What can you build with CloakBrowser?

Scrape pages that block stock headless Chrome. Give a browser-use or Stagehand style AI agent a browser that bot checks are less likely to flag. Run automated QA or monitoring checks against sites protected by Cloudflare or similar services. Keep logged-in sessions across runs with persistent profiles. Test your own site's bot detection against a real-looking browser.

CloakHQ /

CloakBrowser

Q: How do I get started with CloakBrowser?

Install the package with pip or npm, then call `launch()` instead of Playwright's launch. The first run downloads the Chromium binary. For harder sites, add a residential proxy, `geoip=True`, `headless=False` and `humanize=True`. The latest build needs a free key from `cloakbrowser login`. Commands from the README: pip install cloakbrowser; npm install cloakbrowser playwright-core; docker run --rm cloakhq/cloakbrowser cloaktest.

Patched Chromium that works as a drop-in Playwright replacement for bot-protected sites

32.4k stars
566 stars since 3 Oct
Python
Updated 2 days ago
Some experience
Browser & computer use

Open on GitHub (opens in a new tab) Website (opens in a new tab)

Many sites check whether a visitor is a script by reading browser fingerprints: canvas, WebGL, GPU, screen size, the webdriver flag and more. Stock Playwright or Puppeteer gives these away, so scrapers and agents get blocked or hit CAPTCHAs.

CloakBrowser takes a different route from tools like playwright-stealth, undetected-chromedriver and puppeteer-extra, which inject JavaScript or change flags. The README says it changes Chromium's own source code, with 87 patches, and ships the result as a binary. The wrapper downloads that binary (about 200MB) on first run and hands you a normal Playwright-style browser object.

It does not solve CAPTCHAs and has no built-in proxy rotation. You bring your own proxies, ideally residential. The README says the newest build is free with a GitHub sign-in for one concurrent session, and paid Pro plans add more sessions. An older v146 build stays free on GitHub Releases. Those detection results are the project's own claims, so test them on your target sites.

What it does

Source-level fingerprint patches
87 C++ patches cover canvas, WebGL, audio, fonts, GPU, screen, WebRTC, network timing and automation signals.
Drop-in Playwright API
In Python you swap the import for from cloakbrowser import launch. JavaScript works with Playwright or Puppeteer, and there is a community .NET client.
Human-like input
humanize=True adds curved mouse paths, per-character typing timing and realistic scrolling.
Proxy-aware settings
Supports HTTP and SOCKS5 proxies with credentials. geoip=True sets timezone and locale from the proxy IP and spoofs the WebRTC address.
Persistent profiles and a GUI manager
launch_persistent_context() keeps cookies and localStorage between sessions. A separate open-source Manager app offers separate browser profiles through a GUI.

What you could build

Scrape pages that block stock headless Chrome.
Give a browser-use or Stagehand style AI agent a browser that bot checks are less likely to flag.
Run automated QA or monitoring checks against sites protected by Cloudflare or similar services.
Keep logged-in sessions across runs with persistent profiles.
Test your own site's bot detection against a real-looking browser.

Get started

Install the package with pip or npm, then call launch() instead of Playwright's launch. The first run downloads the Chromium binary. For harder sites, add a residential proxy, geoip=True, headless=False and humanize=True. The latest build needs a free key from cloakbrowser login.

pip install cloakbrowser

npm install cloakbrowser playwright-core

docker run --rm cloakhq/cloakbrowser cloaktest

Commands are copied from the project's README. Read it on GitHub for the full setup.

Who it's for

Developers who already know Playwright or Puppeteer and need automation to work on bot-protected sites. Check a site's terms and the law before using it for scraping.

Useful for

Security engineersPatched Chromium with fingerprint changes to study bot detection and test defenses on authorized sites.
Backend developersDrop-in Playwright replacement for scraping and monitoring jobs on sites that block headless Chrome.
AI engineersGives browser-use agents a browser less likely to be flagged by bot checks.