Hey everyone, I’m trying to figure out if it’s possible to run automated tests with a headless browser that can load browser extensions. I’m particularly interested in testing how ad-blockers might affect my website.
I’ve been looking into options like PhantomJS and Selenium, but I’m not sure if they can handle this kind of setup. My main goal is to see if popular ad-blockers like Ghostery or AdBlock Plus might break any of my code.
I know PhantomJS doesn’t support Flash, but I’m wondering if there are any workarounds or other tools that could help me simulate these conditions. Has anyone had experience with this kind of testing? Any advice would be really appreciated!
I’ve actually had some success using Cypress for this kind of testing. While it’s not traditionally a headless browser, it can run in headless mode and has some neat tricks up its sleeve for extension testing.
What I did was use Cypress’s ability to modify the browser’s network requests. This allowed me to simulate the behavior of ad-blockers without actually installing them. You can intercept requests to ad servers and return empty responses, effectively mimicking what an ad-blocker would do.
It’s not a perfect solution, as it doesn’t capture every nuance of how real extensions work, but it’s been reliable enough for my needs. Plus, Cypress’s debugging tools are fantastic if you run into any issues.
Just keep in mind that this approach requires a bit more setup and coding compared to using a real extension, but it gives you more control over the simulated behavior.
hey jessicadream12, i’ve been playing around with puppeteer lately and it might be what ur looking for. it can load chrome extensions in headless mode, so you could probably test with adblockers. just remember to use the --enable-extensions flag when launching. good luck with ur testing!
I’ve encountered a similar challenge in my work. While headless browsers like PhantomJS have limitations, Puppeteer is indeed a solid option for simulating browser extensions. Another approach worth considering is using Selenium with a real browser in ‘headless’ mode. Chrome and Firefox both support this, allowing you to load extensions and run tests without a visible GUI. This method closely mimics real-world conditions, which is crucial for ad-blocker testing. Just be aware that some extensions might behave differently in headless mode, so occasional visual checks may still be necessary for comprehensive testing.