From 9ce4efd1ec2fdec05cba940bcd8c370d0e49af87 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: miguel <miguelg71921@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2026 16:11:33 -0800
Subject: [PATCH] Accept both %-wrapped and non-wrapped variable arguments in
 act

---
 pyproject.toml                    |  2 +-
 stagehand/handlers/act_handler.py | 15 ++++++++++-----
 stagehand/llm/prompts.py          |  2 +-
 3 files changed, 12 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)

diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index fef8501..406b155 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"
 
 [project]
 name = "stagehand"
-version = "0.5.10"
+version = "0.5.11"
 description = "Python SDK for Stagehand"
 readme = "README.md"
 classifiers = [ "Programming Language :: Python :: 3", "License :: OSI Approved :: MIT License", "Operating System :: OS Independent",]
diff --git a/stagehand/handlers/act_handler.py b/stagehand/handlers/act_handler.py
index 8d530ea..df4981f 100644
--- a/stagehand/handlers/act_handler.py
+++ b/stagehand/handlers/act_handler.py
@@ -95,11 +95,16 @@ async def act(self, options: Union[ActOptions, ObserveResult]) -> ActResult:
             # Substitute variables in arguments
             if options.get("variables"):
                 variables = options.get("variables", {})
-                element_to_act_on.arguments = [
-                    str(arg).replace(f"{key}", str(value))
-                    for arg in element_to_act_on.arguments or []
-                    for key, value in variables.items()
-                ]
+                replaced_args = []
+                for arg in element_to_act_on.arguments or []:
+                    replaced = str(arg)
+                    for key, value in variables.items():
+                        if f"%{key}%" in replaced:
+                            replaced = replaced.replace(f"%{key}%", str(value))
+                        else:
+                            replaced = replaced.replace(key, str(value))
+                    replaced_args.append(replaced)
+                element_to_act_on.arguments = replaced_args
 
             # domSettleTimeoutMs might come from options if specified for act
             dom_settle_timeout_ms = options.get("dom_settle_timeout_ms")
diff --git a/stagehand/llm/prompts.py b/stagehand/llm/prompts.py
index 5080a85..db2d713 100644
--- a/stagehand/llm/prompts.py
+++ b/stagehand/llm/prompts.py
@@ -205,7 +205,7 @@ def build_act_observe_prompt(
 If the action implies choosing an option from a dropdown, and the corresponding element is NOT a 'select' element, choose the click method."""
 
     if variables and len(variables) > 0:
-        variables_prompt = f"The following variables are available to use in the action: {', '.join(variables.keys())}. Fill the argument variables with the variable name."
+        variables_prompt = f"The following variables are available to use in the action: {', '.join(variables.keys())}. Fill the argument variables with the variable name. Wrap the argument in % symbols."
         instruction += f" {variables_prompt}"
 
     return instruction