diff --git a/.changeset/lean-browse-snapshot.md b/.changeset/lean-browse-snapshot.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b83adcfce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/lean-browse-snapshot.md
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+"browse": patch
+---
+
+`browse snapshot` is now lean by default: it prints the formatted accessibility tree only, omitting the `xpathMap`/`urlMap` ref maps (~217KB / ~60K tokens on a content-heavy page) that were previously included on every snapshot.
+
+Ref-based element commands (`click`, `fill`, `select`, etc.) are unaffected — the ref maps are still captured and cached server-side, so refs resolve exactly as before. To get the maps in the output, pass the new `--full` flag. The `--compact` flag is now a deprecated no-op alias of the default (it prints a stderr-only, TTY-gated deprecation notice).
diff --git a/packages/cli/skills/browse/SKILL.md b/packages/cli/skills/browse/SKILL.md
index b4d2c38af..639590a7f 100644
--- a/packages/cli/skills/browse/SKILL.md
+++ b/packages/cli/skills/browse/SKILL.md
@@ -132,8 +132,8 @@ browse wait selector "#result"
 Page state:
 
 ```bash
-browse snapshot
-browse snapshot --compact
+browse snapshot                            # formatted tree only
+browse snapshot --full                     # also include ref maps (xpathMap, urlMap)
 browse get url
 browse get title
 browse get text body
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/snapshot.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/snapshot.ts
index 7c1110a27..0060dc12a 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/snapshot.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/snapshot.ts
@@ -8,19 +8,23 @@ import {
 
 export default class Snapshot extends BrowseCommand {
   static override description =
-    "Print the active page accessibility snapshot and cache refs for element commands.";
+    "Print the active page accessibility snapshot and cache refs for element commands. Pass --full to also include the ref maps (xpathMap, urlMap), or run `browse refs` to print them.";
 
   static override examples = [
     "browse snapshot",
-    "browse snapshot --compact",
+    "browse snapshot --full",
     "browse snapshot --filter submit",
     "browse snapshot --max-depth 4",
   ];
 
   static override flags = {
     ...driverCommandFlags,
+    full: Flags.boolean({
+      description: "Also include the ref maps (xpathMap, urlMap).",
+    }),
     compact: Flags.boolean({
-      description: "Print only the formatted tree, without ref maps.",
+      description:
+        "Deprecated and has no effect; use --full to include the ref maps.",
     }),
     filter: Flags.string({
       description:
@@ -35,10 +39,15 @@ export default class Snapshot extends BrowseCommand {
 
   async run(): Promise<void> {
     const { flags } = await this.parse(Snapshot);
+    if (flags.compact && process.stderr.isTTY) {
+      this.warn(
+        "`--compact` is deprecated and has no effect; use `--full` to include the ref maps.",
+      );
+    }
     await runDriverCommandFromFlags(
       "snapshot",
       {
-        compact: flags.compact,
+        full: flags.full,
         filter: flags.filter,
         maxDepth: flags["max-depth"],
       },
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/lib/driver/commands/snapshot.ts b/packages/cli/src/lib/driver/commands/snapshot.ts
index f174833a5..e77bf5d69 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/lib/driver/commands/snapshot.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/lib/driver/commands/snapshot.ts
@@ -5,9 +5,9 @@ import type { DriverCommandHandlers } from "./types.js";
 
 export const snapshotHandlers: DriverCommandHandlers = {
   async snapshot(manager, params) {
-    const { compact, filter, maxDepth } = z
+    const { full, filter, maxDepth } = z
       .object({
-        compact: z.boolean().optional(),
+        full: z.boolean().optional(),
         filter: z.string().optional(),
         maxDepth: z.number().int().nonnegative().optional(),
