A page (tab) handle and the operations you run against it.
A CDPEx.Page is a lightweight struct — not a process — holding the page's
CDPEx.Connection pid and target id. Operations are functions over that
connection, so the OTP properties (supervision, crash isolation) live in the
connection/browser layer while page calls stay ergonomic.
Obtain one with CDPEx.new_page/2. If the underlying page dies (navigation to
a new target, a crash), operations return {:error, :noproc} and you should
open a fresh page.
Operations
- Navigation —
navigate/3,wait_for_navigation/2 - Evaluation —
evaluate/3,call_function/4,html/2 - Waiting —
wait_for_selector/3,wait_for_function/3 - Elements —
text/3,attribute/4,visible?/3,click/3 - Capture —
screenshot/2,pdf/2 - Emulation —
set_viewport/4,set_user_agent/3 - Cookies & headers —
cookies/2,set_cookies/3,clear_cookies/2,set_extra_headers/3 - Network —
observe_network/2,stop_observing_network/2,response_body/3 - Interception —
enable_request_interception/2,disable_request_interception/2,continue_request/3,fulfill_request/3,fail_request/3 - Auth —
authenticate/4(proxy / HTTP Basic challenges)
Summary
Functions
Returns attribute name of the first element matching css, or nil when the
element or attribute is absent.
Arms HTTP/proxy authentication on this page with username/password.
Calls a JavaScript function with args and returns its value.
Clears all browser cookies. Lazily enables Network. Options: :timeout.
Clicks the first element matching css (a synthetic JS .click()).
Lets a paused request proceed (Fetch.continueRequest), optionally rewriting it.
Returns all browser cookies as a list of CDP cookie maps.
Disables request interception — unsubscribes the caller from Fetch.requestPaused
and disables the Fetch domain. Resolve any still-paused requests first.
Enables request interception: pauses matching requests and delivers a
Fetch.requestPaused event to the calling process for each one. You must then
resolve every paused request with continue_request/3, fulfill_request/3,
or fail_request/3 (keyed by its "requestId") — an unresolved request stalls
the page.
Evaluates a JavaScript expression and returns its value (returnByValue).
Fails a paused request (Fetch.failRequest).
Answers a paused request with a synthetic response (Fetch.fulfillRequest) — the
page never hits the network for it.
Returns the page's full serialized HTML (document.documentElement.outerHTML).
Navigates to url and (by default) waits until the network is almost idle.
Starts observing network traffic, delivering CDP Network events to the calling
process.
Renders the page to PDF (Page.printToPDF).
Returns a response's body by its request_id (from a Network.responseReceived
event), via Network.getResponseBody.
Captures a PNG screenshot.
Sets cookies. Each is a CDP CookieParam map — at least "name", "value",
and a "url" or "domain". Lazily enables Network. Options: :timeout.
Sets extra HTTP headers sent with every subsequent request on this page.
Overrides the page's User-Agent (Emulation.setUserAgentOverride).
Overrides the viewport via Emulation.setDeviceMetricsOverride.
Stops observing — unsubscribes the caller from the network :events. Leaves the
Network domain enabled.
Returns the textContent of the first element matching css, or nil when
no element matches.
Returns {:ok, true} when the first element matching css is rendered and
visible (has layout boxes, not display: none / visibility: hidden),
{:ok, false} otherwise — including when no element matches.
Polls a JavaScript expression until it is truthy, or timeout elapses.
Waits for a navigation lifecycle milestone, without issuing a navigation.
Blocks until the network has been idle — at most :max_inflight in-flight requests —
for :idle_time ms continuously, or timeout.
Blocks until a network response whose URL matches matcher arrives, or timeout.
Polls until css matches an element, or timeout elapses.
Types
Functions
@spec attribute(t(), String.t(), String.t(), keyword()) :: {:ok, String.t() | nil} | {:error, term()}
Returns attribute name of the first element matching css, or nil when the
element or attribute is absent.
Arms HTTP/proxy authentication on this page with username/password.
Headless Chrome launched with --proxy-server=host:port can't send proxy
credentials, so an authenticated proxy rejects the connection
(net::ERR_INVALID_AUTH_CREDENTIALS). Call this after new_page/2 and
before navigate/3: it answers the proxy (or HTTP Basic) auth challenge with
the given credentials. It also covers Basic-auth-gated origins.
This enables the CDP Fetch domain for the page, which pauses (and
auto-continues) every request — measurable overhead on heavy pages.
Only :dedicated pages (the new_page/2 default) are supported; a :session
page returns {:error, {:unsupported_transport, :session}}. A page that isn't one
of this browser's open pages returns {:error, :unknown_page}, a page that is
already authenticated returns {:error, :already_authenticated}, and a page that
already has request interception enabled returns {:error, {:conflict, :intercepting}}
(auth and interception both drive the Fetch domain — use one per page).
If an earlier authenticate/4 on this page was abandoned while still arming (e.g. its
call timed out under heavy load), the orphaned handler is torn down automatically and
the page becomes re-authenticatable — a retry succeeds once that teardown completes (it
may briefly still see {:error, :already_authenticated} in the meantime).
The bad-credentials loop guard keys on the request id, so a single request that must answer both a proxy and an origin challenge isn't supported — the second challenge is cancelled (Puppeteer-parity).
Options:
:source— which challenges to answer::any(default),:proxy,:server. An unknown value returns{:error, {:invalid_source, value}}.
Calls a JavaScript function with args and returns its value.
function_declaration is a JS function expression (e.g. "(a, b) => a + b").
args are JSON-encoded (not string-interpolated) before being applied, so
passing data values through them is safe. A thrown exception is
{:error, {:evaluate_exception, details}}; non-serializable args return
{:error, {:invalid_args, reason}}.
Trusted input
function_declaration is interpolated into the page script verbatim —
treat it as trusted code and never build it from untrusted input.
Options: :timeout (default 15_000), :await_promise (default false).
Clears all browser cookies. Lazily enables Network. Options: :timeout.
Clicks the first element matching css (a synthetic JS .click()).
Returns :ok, or {:error, {:selector_not_found, css}} when nothing matches.
Lets a paused request proceed (Fetch.continueRequest), optionally rewriting it.
:url, :method, and :headers are verbatim overrides, not merges. In
particular :headers replaces the entire request header set, so passing it to
set one header drops everything Chrome would otherwise send (User-Agent,
Accept, Cookie, …). Omit :headers to leave the original request headers
intact (the same gotcha as Puppeteer's continueRequest({headers})).
Options (all optional): :url, :method, :headers (a name => value map or
keyword list), :post_data (a binary or iodata, base64-encoded for you), :timeout.
Returns all browser cookies as a list of CDP cookie maps.
Lazily enables the Network domain. Options: :timeout (default 10_000).
Disables request interception — unsubscribes the caller from Fetch.requestPaused
and disables the Fetch domain. Resolve any still-paused requests first.
Call this from the same process that called enable_request_interception/2:
the unsubscribe is keyed to self(), so a disable from a different process leaves
the original subscriber still receiving (now-unresolvable) pauses.
Enables request interception: pauses matching requests and delivers a
Fetch.requestPaused event to the calling process for each one. You must then
resolve every paused request with continue_request/3, fulfill_request/3,
or fail_request/3 (keyed by its "requestId") — an unresolved request stalls
the page.
Each pause arrives as {:cdp_event, conn, "Fetch.requestPaused", params, session_id};
handle it in a handle_info. The caller is subscribed before the domain is
enabled, so no paused request is missed.
Drive interception from one long-lived process
Use the same process for enable_request_interception/2, the pause handling,
and disable_request_interception/2 — the subscription is keyed to its pid. That
process is registered with the browser as the interception owner: if it exits
without disabling, the browser auto-Fetch.disables the page, so a crashed or
forgetful caller can't leave it bricked (every request paused with no resolver).
While interception is enabled you must still resolve every pause.
Only :dedicated pages are supported; a :session-transport page is rejected with
{:error, {:unsupported_transport, :session}} (mirroring authenticate/4) — its
subscription and owner-monitor would outlive close_page, which never stops the
shared browser connection.
Mutually exclusive with authenticate/4 on the same page — both drive the Fetch
domain. The conflict is enforced: enabling interception on an authenticated page
returns {:error, {:conflict, :authenticated}}, and authenticate/4 on an
intercepting page returns {:error, {:conflict, :intercepting}}. Re-enabling
interception on a page that already has it returns {:error, :already_intercepting}.
