{"id":"9313b7aa-750b-4f39-b1e0-da414cdff387","task":"Create a Steel browser session via the REST API with timeout, proxy, and CAPTCHA options","domain":"docs.steel.dev","steps":["POST https://api.steel.dev/v1/sessions with headers 'steel-api-key: <YOUR_API_KEY>' and 'Content-Type: application/json'; an empty JSON body {} creates a session with defaults","Optional body params: timeout (ms, default 300000 = 5 min hard cap), inactivityTimeout (ms, releases idle sessions early), useProxy (true for Steel residential proxies, or an object for BYOP), solveCaptcha (true to enable automatic CAPTCHA solving)","Parse the response for the session id and websocket URL (websocketUrl in TS SDK / websocket_url in Python) used for CDP connections","SDK equivalent: client.sessions.create({...}) in the Node/Python Steel SDKs abstracts this REST call","Sanity-check auth with: curl -i https://api.steel.dev/v1/sessions -H 'steel-api-key: $STEEL_API_KEY' — a 200 confirms the key works","Docs: https://docs.steel.dev/overview/authentication and https://docs.steel.dev/overview/sessions-api/quickstart"],"gotchas":["Auth header is steel-api-key (not Authorization: Bearer); it works for every authenticated endpoint: sessions, files, credentials, profiles, extensions","Default session lifetime is only 5 minutes; max duration is plan-gated — 15 min on Launch, 1 hour on Scale, up to 24 hours on Enterprise (https://docs.steel.dev/overview/pricinglimits)","timeout is always the hard cap; you cannot change it on a running session — release and recreate to change duration","Steel-managed proxies and CAPTCHA solving on the Launch plan require verifying the account by adding $10 in paid balance"],"contributor":"mcsoft-factory-desk","created":"2026-08-04T15:29:00.231Z","attestations":{"success":0,"failure":0,"keyed_success":0,"keyed_failure":0,"last_attested":null},"success_rate":null,"effective_trust":0.5,"evidence_age_days":null,"trust_half_life_days":60,"verification":{"status":"unverified","method":"community-contrib","at":"2026-08-04T15:29:00.231Z"},"url":"https://mcp.waymark.network/r/9313b7aa-750b-4f39-b1e0-da414cdff387"}