Browser-automator NPM

browser-automator

Puppeteer alternative for Chrome extensions.

Whether you are developing a Chrome extension or need to automate tasks in your favorite Chrome extension, browser-automator offers a Puppeteer-like experience tailored for Chrome extensions. It provides a simple and efficient way to interact with Chrome browser pages. It allows you to control the browser programmatically. Perfect for Chrome extension-based web scraping and automation purposes.

Install

npm i browser-automator

Usage

A minimal example to automate Goolge search:

import automator from 'browser-automator'

const browser = automator.launch()
const page = await browser.newPage()

await page.goto('https://www.google.com')
await page.waitForSelector('textarea[type="search"]')
await page.input('textarea[type="search"]', 'Who owns Google?')
await page.click('input[type="submit"]')

await page.waitForSelector('[class*="header"]')
const result = await page.evaluate((selector) => {
	return document.querySelector(selector)?.innerText?.trim()
}, ['div[class*="header"]'])
console.log(result)

API Reference

Namespace: `automator`

A namespace that provides functions for launching the browser automation process.

launch(): Browser
Launches a new Browser instance for browser automation.
- Returns: A new Browser instance for browser automation.

Class: `Page`

Represents a Page instance for interacting with Chrome browser pages.

Properties

tabId (number) - The ID of the Chrome tab.
windowId (number) - The ID of the Chrome window.
tryLimit (number) - The maximum number of attempts for waiting operations. Default: 50.
delay (number) - The delay between attempts in milliseconds. Default: 750.
onBeforeClose (Function) - Callback function to be executed before closing the page.

Constructor

constructor(options: { tabId: number; windowId: number })
Creates a new Page instance for a specific Chrome tab with the given tabId and windowId.
- options (Object)
  - tabId (number) - The unique identifier of the Chrome tab associated with this Page instance.
  - windowId (number) - The unique identifier of the Chrome window containing the tab.