Options:
:patterns— CDPRequestPatterns (default[%{"urlPattern" => "*"}], all requests):timeout— ms for the enable call (default 10_000)
Evaluates a JavaScript expression and returns its value (returnByValue).
A thrown JS exception is {:error, {:evaluate_exception, details}}.
Options: :timeout (default 15_000), :await_promise (default false).
Fails a paused request (Fetch.failRequest).
:reason (default :failed) is one of :failed, :aborted, :timed_out,
:access_denied, :connection_closed, :connection_reset, :connection_refused,
:name_not_resolved, :internet_disconnected, :address_unreachable,
:blocked_by_client, :blocked_by_response. An unknown value returns
{:error, {:invalid_error_reason, value}}.
Answers a paused request with a synthetic response (Fetch.fulfillRequest) — the
page never hits the network for it.
Options: :status (response code, default 200), :headers (a name => value map or
keyword list), :body (a binary or iodata, base64-encoded for you), :timeout.
Returns the page's full serialized HTML (document.documentElement.outerHTML).
Starts observing network traffic, delivering CDP Network events to the calling
process.
Subscribes the caller to :events (default the request + response lifecycle),
then enables the Network domain (idempotent). Each event arrives as
{:cdp_event, conn, method, params, session_id} — handle them in a handle_info.
Call stop_observing_network/2 to unsubscribe.
Start observing before navigating: requests already in flight when you call
this are not captured. On a session-transport page the caller receives every
session's events on the shared connection (subscriptions are keyed by method, not
session); match on the session_id element to filter to this page.
Options:
:events—Network.*method names (default request + response lifecycle):timeout— ms for the enable call (default 10_000)
Renders the page to PDF (Page.printToPDF).
Returns {:ok, data} where data is the PDF bytes — or, when :path is
given, the written file path (also a binary). Options: :path, :landscape
(default false), :print_background (default true), :timeout (default 30_000).
Returns a response's body by its request_id (from a Network.responseReceived
event), via Network.getResponseBody.
Returns {:ok, body} (decoding base64 when Chrome sends it that way) or
{:error, reason}. The Network domain must have been enabled (e.g. via
observe_network/2) when the request was captured — unlike the other Network
ops this does not lazily enable it, since enabling now can't recover a past body.
If it wasn't enabled, the call surfaces as
{:error, {:cdp_error, "Network.getResponseBody", _}}.
The body is only retrievable once the request has finished loading. Calling this in
the window between Network.responseReceived (what wait_for_response/3 resolves on)
and Network.loadingFinished can return
{:error, {:cdp_error, "Network.getResponseBody", %{"code" => -32000}}}
("No data found …"). Wait for the network to settle (e.g. wait_for_network_idle/2)
before reading, or retry on that transient error.
Options: :timeout (default 10_000).
Captures a PNG screenshot.
Returns {:ok, data} where data is the PNG bytes — or, when :path is
given, the written file path (also a binary).
Options: :path (write to file), :full_page (capture beyond the viewport,
default false), :timeout (default 30_000).
Sets cookies. Each is a CDP CookieParam map — at least "name", "value",
and a "url" or "domain". Lazily enables Network. Options: :timeout.
@spec set_extra_headers(t(), %{optional(String.t()) => String.t()}, keyword()) :: :ok | {:error, term()}
Sets extra HTTP headers sent with every subsequent request on this page.
headers is a map of header name => value; set them before navigating for
them to apply to that navigation. Lazily enables Network. Options: :timeout.
Overrides the page's User-Agent (Emulation.setUserAgentOverride).
Options:
:user_agent_metadata— a CDPEmulation.UserAgentMetadatamap (string keys, e.g.%{"platform" => "macOS", "mobile" => false, "brands" => [...]}). Sets the UA Client Hints surface (navigator.userAgentData, theSec-CH-UA*headers) so it stays consistent with the UA string. Overriding only the string leaves Client Hints at Chrome's defaults — a visiblenavigator.userAgent↔ Client-Hints mismatch. Passed through verbatim, so it must match the CDP shape: a partial or empty map is not dropped — it's sent as-is and Chrome rejects the wholesetUserAgentOverridecall. Omit the option entirely to leave Client Hints at Chrome's default.:accept_language— value for theAccept-Languageheader andnavigator.language(e.g."en-US").:timeout(default 10_000).
Example
Page.set_user_agent(page, "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh…) Chrome/120.0.0.0 Safari/537.36",
user_agent_metadata: %{
"platform" => "macOS",
"platformVersion" => "14.0.0",
"architecture" => "arm",
"model" => "",
"mobile" => false,
"brands" => [
%{"brand" => "Chromium", "version" => "120"},
%{"brand" => "Not=A?Brand", "version" => "24"}
]
},
accept_language: "en-US"
)
@spec set_viewport(t(), pos_integer(), pos_integer(), keyword()) :: :ok | {:error, term()}
Overrides the viewport via Emulation.setDeviceMetricsOverride.
width/height are CSS pixels. Options: :device_scale_factor (default 1),
:mobile (default false), :timeout. Returns :ok.
Stops observing — unsubscribes the caller from the network :events. Leaves the
Network domain enabled.
Pass the same :events you gave observe_network/2. Both default to the
request + response lifecycle, but if you observed with a custom list you must
repeat it here — otherwise the original subscriptions are never removed and the
caller keeps receiving those events.
Returns the textContent of the first element matching css, or nil when
no element matches.
Returns {:ok, true} when the first element matching css is rendered and
visible (has layout boxes, not display: none / visibility: hidden),
{:ok, false} otherwise — including when no element matches.
Polls a JavaScript expression until it is truthy, or timeout elapses.
The expression is coerced with !!(...), so JS truthiness applies. Returns
:ok, {:error, :timeout}, or {:error, reason} if a non-transient evaluate
error occurs (e.g. a thrown exception or a dropped connection). Options:
:timeout (default 5_000), :interval (poll interval ms, default 100).
Blocks until the network has been idle — at most :max_inflight in-flight requests —
for :idle_time ms continuously, or timeout.
The Puppeteer "networkidle" primitive: use it after a click/3 (or other action)
that kicks off XHR/fetch hydration to wait for the page to settle. Idleness is
measured from the call onward — requests already in flight when you call are not
counted — so call it right after triggering the work.
Returns :ok once idle, {:error, :timeout} if it never settles within timeout
(e.g. a streaming / SSE / long-poll connection that never closes), or
{:error, reason} if the connection drops. Lazily enables the Network domain.
The idle wait runs in a short-lived helper process with its own subscription, so it
composes safely with observe_network/2 on the same page — the caller's subscription
and any buffered events are left untouched. A normal connection drop surfaces as
{:error, :noproc} / {:error, {:ws_closed, _}}; only an abnormal crash of that
internal helper returns {:error, {:idle_wait_failed, reason}}.
Options:
:idle_time— ms of continuous idleness required (default 500):max_inflight— in-flight requests still considered idle (default 0; 2 is Puppeteer'snetworkidle2):timeout— overall ceiling in ms (default 30_000)
@spec wait_for_response( t(), (String.t() -> boolean()) | Regex.t() | String.t(), keyword() ) :: {:ok, map()} | {:error, term()}
Blocks until a network response whose URL matches matcher arrives, or timeout.
Useful after a click/3 (or other in-page action) that triggers an XHR/fetch:
wait for the specific response, then read it with response_body/3 (the returned
params carry the "requestId").
matcher selects on the response URL and may be:
- a function
(url :: String.t() -> boolean()), - a
Regex(matched against the URL), or - a binary substring (matched with
String.contains?/2).
Returns {:ok, params} — the full Network.responseReceived params (HTTP status
under params["response"]["status"], request id under params["requestId"]) — or
{:error, :timeout} if nothing matched in time, or {:error, reason} if the
connection drops. Lazily enables the Network domain. Only responses observed
after this call are considered, so call it before triggering the request.
Returns {:ok, params}, not a bare :ok
Unlike wait_for_navigation/2 / wait_for_selector/3 / wait_for_network_idle/2
(which return :ok), this returns the matched event — match on {:ok, params}.
Options: :timeout — ms (default 30_000).
Polls until css matches an element, or timeout elapses.
Returns :ok, {:error, :timeout}, or {:error, reason} if a non-transient
evaluate error occurs (e.g. the connection drops). Options: :timeout
(default 5_000), :interval (poll interval ms, default 100).