Troubleshooting Common Puppeteer Browser Errors

Puppeteer is a tool that lets your bot control a hidden web browser (like Chrome) to do things like taking screenshots or visiting websites. When you move your bot to a server (hosting), these browser tasks sometimes break. Here are the most common problems and simple ways to fix them.

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Could not Find Chromium

This is the most common error. It means Puppeteer can’t find the necessary browser files it needs to run on your host server.

How to Fix It:

Use puppeteer-core and tell it where Chrome is.

• The full Puppeteer package downloads a huge browser, which can fail on small hosts. Use the lighter puppeteer-core package instead.

• You then need to manually tell your bot the exact path to the Chrome/Chromium installed on your hosting platform. Ask your host’s support where their Chrome binary is (it often looks like /usr/bin/google-chrome).

Example Code:

const puppeteer = require('puppeteer-core');
// REPLACE the path below with the path your host gives you!
const browser = await puppeteer.launch({ executablePath: '/usr/bin/google-chrome' });

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Target Closed

This error means the browser tab or the entire hidden browser shut down before your bot was done with its task. It often happens because the task took too long.

How to Fix It:

1. Always use await: Make absolutely sure you put the word await in front of every Puppeteer command (like page.goto(), page.screenshot(), etc.). If you forget it, the bot might close the browser too soon.
2. Give it more time (Increase Timeout): If the website you’re visiting is slow or complex, Puppeteer might give up after the default 30 seconds. Tell it to wait longer.
   • Example Code (Wait up to 60 seconds):

const page = await browser.newPage();
await page.setDefaultNavigationTimeout(60000); 
await page.goto('https://YOUR-URL-HERE.com');

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No Node Found for Selector

This error happens when you try to click, type, or grab information from an element that hasn’t finished loading yet. The page loaded, but the JavaScript code on the site is still building the element you want.

How to Fix It:

• Tell Puppeteer to WAIT for the element. Instead of using a simple page.click(), use page.waitForSelector() first. This tells the bot to pause until it sees the element you need.
• Example Code (Waiting for the #login-button):

await page.waitForSelector('#login-button', { timeout: 5000 });
await page.click('#login-button');

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Essential Puppeteer Launch Settings (Stability Fixes)

When you launch Puppeteer on a pterodactyl server, you must use these special settings. They fix common issues related to permissions, container security, and memory usage.

If your bot gives a generic crash, an exit code of 1, or an error that mentions “sandbox” or “zygote”, this section is your primary fix.

How to Fix It:

• Add these Arguments to puppeteer.launch():

const browser = await puppeteer.launch({
  headless: true,
  args: [
    '--no-sandbox',
    '--disable-setuid-sandbox',
    '--disable-dev-shm-usage',
    '--window-size=1920,1080'
  ]
});

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