Browser automation that stays inside your network.
Browserless is a headless browser server for Puppeteer and Playwright. Run it in your VPC, on-prem, or air-gapped, and connect to it the same way you connect to our cloud.
Open-source Docker image · Commercial & Enterprise licensing · GPU-ready
When the browser has to run on your side of the firewall
Some workloads can't send data to a third-party cloud. Self-hosted Browserless keeps every session inside infrastructure you own and operate.
Choosing the right deployment
Private Deployment and self-hosted Docker run the same Enterprise image. The difference between all three options is who operates them and where your data lives.
| Cloud (shared) | