Add Overview: introduction, features, concepts, why KERNEL

[andrewleesteele]

Summary

Top layer of the guides IA restructure (stack: #671 → #672 → #673 → #674). Adds the Overview section and completes the new sidebar.

• Introduction: rewritten around what KERNEL provides, why each browser runs in its own VM, and the open source projects behind it, ending with cards for See all features, Quickstart, and Cookbooks.
• See all features (new): a short answer, then the features grouped by job: running browsers, getting through real websites, carrying state, logins, and payments, and seeing what happened.
• Important concepts (new), titled "How KERNEL fits between your agent and the internet": the agent framework (model, system prompt, tools, skills, browser automation framework), browser infrastructure, and the internet, with a diagram, a "which piece to change" table, and where KERNEL fits in the agent stack.
• Why KERNEL? (new): how KERNEL works underneath your agent framework, then speed with the benchmark scope stated, what sets KERNEL apart, the problems you'd solve running Chrome yourself, and when an API or MCP is the better tool.

After this layer, the old sidebar groups are gone and the Guides sidebar is Overview, Start building, How it works, Partnering with KERNEL.

Testing

• mint validate and mint broken-links pass on this branch.
• The concepts diagram was rendered and checked in a local build.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

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Note

Low Risk
Documentation and Mintlify navigation only; no application or API behavior changes. Verify redirects if external links still target removed Info nav paths.

Overview
This PR completes the top Overview layer of the Guides sidebar restructure: the Overview group now lists Introduction plus three new pages, and the old Info group (info/concepts, info/unikernels) is removed from navigation under Partnering.

Introduction (index.mdx) is reframed around KERNEL as an “internet runtime,” unikernel-based browser isolation (speed, VM safety, standby), and open-source repos. The previous feature grid, inline “fast setup” copy-prompt block, prod app-platform section, and scaling blurb are replaced by Get started cards (see all features, quickstart, cookbooks) with new overview SVGs.

New overview pages: overview/products catalogs features by job (run browsers, get through sites, carry state/auth/payments, observe). overview/concepts introduces the agent framework vs browser infrastructure vs internet stack, adds the agent-stack diagram, troubleshooting tables, and KERNEL’s role. overview/why-kernel covers positioning vs DIY Chrome, differentiators, and when APIs/MCP beat browsers.

Integrations overview gains a one-line pointer that its sections align with Important concepts.

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[dprevoznik]

Left a few update suggestions, but overall, LGTM - i may have some final points at the end about highlighting browser repl more, but i want to read the other PRs and get them approved first potentially.

[dprevoznik]

Though this is often a fine distinction, i don't think it's always correct that if a site has an API / MCP, the actual work that needs to be done can be accomplished with it (e.g. facebook CLI not having like count per post).

Instead, i think the distinction should be if the problem can be solved with an API or MCP lean on it, otherwise if it can't then use the browser primitive.

[dprevoznik]

Also KERNEL is useful for non-logged in websites too.

[AnnaXWang]

just my personal opinion, I don't immediately understand what this diagram is trying to explain to me

[AnnaXWang]

To me, these are "features" not "products"! Could we rename?

[AnnaXWang]

Suggested change

KERNEL is the internet runtime for agents. we provide crazy fast, open source browser infra for your agents to access and act on the internet. each chromium browser is pre-configured with anti-detection defaults, runs in its own vm with isolated resources, and can be driven with browser automation frameworks, computer controls, or cdp and webdriver bidi directly. beyond browsers, KERNEL provides a platform of capabilities so your agents have what they need on real websites: stealth and proxies, authentication, payments, live view, replays, and more.

KERNEL is the internet runtime for agents. we provide crazy fast, open source browser infra for your agents to access and act on the internet. each chromium browser is pre-configured with anti-detection defaults, runs in its own vm with isolated resources, and can be driven with browser automation frameworks, computer controls, or cdp and webdriver bidi directly. beyond browsers, KERNEL provides a platform of infrastructure primitives so your agents have what they need on real websites: stealth and proxies, authentication, payments, live view, replays, and more.

[AnnaXWang]

"infra primitives" has done well

[AnnaXWang]

i ran these pages through Gauge's GEO / clarity checker!

