puppeteer

JavaScript API for Chrome and Firefox

TypeScript apache-2.0 90458 https://pptr.dev 2025-04-23T03:05:59Z

Puppeteer, is a powerful Node.js library developed by Google that provides a high-level API for controlling headless Chrome or Firefox browsers. Here's a breakdown of its key features and functionalities: **Core Functionality:** * **Headless Browser Control:** Puppeteer allows you to programmatically interact with Chrome or Firefox in headless mode (no visible browser window). This enables automating tasks like web scraping, testing, and generating screenshots. * **High-Level API:** Puppeteer offers a user-friendly API that simplifies complex browser operations. You can navigate web pages, interact with elements, fill forms, execute JavaScript, and more, all through easy-to-use functions. * **Multiple Browser Support:** While primarily focused on Chrome, Puppeteer also offers experimental support for controlling Firefox through the WebDriver BiDi protocol. This provides flexibility for projects with specific browser requirements. * **Cross-Platform Compatibility:** Puppeteer itself is a Node.js library and runs on any platform that supports Node.js. However, the choice of browser (Chrome or Firefox) may have its own platform-specific dependencies. **Common Use Cases:** * **Web Scraping:** Puppeteer excels at extracting data from websites. You can automate the process of navigating, parsing, and collecting desired information. * **End-to-End Testing:** Puppeteer can be used to automate browser-based testing scenarios. You can simulate user interactions and verify expected behavior on web applications. * **Generating Screenshots and PDFs:** Puppeteer can capture screenshots of web pages or generate high-quality PDF documents from rendered content. * **Browser Automation Tasks:** Puppeteer streamlines various browser automation needs, such as filling forms, triggering downloads, or running browser-based scripts.