Implementation:Puppeteer Puppeteer Install Function

Knowledge Sources	Puppeteer
Domains	Browser_Management, Package_Management
Last Updated	2026-02-11 23:00 GMT

Overview

Concrete tool for downloading and installing browser binaries into a local cache, provided by the @puppeteer/browsers package.

Description

The install() function downloads a browser archive, extracts it, and stores it in a cache directory. It supports all Puppeteer-supported browsers and platforms, with progress reporting and custom download mirrors.

Usage

Call this function to programmatically install browser binaries. For CLI usage, use npx puppeteer browsers install <browser>.

Code Reference

Source Location

Repository: puppeteer
File: packages/browsers/src/install.ts
Lines: 278-306
InstallOptions: lines 51-155
uninstall: lines 534-547

Signature

async function install(options: InstallOptions & {unpack?: true}): Promise<InstalledBrowser>;
async function install(options: InstallOptions & {unpack: false}): Promise<string>;

Import

import {install, Browser} from '@puppeteer/browsers';

I/O Contract

Inputs

Name	Type	Required	Description
options.cacheDir	string	Yes	Directory to store browser binaries
options.browser	Browser	Yes	Browser to install: 'chrome', 'firefox', 'chromium', 'chromedriver', 'chrome-headless-shell'
options.buildId	string	Yes	Version/build ID from resolveBuildId
options.platform	BrowserPlatform	No	Target platform (auto-detected if omitted)
options.downloadProgressCallback	Function	No	Progress reporting callback
options.unpack	boolean	No	Extract after download (default: true)
options.baseUrl	string	No	Custom download mirror URL

Outputs

Name	Type	Description
return	Promise<InstalledBrowser>	Object with executablePath, browser, buildId, platform, path

Usage Examples

import {install, Browser, detectBrowserPlatform, resolveBuildId} from '@puppeteer/browsers';

const platform = detectBrowserPlatform();
const buildId = await resolveBuildId(Browser.CHROME, platform, 'stable');

const installedBrowser = await install({
  cacheDir: '/home/user/.cache/puppeteer',
  browser: Browser.CHROME,
  buildId,
  downloadProgressCallback: (downloadedBytes, totalBytes) => {
    console.log(`${Math.round(downloadedBytes / totalBytes * 100)}%`);
  },
});

console.log(`Installed to: ${installedBrowser.executablePath}`);

Related Pages

Implements Principle

Principle:Puppeteer_Puppeteer_Browser_Binary_Installation

Requires Environment

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Implementation

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Environment