stealth-browser

name

stealth-browser

description

Anti-detection web browsing that bypasses bot detection, CAPTCHAs, and IP blocks using puppeteer-extra with stealth plugin and optional residential proxy support. Use when (1) websites block headless browsers or datacenter IPs, (2) need to bypass Cloudflare/Vercel protection, (3) accessing sites that detect automation (Reddit, Twitter/X, signup flows), (4) scraping protected content, or (5) automating web tasks that require human-like behavior.

Stealth Browser

Bypass bot detection and IP blocks with puppeteer-extra stealth plugin and optional Smartproxy residential proxy support.

When to Use

• Websites blocking headless browsers or datacenter IPs
• Cloudflare/Vercel protection bypassing
• Sites detecting automation (Reddit, Twitter/X, signup flows, faucets)
• Protected content scraping
• Web automation requiring human-like behavior

Tested Working On

✅ Relay.link (was blocked by Vercel, now works) ✅ X/Twitter profiles ✅ Bot detection tests (sannysoft.com) ✅ Faucet sites with protection ✅ Reddit (datacenter IP blocks)

Quick Start

# Basic usage (stealth only)
node scripts/browser.js "https://example.com"

# With residential proxy (bypasses IP blocks)
node scripts/browser.js "https://example.com" --proxy

# Screenshot
node scripts/browser.js "https://example.com" --proxy --screenshot output.png

# Get HTML content
node scripts/browser.js "https://example.com" --proxy --html

# Get text content
node scripts/browser.js "https://example.com" --proxy --text

Setup

1. Install Dependencies

cd /path/to/skill
npm install

Required packages (automatically handled by npm install with included package.json):

• puppeteer-extra
• puppeteer-extra-plugin-stealth
• puppeteer

2. Configure Proxy (Optional but Recommended)

For bypassing IP-based blocks, set up Smartproxy residential proxy:

Create ~/.config/smartproxy/proxy.json:

{
  "host": "proxy.smartproxy.net",
  "port": "3120",
  "username": "smart-ppz3iii4l2qr_area-US_life-30_session-xxxxx",
  "password": "your-password"
}

Get credentials from Smartproxy dashboard: https://dashboard.smartproxy.com

Smartproxy session parameters:

• _area-US → Use US residential IPs
• _life-30 → Session lasts 30 minutes
• _session-xxxxx → Sticky session (same IP for duration)

Without proxy, the browser still uses stealth plugin to avoid detection, but may be blocked by IP-based protection.

How It Works

Stealth Features

The browser includes multiple anti-detection measures:

1. puppeteer-extra-plugin-stealth: Automatically applies all stealth evasions

   • Removes navigator.webdriver flag
   • Spoofs Chrome user agent and headers
   • Fakes plugins, languages, permissions
   • Removes automation signatures

2. Human-like behaviors:

   • Realistic viewport (1920x1080)
   • Updated user agent (Chrome 121)
   • Natural browser properties
   • No automation control flags

3. Residential proxy (when --proxy used):

   • Routes through residential IPs
   • Bypasses datacenter IP blocks
   • Sticky sessions (same IP per session)
   • Geographic targeting (US by default)

Detection Bypass Comparison

Protection	Headless Puppeteer	Stealth Plugin	+ Residential Proxy
navigator.webdriver	❌ Detected	✅ Hidden	✅ Hidden
User Agent	❌ Generic	✅ Realistic	✅ Realistic
WebGL/Canvas	❌ Headless	✅ Spoofed	✅ Spoofed
IP Blocks	❌ Datacenter	❌ Datacenter	✅ Residential
Cloudflare	❌ Blocked	⚠️ Sometimes	✅ Usually works
Turnstile CAPTCHA	❌ Blocked	❌ Blocked	⚠️ Reduced chance

Usage Examples

Example 1: Check if Site Detects Automation

# Test on bot detection site
node scripts/browser.js "https://bot.sannysoft.com" --screenshot detection.png

Look for green checkmarks = undetected, red = detected.

