System Browser Detection

MyCoder includes a system browser detection feature that allows it to use your existing installed browsers instead of requiring Playwright's bundled browsers. This is especially useful when MyCoder is installed globally via npm.

How It Works

When you start a browser session in MyCoder, the system will:

1. Detect available browsers on your system (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, etc.)
2. Select the most appropriate browser based on your configuration preferences
3. Launch the browser using Playwright's executablePath option
4. Fall back to Playwright's bundled browsers if no system browser is found

This process happens automatically and is designed to be seamless for the user.

Supported Browsers

MyCoder can detect and use the following browsers:

Windows

• Google Chrome
• Microsoft Edge
• Mozilla Firefox

macOS

• Google Chrome
• Google Chrome Canary
• Microsoft Edge
• Mozilla Firefox
• Firefox Developer Edition
• Firefox Nightly

Linux

• Google Chrome
• Chromium
• Mozilla Firefox

Configuration Options

You can customize the browser detection behavior in your mycoder.config.js file:

// mycoder.config.js
export default {
  // Other settings...

  // System browser detection settings
  browser: {
    // Whether to use system browsers or Playwright's bundled browsers
    useSystemBrowsers: true,

    // Preferred browser type (chromium, firefox, webkit)
    preferredType: 'chromium',

    // Custom browser executable path (overrides automatic detection)
    // executablePath: null, // e.g., '/path/to/chrome'
  },
};

Configuration Options Explained

Option	Description	Default
useSystemBrowsers	Whether to use system-installed browsers if available	true
preferredType	Preferred browser engine type (chromium, firefox, webkit)	chromium
executablePath	Custom browser executable path (overrides automatic detection)	null

Browser Selection Priority

When selecting a browser, MyCoder follows this priority order:

1. Custom executable path specified in browser.executablePath (if provided)
2. System browser matching the preferred type specified in browser.preferredType
3. Any available system browser
4. Playwright's bundled browsers (fallback)

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues with browser detection:

1. Browser Not Found: Ensure you have at least one supported browser installed on your system.

2. Browser Compatibility Issues: Some websites may work better with specific browser types. Try changing the preferredType setting if you encounter compatibility issues.

3. Manual Override: If automatic detection fails, you can manually specify the path to your browser using the executablePath option.

4. Fallback to Bundled Browsers: If you prefer to use Playwright's bundled browsers, set useSystemBrowsers to false.

Examples

Using Chrome as the Preferred Browser

// mycoder.config.js
export default {
  browser: {
    useSystemBrowsers: true,
    preferredType: 'chromium',
  },
};

Using Firefox as the Preferred Browser

// mycoder.config.js
export default {
  browser: {
    useSystemBrowsers: true,
    preferredType: 'firefox',
  },
};

Specifying a Custom Browser Path

// mycoder.config.js
export default {
  browser: {
    useSystemBrowsers: true,
    executablePath:
      'C:\\Program Files\\Google\\Chrome\\Application\\chrome.exe', // Windows example
    // executablePath: '/Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google Chrome', // macOS example
    // executablePath: '/usr/bin/google-chrome', // Linux example
  },
};