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Decision brief
CloakBrowser is a modified Chromium browser specifically tailored for passing bot detection tests, integrating fingerprint patches at source-level for advanced anti-detection in web scraping tasks. It offers both Python-
Good fit when
- Use CloakBrowser when precise control over fingerprints and a high level of stealth are required to pass stringent bot detection tests.
- Select it for projects that require robust bypassing of protections like Cloudflare, where traditional tools often fail.
Avoid when
- Avoid using CloakBrowser if you prefer open-source solutions without license requirements for the latest binary versions.
- Do not use CloackBrowser in environments where frequent updates to counter bot detection are unnecessary or overkill.
Observed Jul 11, 2026 · Source: enrich:decision_facts
Verify the decision
Adoption
Package downloads where a registry match exists. GitHub stars (30,394) are secondary evidence.
- Docker Hub pulls (30d)
- 141,337·Docker Hub API·today
Maintenance and security
Full trust report- Maintenance
- Very active (0d since push)
- As of today
- Provenance
- Not a fork · Organization account
- As of today
- Security (OSV)
- No lockfile
- As of 1mo
Public GitHub metadata and optional OSV scans. Signals, not a guarantee. Trust methodology.
Install
pip install CloakBrowserHow it fits your stack(4)
Typed graph edges - alternatives, integrations, successors, and dependencies. Ranked by relationship type, not raw GitHub stars.
Alternative
Relationship graph
Optional deeper exploration of typed edges and category neighbours.
Similar tools
Same-category neighbours not already linked as typed edges.
Evidence and technical details
Sourced facts, taxonomy, compatibility claims, README excerpt, and machine-readable endpoints.
Overview
A drop-in Playwright replacement with source-level fingerprint patches, built for web scraping and anti-detection needs. Passes all major bot detection tests.
Capability facts
- Deploy
- Self-host
Source: dockerfile:Dockerfile · Aug 19, 2026
- Docker
- Dockerfile present
Source: dockerfile:Dockerfile · Aug 19, 2026
- CLI
- CLI entrypoint
Source: pyproject.toml:[project.scripts] · Aug 19, 2026
- Languages
- python
Source: github.language+pyproject.toml · Aug 19, 2026
Categories
Compatibility
Sourced claims from the README excerpt - not unsourced marketing copy.
Source: README excerpt (regex_v1, Aug 19, 2026)
**JavaScript / Node.js:**Source link
Tags
README
Install
Python:
pip install cloakbrowser
JavaScript / Node.js:
---
# ...or set it directly (env var, license_key= param, or ~/.cloakbrowser/license.key):
export CLOAKBROWSER_LICENSE_KEY=cb_xxxxxxxx
Try the latest free → cloakbrowser.dev/free · Scale up on Pro → cloakbrowser.dev
Auto-detect timezone/locale from proxy IP (requires: pip install cloakbrowser[geoip])
Also auto-injects --fingerprint-webrtc-ip to prevent WebRTC IP leaks (no extra cost)
Check binary installation status
print(binary_info())
Pre-download binary (e.g., during Docker build)
ensure_binary()
---
### Deployment Integrations
| Platform | Example |
|----------|---------|
| [AWS Lambda](https://aws.amazon.com/lambda/) | [`aws_lambda/`](examples/integrations/aws_lambda/) — One-shot scrapes in Lambda (container image) |
---
## Docker
Pre-built image on Docker Hub — no install, no setup.
> **Pro:** the image ships with the free binary. Set `CLOAKBROWSER_LICENSE_KEY` (e.g. `-e CLOAKBROWSER_LICENSE_KEY=cb_xxx`, or in Compose) and the latest binary downloads at runtime.
---
### Docker Compose
```yaml
services:
cloakbrowser:
image: cloakhq/cloakbrowser
command: cloakserve
restart: unless-stopped
ports:
- "127.0.0.1:9222:9222"
healthcheck:
test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:9222/json/version"]
interval: 30s
timeout: 5s
retries: 3
start_period: 10s
Per-connection fingerprint seeds — run multiple browser identities from a single container. Each unique seed spawns a separate Chrome process with its own fingerprint:
---
# Install Xvfb (virtual framebuffer)
sudo apt install xvfb
---
### "playwright install" vs CloakBrowser binary
You do NOT need `playwright install chromium`. CloakBrowser downloads its own binary. You only need Playwright's system deps:
```bash
playwright install-deps chromium
Verify Docker image signature (Cosign/Sigstore)
cosign verify
--certificate-identity-regexp "https://github.com/CloakHQ/CloakBrowser/"
--certificate-oidc-issuer "https://token.actions.githubusercontent.com"
cloakhq/cloakbrowser:latest
---
## License
- **Wrapper code** (this repository) — MIT. See [LICENSE](https://github.com/CloakHQ/CloakBrowser/blob/main/LICENSE).
- **CloakBrowser binary** (compiled Chromium):
- **v146 and earlier** — free for personal and commercial use, no redistribution (OEM/SaaS license required to serve third parties).
- **v148 and later** — requires an active [CloakBrowser Pro](https://cloakbrowser.dev) subscription to download.
- See [BINARY-LICENSE.md](https://github.com/CloakHQ/CloakBrowser/blob/main/BINARY-LICENSE.md) for full terms.
For agents
This page has a .md twin and JSON over the API.