
The remote debugging flag enables you to use DevTools for some remote inspection of the headless browser tab. Windows: chrome.exe -headless -remote-debugging-port=9222 -disable-gpu
Linux: google-chrome -headless -remote-debugging-port=9222 -disable-gpu To run a version of Chrome (nightly Canary builds) in a headless environment, you can use one of the following commands: Mac OS X: /Applications/Google\ Chrome\ Canary.app/Contents/MacOS/Google\ Chrome\ Canary -headless -remote-debugging-port=9222 -disable-gpu It runs as a process, and will expose a mechanism to enable outside interaction from source code or other software programs. A headless browser has no GUI and no visual components. These items are part of the GUI (Graphical User Interface). Notice that the browser has supporting elements for your use, such as a menu bar, address bar, and toolbar. You are most likely reading this article in a browser. One popular choice is WebDriver, which we leverage for automating functional testing with Intern. This post will briefly cover Chrome & Firefox.įor most use cases, to control a browser programmatically, you should use high level browser automation software.
Complete a long and tedious HTML form which typically requires repetitive manual entry.Īll modern browsers may be automated, including Chrome, Firefox, Edge & Safari. Write functional tests or acceptance tests against a website you develop, in order to validate user functionality. Log into your online banking account to download statements on a periodic basis. Observe product pricing updates on an online store to discover the best time to purchase a particular product. For example, you could do some of the following: Firefox Headless: An update about headless support.Ī quick introduction to browser automation, including use casesīrowser automation enables you to programmatically control a browser. Puppeteer: A practical example (includes code). Puppeteer: Controlling Chrome programmatically. Chrome Headless: The command to run Chrome in a headless environment. What is a headless browser: How it differs from non-headless. A quick introduction to browser automation: How it’s typically done & use cases. If you are familiar with browser automation already, feel free to jump to the section titled “Puppeteer: A practical example” which includes more advanced usage of Puppeteer. Google recently announced Puppeteer, a new tool to assist with Chrome browser automation.Ĭode examples are included so you can follow along. Automating browsers provide many benefits including faster execution of repetitive tasks, ability to parallelise workloads and improved test coverage for your website.