Browser Automation

How Browser Automation Works Internally (Playwright, Puppeteer, Selenium, etc.)
Browser automation tools like Playwright, Puppeteer, and Selenium interact with web pages by simulating user actions like clicking, typing, and navigating. Internally, they communicate with the browser engine using different techniques.
1. Methods Used for Automation
๐น Low-Level Web Driver Protocols
Selenium โ Uses the WebDriver protocol (W3C standard).
Puppeteer & Playwright โ Use the DevTools Protocol for direct browser control.
๐น JavaScript Execution
Directly executes JavaScript inside the page to manipulate DOM elements.
Example:
document.querySelector("button").click();
๐น Keyboard & Mouse Simulation
Simulates real user inputs by dispatching synthetic events.
Example (Playwright):
await page.keyboard.press('Tab'); await page.keyboard.press('Enter');
Example (Python with Selenium):
from selenium.webdriver.common.keys import Keys element.send_keys(Keys.TAB)
2. How These Tools Simulate TAB
Key
๐น Uses JavaScript to move focus to the next element
document.activeElement.nextElementSibling.focus();
๐น Emulates a real keyboard event
let event = new KeyboardEvent('keydown', { key: "Tab" });
document.dispatchEvent(event);
๐น Uses WebDriver or DevTools commands
Playwright/Puppeteer:
await page.keyboard.press('Tab');
Selenium (Python):
element.send_keys(Keys.TAB)
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