       })
@@ -20,18 +20,17 @@ export const snapshotHandlers: DriverCommandHandlers = {
     });
 
     const tree = formatSnapshotTree(snapshot.formattedTree, {
-      compact,
       filter,
       maxDepth,
     });
-    if (compact) {
-      return { tree };
+    if (full) {
+      return {
+        tree,
+        urlMap: snapshot.urlMap,
+        xpathMap: snapshot.xpathMap,
+      };
     }
 
-    return {
-      tree,
-      urlMap: snapshot.urlMap,
-      xpathMap: snapshot.xpathMap,
-    };
+    return { tree };
   },
 };
diff --git a/packages/cli/tests/driver-commands.test.ts b/packages/cli/tests/driver-commands.test.ts
index b028c6171..9d3afef09 100644
--- a/packages/cli/tests/driver-commands.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/tests/driver-commands.test.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import { describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 
 import { resolveSelector } from "../src/lib/driver/commands/selectors.js";
 import { formatSnapshotTree } from "../src/lib/driver/commands/snapshot-format.js";
+import { snapshotHandlers } from "../src/lib/driver/commands/snapshot.js";
 import { runtimeHandlers } from "../src/lib/driver/commands/runtime.js";
 import { tabHandlers } from "../src/lib/driver/commands/tabs.js";
 import { DRIVER_COMMAND_NAMES } from "../src/lib/driver/commands/types.js";
@@ -335,6 +336,37 @@ describe("driver commands", () => {
     );
   });
 
+  it("omits ref maps by default and includes them with --full", async () => {
+    const snap = {
+      formattedTree: "[0-1] RootWebArea: Test\n  [0-2] button: Go",
+      urlMap: { "0-2": "https://example.com/go" },
+      xpathMap: { "0-1": "/", "0-2": "/button[1]" },
+    };
+    const setRefMaps = vi.fn();
+    const manager = {
+      activePage: async () => ({ snapshot: async () => snap }),
+      setRefMaps,
+    } as unknown as Parameters<
+      NonNullable<(typeof snapshotHandlers)["snapshot"]>
+    >[0];
+
+    const lean = await snapshotHandlers.snapshot!(manager, {});
+    expect(lean).not.toHaveProperty("xpathMap");
+    expect(lean).not.toHaveProperty("urlMap");
+    expect(setRefMaps).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(setRefMaps).toHaveBeenLastCalledWith({
+      urlMap: snap.urlMap,
+      xpathMap: snap.xpathMap,
+    });
+
+    const full = await snapshotHandlers.snapshot!(manager, { full: true });
+    expect(full).toMatchObject({
+      urlMap: snap.urlMap,
+      xpathMap: snap.xpathMap,
+    });
+    expect(setRefMaps).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+  });
+
   it("exposes descriptive help for the new driver command surface", async () => {
     const commands = [
       ["open"],
diff --git a/packages/evals/core/tools/browse_cli.ts b/packages/evals/core/tools/browse_cli.ts
index 0e8ec5c9a..b877f15b6 100644
--- a/packages/evals/core/tools/browse_cli.ts
+++ b/packages/evals/core/tools/browse_cli.ts
@@ -619,11 +619,13 @@ class BrowseCliPageHandle implements CorePageHandle {
   }
 
   async represent(): Promise<PageRepresentation> {
+    // BROWSE_SNAPSHOT_FULL=1 includes the ref maps in the snapshot.
+    const full = process.env.BROWSE_SNAPSHOT_FULL === "1";
     const snapshot = await this.runCommandAfterSelecting<{
       tree: string;
       xpathMap?: Record<string, string>;
       urlMap?: Record<string, string>;
-    }>(["snapshot"]);
+    }>(full ? ["snapshot", "--full"] : ["snapshot"]);
     const content = snapshot.tree;
 
     return {
@@ -632,7 +634,10 @@ class BrowseCliPageHandle implements CorePageHandle {
       metadata: {
         bytes: Buffer.byteLength(content, "utf8"),
         tokenEstimate: Math.ceil(content.length / 4),
-        refCount: Object.keys(snapshot.xpathMap ?? {}).length,
+        // Count refs from xpathMap when present, else from the tree.
+        refCount: snapshot.xpathMap
+          ? Object.keys(snapshot.xpathMap).length
+          : (content.match(/\[\d+-\d+\]/g)?.length ?? 0),
       },
       raw: snapshot,
     };