When scraping Instagram via Playwright’s Python Chromium, local Windows returns JSON while Ubuntu VPS redirects to a login page. See the alternative code sample below:
def retrieve_data(play_engine, page_url, config):
chrome_instance = play_engine.chromium.launch(headless=True)
session = chrome_instance.new_context()
view = session.new_page()
view.goto(page_url)
return view.inner_text('pre')
hey, ive noticed that headless mode can act diff on vps. try launching chromium with --no-sandox flag and check any network restrictions. maybe that fixes it, but i had to experiment a bunch!
In my experience, discrepancies between local and VPS setups when using Playwright’s headless Chromium are not uncommon. I noticed that the VPS environment often lacks some of the libraries and dependencies that a typical local development setup has, which can influence behavior. Additionally, the network configuration on a VPS might enforce certain security policies or proxies that can inadvertently block expected responses. My approach was to align the VPS environment closely with my local setup by installing necessary device fonts, system libraries, and verifying all network settings. Logging detailed browser events also provided clues to adjust my configuration for consistent results.
hey, ive noticed similar oddities on my vps. try tweakin your user agent & viewport settings as some sites can detect headless mode. double-check your enviroment configs to mimic a real browser as closly as possible.
In my experiments, differences in environmental and system dependencies often lead to variations in behavior between local machines and VPS setups when using Playwright’s headless Chromium. I observed that discrepancies in package versions and system libraries can sometimes cause issues with webpage rendering and session management. On one VPS, missing dependencies resulted in non-standard responses that didn’t occur on local setups. Adjusting the system environment to align more closely with a typical desktop configuration, including updating essential libraries and ensuring proper locale settings, helped resolve unexpected behavior.
In my experience, using Playwright’s headless Chromium on a VPS can indeed differ from running it locally. These differences often stem from environmental factors such as network configurations, hardware limitations, or even the inherent security policies on VPS setups. I encountered a similar issue where the default behavior led to discrepancies in rendered output. After experimenting with various browser launch options and context configurations, I discovered that tuning these parameters to better align with device-specific constraints proved beneficial in maintaining consistency, particularly when targeting APIs that expect a particular rendering model.