Basic Playwright Connection

Connect an existing Playwright script to Browserless by replacing chromium.launch() with a single connectOverCDP() call.

Prerequisites

• A Browserless API token from your account dashboard

Steps

JavaScript

View Full Code on GitHub

1. Install dependencies

npm install playwright-core

Use playwright-core instead of playwright — it doesn't bundle local browser binaries, which you don't need when connecting to Browserless.

2. Replace launch with connectOverCDP

The only change needed is swapping chromium.launch() for chromium.connectOverCDP() with the Browserless WebSocket endpoint:

// Before — runs a local browser.
// const browser = await chromium.launch();

// After — runs on Browserless.
import { chromium } from 'playwright-core';

const browser = await chromium.connectOverCDP(
  'wss://production-sfo.browserless.io?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE'
);

try {
  // Use the default context — browser.newPage() creates a new context that
  // doesn't inherit proxy, profile, or launch settings.
  const context = browser.contexts()[0];
  const page = await context.newPage();
  await page.goto('https://example.com', { waitUntil: 'networkidle' });
  console.log('Title:', await page.title());
} finally {
  // Always close to release the session even on error.
  await browser.close();
}

3. Run the script

node script.mjs

The script runs against a cloud browser on Browserless instead of a local Chrome install.

Python

View Full Code on GitHub

1. Install dependencies

pip install playwright

No need to install local browser binaries — you're connecting to Browserless instead of launching a local browser.

2. Replace launch with connect_over_cdp

from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright

TOKEN = 'YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE'
WS_ENDPOINT = f'wss://production-sfo.browserless.io?token={TOKEN}'

with sync_playwright() as playwright:
    # Before — runs a local browser.
    # browser = playwright.chromium.launch()

    # After — runs on Browserless.
    browser = playwright.chromium.connect_over_cdp(WS_ENDPOINT)
    try:
        # Use the default context — new_context() doesn't inherit launch settings.
        context = browser.contexts[0]
        page = context.new_page()
        page.goto('https://example.com')
        print('Title:', page.title())
    finally:
        # Always close to release the session even on error.
        browser.close()

3. Run the script

python script.py

TypeScript

View Full Code on GitHub

1. Install dependencies

npm install playwright-core
npm install --save-dev typescript @types/node

Use playwright-core — it skips bundling local browser binaries since you're connecting to Browserless instead.

2. Replace launch with connectOverCDP

import { chromium, Browser } from 'playwright-core';

const browser: Browser = await chromium.connectOverCDP(
  'wss://production-sfo.browserless.io?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE'
);

try {
  // Use the default context — browser.newPage() creates a new context that
  // doesn't inherit proxy, profile, or launch settings.
  const context = browser.contexts()[0];
  const page = await context.newPage();
  await page.goto('https://example.com', { waitUntil: 'networkidle' });
  console.log('Title:', await page.title());
} finally {
  // Always close to release the session even on error.
  await browser.close();
}

3. Run the script

npx ts-node script.ts

Connection options

Append options to the WebSocket URL as query parameters:

Parameter	Description
token	Your Browserless API token (required)
blockAds=true	Block ad network requests
profile	Load a saved authenticated profile
solveCaptchas=true	Enable automatic CAPTCHA solving

For stealth mode, change the path instead of adding a query parameter:

wss://production-sfo.browserless.io/stealth?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE

Example with stealth and additional options:

wss://production-sfo.browserless.io/stealth?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE&blockAds=true

Next steps

• Basic Puppeteer Connection — the same pattern for Puppeteer
• Save Logins to Authenticated Profiles — persist login state across sessions
• Take a Screenshot — capture pages using the REST API instead