How to Run Browsers in Headless Mode#

What Is Headless?#

Headless simply means that the browser runs in the background without being visible on the screen. This is also more efficient because it uses fewer resources, while headless browsers often are faster.

How to Configure#

The default setting for headless is False in BrowserSettings. Simply alter this to True, and now your browser driver runs in headless mode:

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from browserist import Browser, BrowserSettings

settings = BrowserSettings(headless=True)

with Browser(settings) as browser:
    browser.open.url("https://example.com")

Advantages and Disadvantages#

When you want to run an automated browser in the background while doing something else, headless mode is a good option. Also, headless mode often is faster and takes up less resources now that the browser doesn't have to render a window on the screen.

In the other hand, the disadvantage is obviously that you can't observe what the browser is doing.

Standardised Settings Across Browser Types#

If you want a headless browser with Selenium, you typically would use different settings from browser to browser. Browserist solves this problem so that settings for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, etc. are standardised.

For example, you can easily scale test runs across different browsers in a lightweight, headless configuration:

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from browserist import Browser, BrowserSettings, BrowserType

chrome = BrowserSettings(type=BrowserType.CHROME, headless=True)
edge = BrowserSettings(type=BrowserType.EDGE, headless=True)
firefox = BrowserSettings(type=BrowserType.FIREFOX, headless=True)

for settings in [chrome, edge, firefox]:
    with Browser(settings) as browser:
        browser.open.url("https://example.com")

Supported Browsers#

Browsers that support headless mode: