@browserless/goto: Go to a page aborting unnecessary requests.

See the Go To section on our website for more details.

Install

Using npm:

npm install @browserless/goto --save

About

This package provides advanced page navigation with built-in ad blocking, smart waiting strategies, and extensive customization options. It's the core navigation engine that powers all browserless page loading operations.

What this package does

The @browserless/goto package allows you to:

• Navigate to pages with optimized loading and smart waiting strategies
• Block ads and trackers using a precompiled Ghostery ad-blocker engine
• Inject scripts, modules, and styles into pages
• Emulate devices with viewport, user agent, and media features
• Intercept and abort requests by resource type
• Handle cookies and authentication seamlessly

Usage

const createGoto = require('@browserless/goto')
const puppeteer = require('puppeteer')

const goto = createGoto({ 
  timeout: 30000,
  defaultDevice: 'Macbook Pro 13'
})

const browser = await puppeteer.launch()
const page = await browser.newPage()

const { response, device, error } = await goto(page, {
  url: 'https://example.com',
  adblock: true,
  waitUntil: 'auto'
})

Options

| Option | Type | Default | Description | |--------|------|---------|-------------| | url | string | — | Target URL to navigate to | | html | string | — | HTML content to render (instead of URL) | | adblock | boolean | true | Enable built-in ad blocker | | waitUntil | string\|string[] | 'auto' | Navigation wait condition | | timeout | number | 30000 | Navigation timeout in ms | | device | string | 'Macbook Pro 13' | Device to emulate | | headers | object | {} | Extra HTTP headers | | javascript | boolean | true | Enable/disable JavaScript | | animations | boolean | false | Enable CSS animations | | colorScheme | string | — | 'light' or 'dark' preference | | mediaType | string | — | CSS media type ('screen', 'print') | | timezone | string | — | Timezone to emulate | | authenticate | object | — | HTTP authentication credentials | | scripts | string\|string[] | — | Scripts to inject | | modules | string\|string[] | — | ES modules to inject | | styles | string\|string[] | — | Stylesheets to inject | | click | string\|string[] | — | CSS selectors to click | | scroll | string | — | CSS selector to scroll into view | | abortTypes | string[] | [] | Resource types to abort | | waitForSelector | string | — | Wait for selector to appear | | waitForFunction | string | — | Wait for function to return truthy | | waitForTimeout | number | — | Wait for specified milliseconds | | onPageRequest | function | — | Request interception handler |

Smart waiting with waitUntil: 'auto'

The default 'auto' mode intelligently waits for page readiness:

// Auto mode combines 'load' with 'networkidle2' smartly
await goto(page, { url: 'https://example.com', waitUntil: 'auto' })

// Standard Puppeteer wait conditions also supported
await goto(page, { url: 'https://example.com', waitUntil: 'networkidle0' })
await goto(page, { url: 'https://example.com', waitUntil: ['load', 'domcontentloaded'] })

Built-in Ad Blocker

The package includes a precompiled Ghostery ad-blocker engine that blocks ads and trackers automatically:

// Enabled by default
await goto(page, { url: 'https://example.com', adblock: true })

// Disable for specific pages
await goto(page, { url: 'https://example.com', adblock: false })

// The adblocker can be disabled mid-session
page.disableAdblock()

Cookie consent handling (opt-out) is included as part of adblock: true and powered by duckduckgo/autoconsent.

Script and style injection

Inject external resources or inline code:

await goto(page, {
  url: 'https://example.com',
  // External URLs
  scripts: ['https://cdn.example.com/library.js'],
  // ES modules
  modules: ['https://cdn.example.com/module.mjs'],
  // CSS (URLs, paths, or inline)
  styles: [
    'https://cdn.example.com/styles.css',
    'body { background: red; }'
  ]
})

Request interception

Abort specific resource types to speed up navigation:

await goto(page, {
  url: 'https://example.com',
  abortTypes: ['image', 'stylesheet', 'font', 'media'],
  onPageRequest: (request, page) => {
    console.log('Request:', request.url())
  }
})

Device emulation

// Use preset device
await goto(page, { url: 'https://example.com', device: 'iPhone 13' })

// Custom viewport
await goto(page, {
  url: 'https://example.com',
  viewport: { width: 1920, height: 1080 }
})

// Custom headers
await goto(page, {
  url: 'https://example.com',
  headers: {
    'user-agent': 'custom-agent',
    'cookie': 'session=abc123'
  }
})

Return value

The goto function returns:

const { response, device, error } = await goto(page, { url })

// response: Puppeteer Response object (or undefined if navigation failed)
// device: { userAgent, viewport } used for the request
// error: Error object if navigation failed

How it fits in the monorepo

This is the core navigation engine used by the entire browserless ecosystem:

| Consumer | Purpose | |----------|---------| | browserless (core) | Powers .goto(), .html(), .text(), .pdf(), .screenshot() | | @browserless/screenshot | Navigation before capturing screenshots | | @browserless/pdf | Navigation before generating PDFs | | @browserless/function | Navigation for sandboxed function execution | | @browserless/lighthouse | Navigation for Lighthouse audits |

Dependencies

| Package | Purpose | |---------|---------| | @browserless/devices | Device descriptor lookups and emulation | | @ghostery/adblocker-puppeteer | Ad and tracker blocking | | debug-logfmt | Structured debug logging | | got | HTTP client for postinstall script | | is-url-http | Detect if value is URL for injection | | p-reflect / p-timeout | Promise utilities for timeouts | | shallow-equal | Viewport comparison optimization | | tough-cookie | Cookie string parsing |

License

@browserless/goto © Microlink, released under the MIT License. Authored and maintained by Microlink with help from contributors.

The logo has been designed by xinh studio.

microlink.io · GitHub microlinkhq · X @microlinkhq