Methods

goto(url: string, options?: { waitUntil: 'load' | 'domcontentloaded' }): Promise<void>
Navigate to the specified URL.
- url (string) - The URL to navigate to.
- options (Object, optional)
  - waitUntil (string) - When to consider navigation as complete ('load' or 'domcontentloaded'). Default: 'domcontentloaded'.
reload(): Promise<void>
Reloads the current page.
url(): Promise<string>
Get the current URL of the page.
close(): Promise<void>
Close the current page.
zoom(zoomFactor: number): Promise<void>
Zoom the current page.
- zoomFactor (number) - The new zoom factor. Use a value of 0 here to set the tab to its current default zoom factor. Values greater than zero specify a (possibly non-default) zoom factor for the tab.
bringToFront(): Promise<void>
Brings the Chrome browser window associated with the page to the front.
hideFromFront(): Promise<void>
Hides the Chrome browser window associated with the page.
evaluate(options: object): Promise<any>
Evaluates JavaScript code on the page.
- options (Object)
  - func (Function, optional) - The function to evaluate.
  - files (string[], optional) - An array of script file paths to evaluate.
  - args (any[], optional) - Arguments to pass to the evaluated function.
  - world ('ISOLATED' | 'MAIN', optional) - The world context for evaluation (default is 'MAIN').
  - allFrames (boolean, optional) - Indicates whether to evaluate in all frames (default is false).
  - frameIds (number[], optional) - An array of frame identifiers where the evaluation should take place.
  - documentIds (string[], optional) - An array of document identifiers for the frames to evaluate in.
evaluate(func: Function, args?: any[], options?: object): Promise<any>
Evaluates a function on the page.
- func (Function) - The function to evaluate.
- args (any[], optional) - Arguments to pass to the function.
- options (Object, optional)
  - world ('ISOLATED' | 'MAIN') - The world context for evaluation (default is 'MAIN').
  - allFrames (boolean) - Indicates whether to evaluate in all frames (default is false).
  - frameIds (number[]) - An array of frame identifiers where the evaluation should take place.
  - documentIds (string[]) - An array of document identifiers for the frames to evaluate in.
evaluate(files: string[], args?: any[], options?: object): Promise<any>
Evaluates JS files on the page.
- files (string[]) - An array of script file paths to evaluate.
- args (any[], optional) - Arguments to pass to the function.
- options (Object, optional)
  - world ('ISOLATED' | 'MAIN') - The world context for evaluation (default is 'MAIN').
  - allFrames (boolean) - Indicates whether to evaluate in all frames (default is false).
  - frameIds (number[]) - An array of frame identifiers where the evaluation should take place.
  - documentIds (string[]) - An array of document identifiers for the frames to evaluate in.
waitFor(func: Function, args: any[], options?: { tryLimit?: number; delay?: number }): Promise<any>
Waits for a function to return a truthy value.
- func (Function) - The function representing the condition to wait for.
- args (any[]) - Arguments to pass to the function.
- options (Object, optional)
  - tryLimit (number) - The maximum number of attempts to wait for the condition (default is this.tryLimit).
  - delay (number) - The delay in milliseconds between attempts (default is this.delay).
waitForNavigation(options?: { tryLimit?: number; delay?: number }): Promise<void>
Waits for the page to navigate to a new URL.
- options (Object, optional)
  - tryLimit (number) - The maximum number of attempts to wait for navigation (default is 50).
  - delay (number) - The delay between each attempt in milliseconds (default is 750).
waitForSelector(selectors: string, options?: { tryLimit?: number; delay?: number }, index: number = -1): Promise<void>
Waits for an element matching the given CSS selector to become available.
- selectors (string) - The CSS selector to wait for.
- options (Object, optional)
  - tryLimit (number) - The maximum number of attempts to find the element (default is 1000).
  - delay (number) - The delay between attempts in milliseconds (default is 750).
- index (number, optional) - The index of the element if multiple elements match the selector.
waitForSelectorMiss(selectors: string, options?: { tryLimit?: number; delay?: number }, index: number = -1): Promise<void>
Waits for an element matching the given selector to disappear from the page.
- selectors (string) - The CSS selector or XPath expression to check for element absence.
- options (Object, optional)
  - tryLimit (number) - The maximum number of attempts (default is 1000).
  - delay (number) - The delay in milliseconds between attempts (default is 750ms).
- index (number, optional) - The index of the element if there are multiple matches.
waitForXPath(expression: any, options?: { tryLimit?: number; delay?: number }, index: number = -1): Promise<void>
Waits for an element matching the given XPath expression to appear in the page.
- expression (any) - The XPath expression to wait for.
- options (Object, optional)
  - tryLimit (number) - The maximum number of attempts to find the element (default is 1000).
  - delay (number) - The delay in milliseconds between attempts (default is 750ms).
- index (number, optional) - The index of the element to interact with.
elementExists(selectors: string, index: number = -1): Promise<boolean>
Checks if an element specified by the CSS selector or XPath expression exists on the page.
- selectors (string) - The CSS selector or XPath expression to check for existence.
- index (number) - The index of the element to check.
click(selectors: string, index: number = -1): Promise<void>
Clicks on the element specified by the CSS selector or XPath expression.
- selectors (string) - The CSS selector or XPath expression to click on.
- index (number) - The index of the element to interact with.
execCopy(text: string): void
Copies text to the clipboard.
- text (string) - The text to copy to the clipboard.
execPasteTo(selectors: string, index: number = -1): Promise<void>
Pastes text from the clipboard to an element specified by the CSS selector or XPath expression.
- selectors (string) - The CSS selector or XPath expression of the target element.
- index (number) - The index of the element to interact with (default is -1).
triggerEvent(selectors: string, type: any, index: number = -1): Promise<void>
Triggers an event on the element specified by the CSS selector or XPath expression.
- selectors (string) - The CSS selector or XPath expression of the target element.
- type (string) - The type of event to trigger.
- index (number) - The index of the element to interact with.
input(selectors: string, value: any, index: number = -1): Promise<void>
Inputs a value into the element specified by the CSS selector or XPath expression.
- selectors (string) - The CSS selector or XPath expression of the target element.
- value (any) - The value to input.
- index (number) - The index of the element to interact with.
uploadFiles(files: (File | { name: string, blob: Blob, dataUrl?: string, blobUrl?: string } | any)[], selectors: string, caughtElementIndex: number): Promise<void>
Uploads files to an input element specified by the CSS selector or XPath expression.
- files (Array) - An array of files to upload, where each file can be a File object or an object with name, blob, dataUrl, and blobUrl properties.
- selectors (string) - The CSS selector or XPath expression of the input element.
- caughtElementIndex (number) - The index of the element to interact with (default is -1).
screenshot(options: { clip?: { x: number; y: number; width: number; height: number } }): Promise<string>
Takes a screenshot of the visible area of the page.
- options (Object, optional)
  - clip (Object) - Optional clipping parameters.

Class: `Browser`

Represents a Browser instance for interacting with Chrome browser pages.

Properties

availablePages (Page[]) - An array of available Page instances within the browser.
onPageAdded (Function) - A callback function that is invoked when a new page is added to the browser.
onPageCloseListener (Function) - A function to listen for page close events.

Constructor

constructor()
Creates a new Browser instance.

Methods

newPage({ tabId, windowId, originWindowId, activeInOrigin, windowOptions, tabOptions }): Promise<Page>
Creates a new Page instance and associates it with the browser.
- tabId (number, optional) - The ID of the tab to use for creating the Page instance. If not supplied, a tab will be created.
- windowId (number, optional) - The ID of the window to open the page in. If not supplied, a window will be created.
- originWindowId (number, optional) - The ID of the tab's origin window (if any).
- activeInOrigin (boolean, optional) - Whether the page should be active in the origin window.
- windowOptions (chrome.windows.CreateData, optional) - Options for creating the window.
- tabOptions (chrome.tabs.CreateProperties | chrome.tabs.UpdateProperties, optional) - Options for creating or updating the tab.
- Returns: A Promise that resolves with the new Page instance.
pages(): Page[]
Returns an array of available Page instances.
- Returns: An array of available Page instances.
onPageClose(closedTabId: number)
Event listener for page close events.
- closedTabId (number) - The ID of the closed tab.
close(): Promise<void>
Closes all associated pages in the Browser instance.