Example 2: Scrape Protected Page

# Get page text content
node scripts/browser.js "https://protected-site.com" --proxy --text > output.txt

Example 3: Monitor Site Changes

# Take daily screenshot for comparison
node scripts/browser.js "https://target-site.com" --proxy --screenshot "$(date +%Y-%m-%d).png"

Example 4: Extract Structured Data

import { browse } from './scripts/browser.js';

const result = await browse('https://example.com', {
  proxy: true,
  html: true
});

// Parse result.html with cheerio or similar
console.log(result.html);

Proxy Cost Considerations

Smartproxy residential pricing:

• ~$7.50/GB of traffic
• Average page load: 1-3 MB
• Rough cost: $0.01-0.03 per page

When to use proxy:

• Site explicitly blocks datacenter IPs (Reddit, some faucets)
• Cloudflare/Vercel protection detected
• Multiple requests from same IP getting rate-limited
• Geographic targeting needed (US vs international)

When stealth-only is enough:

• Site only checks for automation signatures, not IP
• Low-value scraping where IP blocks are acceptable
• Testing/development (proxy costs add up)

Troubleshooting

Browser Launch Fails

Error: Failed to launch the browser process

Solution: Install required system dependencies:

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt-get install -y gconf-service libasound2 libatk1.0-0 libc6 libcairo2 \
  libcups2 libdbus-1-3 libexpat1 libfontconfig1 libgcc1 libgconf-2-4 \
  libgdk-pixbuf2.0-0 libglib2.0-0 libgtk-3-0 libnspr4 libpango-1.0-0 \
  libpangocairo-1.0-0 libstdc++6 libx11-6 libx11-xcb1 libxcb1 \
  libxcomposite1 libxcursor1 libxdamage1 libxext6 libxfixes3 libxi6 \
  libxrandr2 libxrender1 libxss1 libxtst6 ca-certificates fonts-liberation \
  libappindicator1 libnss3 lsb-release xdg-utils wget

Proxy Authentication Fails

Error: net::ERR_PROXY_AUTH_REQUESTED

Solution: Check proxy credentials in ~/.config/smartproxy/proxy.json. Verify username/password are correct in Smartproxy dashboard.

Still Getting Detected

Try these:

1. Update session ID in proxy username (forces new IP):

   "username": "smart-ppz3iii4l2qr_area-US_life-30_session-NEW_RANDOM_STRING"
   

2. Increase wait time before interacting with page:

   await page.goto(url, { waitUntil: 'networkidle2' });
   await page.waitForTimeout(5000); // Wait 5s
   

3. Check detection test:

   node scripts/browser.js "https://bot.sannysoft.com" --proxy --screenshot test.png
   

4. Try different geographic area (if specific region is blocked):

   "username": "smart-ppz3iii4l2qr_area-GB_life-30_session-xxxxx"
   

Limitations

• CAPTCHAs: Stealth reduces but doesn't eliminate CAPTCHA challenges. For CAPTCHA solving, combine with 2captcha service.
• JavaScript fingerprinting: Advanced fingerprinting (Canvas, WebGL hash analysis) may still detect automation on highly protected sites.
• Cost: Residential proxy adds per-request cost. Use strategically.
• Speed: Proxy routing and stealth evasions add latency vs direct requests.

Security Notes

• Proxy credentials contain sensitive auth tokens. Keep ~/.config/smartproxy/proxy.json with 600 permissions.
• Never commit proxy credentials to git repositories.
• Residential proxy traffic is routed through real residential IPs. Respect rate limits and terms of service.

See Also

• 2captcha skill: For solving CAPTCHAs when stealth isn't enough
• Smartproxy dashboard: https://dashboard.smartproxy.com for usage monitoring
• Bot detection test: https://bot.sannysoft.com to verify stealth effectiveness