Puppeteer-Extra Tutorial with Examples

Table of Contents

• Installation Steps
• List of Puppeteer-Extra Plugins
• How to Enable Stealth Plugin
• Implementing a Custom Plugin
• Summary
• References

Installation Steps

Installing Puppeteer-Extra is straightforward. Here are the steps to get it up and running in your Node.js project:

1. Make sure you have Node.js and npm installed on your machine.
2. Open a terminal or command prompt.
3. Run the following command to install Puppeteer-Extra and Puppeteer:

npm install puppeteer-extra puppeteer

Troubleshooting Tip: If you encounter any installation issues, ensure that your Node.js and npm versions are up-to-date.

List of Puppeteer-Extra Plugins

Puppeteer-Extra comes with a variety of plugins that can be included based on your needs. Some popular plugins include:

• puppeteer-extra-plugin-stealth: Evades detection techniques used by some websites.
• puppeteer-extra-plugin-recaptcha: Solves Google reCAPTCHAs automatically.
• puppeteer-extra-plugin-anonymize-ua: Anonymizes the User-Agent to prevent detection.
• puppeteer-extra-plugin-adblocker: Blocks ads for faster page loads.
• puppeteer-extra-plugin-user-preferences: Allows setting of user preferences in Chrome.

How to Enable Stealth Plugin

To use Stealth plugin, you must first install it and then add it to your Puppeteer-Extra instance. Here is an example of how to enable the Stealth plugin:

const puppeteer = require('puppeteer-extra');
const StealthPlugin = require('puppeteer-extra-plugin-stealth');

// Add the Stealth plugin
puppeteer.use(StealthPlugin());

// Function to launch Puppeteer with the plugin
async function launchPuppeteerWithPlugin() {
    const browser = await puppeteer.launch({ headless: false });
    const page = await browser.newPage();
    await page.goto('https://example.com');
    // Perform actions on the page
    await browser.close();
}

// Call the function
launchPuppeteerWithPlugin();

Output:

Browser launched with Stealth plugin enabled and navigated to example.com

Troubleshooting Tip: If your plugin is not working as expected, check if it conflicts with any other installed plugins or browser settings.

Implementing a Custom Plugin

Creating a custom plugin for Puppeteer-Extra allows you to add bespoke functionality to suit your specific needs. Here’s a simple example of a custom plugin that sets the timezone:

const puppeteer = require('puppeteer-extra');
const { PuppeteerExtraPlugin } = require('puppeteer-extra-plugin');

// Create a custom plugin
class SetTimezonePlugin extends PuppeteerExtraPlugin {
    constructor(opts = { timezone: 'Europe/London' }) {
        super(opts);
    }

    get name() {
        return 'set-timezone';
    }

    async onPageCreated(page) {
        await page.emulateTimezone(this.opts.timezone);
    }
}

// Add the custom plugin to puppeteer-extra
const setTimezonePlugin = new SetTimezonePlugin({ timezone: 'America/New_York' });
puppeteer.use(setTimezonePlugin);

// Function to launch Puppeteer with the custom plugin
async function launchPuppeteerWithTimezone() {
    const browser = await puppeteer.launch();
    const page = await browser.newPage();
    await page.goto('https://example.com');
    // Your page operations here
    await browser.close();
}

// Call the function
launchPuppeteerWithTimezone();

Output:

Browser launched with custom SetTimezone plugin enabled and navigated to example.com with the timezone set to America/New_York.

Troubleshooting Tip: Always test your custom plugin to ensure it does not interfere with Puppeteer’s internal operations or other plugins.

Summary

In this Puppeteer-Extra tutorial, we’ve covered the basics of using Puppeteer-Extra, from installation to the implementation of plugins, including how to add a custom plugin to extend its functionalities. Puppeteer-Extra is a powerful tool that can make your browser automation workflows more efficient and difficult to detect, thanks to its extensible plugin architecture.

References

• Puppeteer-Extra GitHub Repository
• Puppeteer Official Documentation
• Puppeteer-Extra on npm