A scriptable HTTP service and asyncio driver for headless Chrome, compatible with the Splash API.
Chromewhip is an open-source service that runs headless Chrome as an HTTP service with a Splash-compatible API. It provides remote browser automation, rendering, and scripting capabilities via HTTP endpoints, along with a low-level asyncio driver for direct Chrome DevTools Protocol interaction. It solves the need for a programmable, scalable browser service that can integrate into web scraping, testing, or automation pipelines.
Developers and engineers building web scraping systems, automated testing frameworks, or browser-based automation tools who need a headless Chrome service with a well-defined HTTP API.
Developers choose Chromewhip because it offers a drop-in replacement for Splash with modern Python async support, typed DevTools bindings, and Docker-based deployment. Its use of the DevTools Protocol provides finer control over browser events compared to Selenium's JSON wire protocol.
Scriptable Google Chrome™ as a HTTP service + asyncio driver
Open-Awesome is built by the community, for the community. Submit a project, suggest an awesome list, or help improve the catalog on GitHub.
Adheres to Splash's documented HTTP API, enabling drop-in replacement for existing integrations without code changes, as stated in the README's primary aim.
Provides an asyncio-compatible Chrome DevTools Protocol driver with typed Python bindings and autocomplete support, enhancing development in Python 3.6+ environments.
Easily deployable as a Docker container with a provided docker run command, simplifying setup and scaling in production.
Uses Chrome DevTools Protocol instead of JSON wire protocol, allowing finer event subscription for building robust HTTP services, as highlighted in the README.
The project is in early alpha and heavily developed, with incomplete Splash API implementation, making it unstable and unsuitable for critical deployments.
Using the driver directly requires manual Chrome setup with flags like --remote-debugging-port, adding overhead compared to turnkey solutions.
Current HTTP endpoints (e.g., /render.html, /render.png) are minimal and lack many Splash features, as admitted in the progress towards beta.
chromewhip is an open-source alternative to the following products: