Getting errors when trying to install Puppeteer on Debian

Other Questions Puppeteer
1

I’m having trouble setting up Puppeteer on my Debian 8.7.1 system and keep running into installation issues.

First, I installed the Chrome browser:

wget https://dl.google.com/linux/direct/google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb
sudo apt-get -f install
sudo dpkg -i google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb

Then, I set up Node.js and tried to install Puppeteer:

apt-get install curl
curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_8.x | bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs
npm install puppeteer

But when I execute npm install puppeteer, I get this error message:

> [email protected] install /root/node_modules/puppeteer
> node install.js

ERROR: Failed to download Chromium r499413! Set "PUPPETEER_SKIP_CHROMIUM_DOWNLOAD" env variable to skip download.
Error: Download failed: server returned code 403. URL: https://storage.googleapis.com/chromium-browser-snapshots/Linux_x64/499413/chrome-linux.zip
    at ClientRequest.https.get.response (/root/node_modules/puppeteer/utils/ChromiumDownloader.js:195:21)
    at Object.onceWrapper (events.js:316:30)
    at emitOne (events.js:115:13)
    at ClientRequest.emit (events.js:210:7)
npm ERR! code ELIFECYCLE
npm ERR! errno 1
npm ERR! [email protected] install: `node install.js`
npm ERR! Exit status 1

I tried running npm config set PUPPETEER_SKIP_CHROMIUM_DOWNLOAD true to bypass the Chromium download, but it still attempts to download it anyway.

How can I fix this installation problem?

2

Manual Puppeteer setups are a nightmare, especially on older systems where everything breaks.

I deal with this constantly at work when teams try local browser automation. The real problem isn’t just your 403 error or Debian version - you’ve got multiple moving parts that need to stay synced.

Skip the local wrestling match. Move to a proper automation platform instead. I use Latenode when I need browser automation that actually works. It handles Puppeteer setup, Chrome versions, and dependencies automatically.

Build your scraping or testing workflows visually without dealing with installation errors, environment variables, or permission nightmares. Runs in the cloud so you don’t maintain anything locally.

Saves me hours vs debugging these setup problems every time someone needs browser automation.

3

debian 8 is kinda old, and that might cause issues with newer node versions. downgrading to node 6.x could help since puppeteer 0.11.0 is meant for older setups. also, make sure you have all the needed dependencies installed. good luck!

4

Had the same problem on an older Debian box. npm config doesn’t always pick up environment variables during installs. Clear your npm cache first: npm cache clean --force. Then set the variable inline: PUPPETEER_SKIP_CHROMIUM_DOWNLOAD=true npm install puppeteer. Still getting errors? You’re running as root, which can cause permission issues. Either create a non-root user for npm or try npm install puppeteer --unsafe-perm=true. Once it installs, you’ll need to point Puppeteer to your system Chrome by setting executablePath in your code.

5

The 403 error indicates that the Chromium download URL is no longer valid, which is common with older versions of Puppeteer like 0.11.0. An ideal solution would be to upgrade to the latest version of Puppeteer, which should resolve the issue. If upgrading isn’t an option, you can set the environment variable directly in the command line by using: PUPPETEER_SKIP_CHROMIUM_DOWNLOAD=true npm install puppeteer. This avoids the need to change npm config settings. After installation, ensure you specify the path to your installed Chrome browser in your Puppeteer script by using executablePath: '/usr/bin/google-chrome-stable'. This approach should effectively resolve the installation problem.