Supported Browsers
Browserless supports multiple browser engines to meet different automation needs and library requirements. Browser availability depends on your chosen automation library and the specific features you need.
Use the Connection URL Builder to generate the right connection URL for your browser and library combination.
- A Browserless API token from your account dashboard
- Puppeteer or Playwright installed locally
Browser Support Matrix
| Browser | Puppeteer | Playwright | Stealth Mode | Description | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chromium | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Open-source version of Chrome, providing excellent compatibility with most web automation tasks. Default browser and recommended for most use cases. | General web scraping and automation, cross-platform compatibility, consistent behavior |
| Chrome | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Latest stable version of Google Chrome with all proprietary features included. Offers the most up-to-date web standards support. | Testing against latest web standards, sites requiring Chrome features, enhanced bot detection evasion |
| Stealth | ✅ | ✅ | N/A | Privacy-hardened browser with fingerprint randomization and ad blocking built in. Use the /stealth endpoint to connect. | Sites with aggressive bot detection, bypassing browser fingerprinting, e-commerce and social media automation |
| Firefox | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | Mozilla's Firefox browser engine, available exclusively through Playwright's native protocol. | Testing cross-browser compatibility, sites that behave differently in Firefox, Gecko engine-specific testing |
| WebKit | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | Safari's browser engine, available exclusively through Playwright's native protocol. | iOS/Safari compatibility testing, WebKit-specific behavior testing, mobile web application testing |
| Edge | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | Microsoft Edge browser, available exclusively through Playwright's native protocol via /edge/playwright. | Testing Edge-specific behavior, Microsoft ecosystem compatibility, Chromium-based Edge testing |
When to Use Chrome over Chromium
Browserless defaults to Chromium binaries. Chrome binaries include additional proprietary codecs that Chromium does not ship with.
If a website shows a "browser not currently supported" message, the site likely requires codecs unavailable in Chromium. Switch to Chrome when:
- Accessing streaming platforms (Twitch, YouTube, Netflix)
- Using video conferencing tools
- Targeting sites that explicitly require proprietary codecs
Default (Chromium):
wss://production-sfo.browserless.io?token=YOUR_TOKEN
Chrome (with additional codecs):
wss://production-sfo.browserless.io/chrome?token=YOUR_TOKEN
FAQ & Troubleshooting
Why am I getting a 403 Forbidden error?
Your API token is missing or expired. Pass it as a ?token= query parameter in the WebSocket or HTTP URL. Verify the token in your account dashboard.
My script works locally but fails on Browserless
Local browser settings may differ from the Browserless environment. Use launch parameters to match your local setup (viewport, user agent, timezone). See launch parameters for the full list.