We can also remove the postDeployTask and preDeployTask settings that runs npm commands before and after the deployment they're not needed because we're running the build remotely.Īnd because we're running npm install remotely, we can add node_modules to. In the examples below, we use Puppeteer/Playwright with headless Chromium in an HTTP triggered function to open a web page and return a screenshot. Note that because it is needed at run-time, we should install the package as a production dependency. It's pretty straightforward to run either Puppeteer or Playwright in Azure Functions. Use Puppeteer and Playwright in Azure Functions This means that we can simply npm install Puppeteer or Playwright in a Node.js function app to start using one of those frameworks to interact with Chromium. Very recently, the necessary dependencies to run headless Chromium were added to the Azure Functions Linux Consumption environment. Until now, the only way to run it has been by using a custom Docker image on the Premium plan. It's been a challenge to run headless Chromium on Azure Functions, especially in the Consumption (serverless) plan. Azure Functions support for headless Chromium They automatically install Chromium and can use it without extra configuration.

Puppeteer and Playwright each support a different set of browsers. It's interesting to note that some of the folks who worked on Puppeteer are now working on Playwright. Google maintains Puppeteer and Microsoft maintains Playwright. More recently, Puppeteer and Playwright have gained in popularity. Selenium WebDriver was a pioneer in this space. Browser automation with Puppeteer and Playwrightīrowser automation has been around for a long time.

This enables some serverless browser automation scenarios using popular frameworks such as Puppeteer and Playwright. With a recent update to Azure Functions, it is now possible to run headless Chromium in the Linux Consumption plan.

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