[AnnaXWang]

"infra primitives" has done well

[AnnaXWang]

We have the opportunity to use these docs to improve GEO as well. Kernel appears in just 1.48% of answers in Framework/SDK fit over the last 30 complete days.

Highest-impact edits

• Make the title and opening answer a specific question. “Important Concepts” gives search and answer systems little indication of what the page explains. Use a title such as “How Kernel sits between agent framework and the internet”. Open with a two-sentence definition of each layer, then explain where Kernel fits. The current description is clear but could name both terms. The clearest, most citable claim is simpler: the agent framework decides what to do; Kernel provides the browser infrastructure that executes those actions.
• Narrow “How KERNEL optimizes each piece.” Kernel integrates with models and frameworks; it does not optimize the model, system prompt, or internet itself. Rename the section “Where Kernel fits in the agent stack” and group its links under browser execution, access and authentication, observability, and scale. That would make the page easier to quote without overstating the product.
• Tighten the troubleshooting boundaries. A failed page action can come from a selector, site behavior, or browser state, not only infrastructure. Likewise, browser infrastructure helps an agent reach and interact with sites; it does not guarantee that an action “lands.” The “Which piece to change” table is the page’s best extractable asset, so precision there matters most.

[AnnaXWang]

this page is particularly excellent

Fix before publishing

• Correct the standby claim. The table says charges stop five seconds after “the last activity.” Kernel’s billing rule is five seconds after the last client disconnects. A connected client can remain billable while an agent thinks. The opening sentence should also avoid implying standby starts whenever a browser is idle.
• Qualify the benchmark and self-hosting comparisons. “Fastest browser infrastructure” exceeds the narrower claim that Kernel led the providers tested on a particular benchmark. Likewise, self-hosted Chrome does not inherently require a cold container pull, share a kernel, or leave credentials in an agent’s context. Frame those as problems a team may need to solve, not unavoidable outcomes.
• Move the clearest answer to the top. Lead with the framework distinction, then speed evidence: “Kernel provides isolated cloud browsers for AI agents. It works underneath the agent framework you already use, with managed authentication, anti-detection, and tools for running browsers at scale.” Follow with the measured latency and a linked benchmark whose test scope is explicit.
• The “Why not just run Chrome yourself?” table is the best GEO asset. Once its rows make fair, specific comparisons, it can answer several distinct evaluation questions. The final “When KERNEL isn’t the answer” section strengthens that credibility; keep it.

[AnnaXWang]

Highest-impact edits

• Add a short answer above the cards. Define Kernel as browser infrastructure for AI agents, then explain that the products cover browser execution, access to websites, authentication, and operating sessions at scale. This gives the page a self-contained answer rather than relying on card labels.
• Group the cards by the job they solve. For example, put Browsers, Pools, and Code Execution together; Stealth, Proxies, and Config Registry together; and Vaults, Authentication, and Payments together. A reader can then tell which product to investigate without scanning all 12 cards.
• Check a few precise claims. “Without your agent ever reading them,” “keep the session alive,” and “skips … the browser create rate limit” describe specific guarantees. Link each to documentation that supports the exact behavior, or narrow the wording.
• Keep the cards as navigation. Add a brief text introduction and descriptive group headings for extractability; a second full product table would mostly duplicate the directory.

[AnnaXWang]

do we want to add a third card for "Audit Logs"?

[AnnaXWang]

Suggested change

	Let agents complete checkouts through Link by Stripe or AgentCard, without card numbers passing through your app or model.
	Let agents complete checkouts through wallet integrations like Link by Stripe, without card numbers passing through your app or model.

[AnnaXWang]

Suggested change

	Credentials and payment items a browser can fill into a page without the values passing through your agent.
	Store credentials and fill them safely in a website form, with providers integrations like 1Password.

[AnnaXWang]

Suggested change

	Persisted browser state — cookies, storage, logins, history, open tabs — that you load into any browser.
	Persisted browser state (cookies, storage, logins, history, open tabs) that you can load into any browser.

[AnnaXWang]

Suggested change

	## Get through real websites
	## Access any website

[AnnaXWang]

Suggested change

	Anti-detection defaults on every browser, plus a managed CAPTCHA solver.
	Custom fingerprints and anti-bot detection default runs on every browser, plus a managed CAPTCHA solver.