How can I alter or spoof document.referrer in a headless browser?

Other Questions Headless Browser
1

I am looking for a way to change the value of the document.referrer property just before the execution of any JavaScript on a webpage loaded in a headless browser. The choice of the browser isn’t important; I have attempted using both PhantomJS and Zombie, but I haven’t been successful. My findings suggest the following:

  • PhantomJS: This doesn’t work as the document.referrer is tied to the Referrer HTTP header, and even when this header is set, the document.referrer remains an empty string.
  • Zombie: The results are unclear.
2

To modify or spoof the document.referrer in a headless browser, try using Puppeteer. Puppeteer allows you to set HTTP headers, including the ‘Referer’. Here’s a quick example:

const puppeteer = require('puppeteer');

(async () => {
  const browser = await puppeteer.launch();
  const page = await browser.newPage();

  // Set referer using HTTP headers
  await page.setExtraHTTPHeaders({
    'Referer': 'https://example.com/'
  });

  await page.goto('http://your_target_url.com');

  console.log(await page.evaluate(() => document.referrer));

  await browser.close();
})();

Give this a try and it should help you alter the document.referrer effectively.

3

To spoof document.referrer in a headless environment, use either Puppeteer or Playwright. Both offer easy ways to set the 'Referer' HTTP header, affecting document.referrer. Here's how using Puppeteer:

const puppeteer = require('puppeteer');

(async () => {
  const browser = await puppeteer.launch();
  const page = await browser.newPage();

  await page.setExtraHTTPHeaders({
    'Referer': 'https://example.com/'
  });

  await page.goto('http://your_target_url.com');

  console.log(await page.evaluate(() => document.referrer));

  await browser.close();
})();

Or, with Playwright:

const { chromium } = require('playwright');

(async () => {
  const browser = await chromium.launch();
  const context = await browser.newContext({
    extraHTTPHeaders: {
      'Referer': 'https://example.com/'
    }
  });
  const page = await context.newPage();

  await page.goto('http://your_target_url.com');

  console.log(await page.evaluate(() => document.referrer));

  await browser.close();
})();

Choose according to your browser support needs and get started! Both are efficient and robust solutions.

4

To effectively spoof document.referrer in a headless environment, you might want to consider leveraging Playwright. Playwright is another powerful tool that offers broader browser support compared to Puppeteer. Here’s a quick guide on how to set it up:

const { chromium } = require('playwright');

(async () => {
  const browser = await chromium.launch();
  const context = await browser.newContext({
    extraHTTPHeaders: {
      'Referer': 'https://example.com/'
    }
  });
  const page = await context.newPage();

  await page.goto('http://your_target_url.com');

  const referrer = await page.evaluate(() => document.referrer);
  console.log(referrer);

  await browser.close();
})();

Playwright automatically handles creating a new browser context where you can set request headers. By setting the Referer header within extraHTTPHeaders while creating the context, the document.referrer will reflect this value when navigating to the desired URL.

This setup ensures that the referrer is consistently applied to the page and addresses any issues with the referrer not being set correctly in other environments.

5

If you're aiming to spoof document.referrer in a headless browser, leveraging tools like Puppeteer or Playwright is indeed a practical approach. Both of these provide straightforward methods to set HTTP headers, including the 'Referer', which then updates document.referrer accurately.

Here's how you can do it using Puppeteer:

const puppeteer = require('puppeteer');

(async () => {
  const browser = await puppeteer.launch();
  const page = await browser.newPage();

  // Set the referrer header
  await page.setExtraHTTPHeaders({
    'Referer': 'https://example.com/'
  });

  await page.goto('http://your_target_url.com');

  console.log(await page.evaluate(() => document.referrer));

  await browser.close();
})();

If you prefer using Playwright, which supports more browsers, here's how to set it up:

const { chromium } = require('playwright');

(async () => {
  const browser = await chromium.launch();
  const context = await browser.newContext({
    extraHTTPHeaders: {
      'Referer': 'https://example.com/'
    }
  });
  const page = await context.newPage();

  await page.goto('http://your_target_url.com');

  const referrer = await page.evaluate(() => document.referrer);
  console.log(referrer);

  await browser.close();
})();

Both frameworks keep the setup simple and efficient, ensuring document.referrer is set correctly. Choose according to your preferred tool and enjoy the flexibility they offer. This approach saves a lot of time and avoids the complications you faced with PhantomJS and Zombie.

6

The suggestions provided using Puppeteer and Playwright are indeed effective for altering the document.referrer in headless environments. However, it's important to delve deeper into why they work as effective solutions compared to your previous attempts with PhantomJS and Zombie. Both Puppeteer and Playwright can interact directly with modern browsers, providing robust APIs for HTTP header manipulation which ensures that referrer settings reflect accurately in the browser's document object model (DOM).

Here's another perspective with Selenium, a widely-used browser automation tool:

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.options import Options

options = Options()
options.add_argument('start-maximized')
options.add_argument('incognito')
options.add_argument('referer=https://example.com/')

# You can use ChromeDriver, GeckoDriver, etc.
driver = webdriver.Chrome(options=options)

driver.get('http://your_target_url.com')

# Execute JavaScript to get the document referrer
referrer = driver.execute_script("return document.referrer;")
print(referrer)

driver.quit()

Selenium provides a flexible approach by allowing customization of the browser's command-line flags, including setting the 'Referer' argument. This way, you ensure the document.referrer reflects your desired URL upon page load like Puppeteer and Playwright.

Please note that using these tools requires installing the appropriate drivers and libraries for Selenium or the intended browser, so ensure that your environment is correctly set up. By leveraging these advanced capabilities, you circumvent the limitations experienced with legacy tools like PhantomJS.