/plain-english.md).
* Architecture and evidence: [For Technical Readers](/whitepaper/for-technical-readers.md).
* Market and business: [For Investors](/whitepaper/for-investors.md).
* Current state, piece by piece: [System Today](/whitepaper/system-today.md).
* Strict audit of the paper: [Paper vs Product Status](/whitepaper/paper-vs-product.md).
* Numbers and where they come from: [Evaluation and Benchmarks](/whitepaper/evaluation.md).

## Citation

```bibtex
@misc{tham2026internal,
  title = {Internal APIs Are All You Need},
  author = {Lewis Tham and Nicholas Mac Gregor Garcia and Jungpil Hahn},
  year = {2026},
  eprint = {2604.00694},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  note = {Official Unbrowse whitepaper}
}
```