Puppeteer Vs Playwright: Scrape a Strapi-Powered Website

In this article, we compared Puppeteer and Playwright for web scraping Strapi-powered applications. Both libraries are powerful browser automation tools that enable developers to control a web browser with only a few lines of code. While both libraries have similar web scraping capabilities, there are some differences between them. Puppeteer is a well-liked option for automating processes like as end-to-end testing and web scraping. It supports Chrome/Chromium browsers and has an unofficial Python port named Pyppeteer. Puppeteer's headless browser control allows developers to automate a Chrome or Chromium browser without a graphical user interface, making it ideal for server-side environments. Playwright was created to make browser automation and online testing more efficient. It supports multiple languages and browsers, with client implementations that are both async and sync. Playwright's auto-waiting feature is one important distinction from Puppeteer. By simulating human behavior and automating waiting periods following tasks like form completion, this functionality may lower the possibility of a bot being discovered. In terms of Strapi scraping, both libraries are great for browser automation and testing. However, Playwright offers more flexibility for complex workflows due to its multi-language support and potential browser emulation for responsive UI testing. Overall, Puppeteer is a strong option for many Strapi CMS projects due to its ease of use, extensive documentation, and focus on Chrome/Chromium. However, Playwright's multi-language support, auto-waiting functionality, and cross-browser capabilities offer a more versatile and potentially future-proof solution, especially for complex workflows or scraping across multiple browsers.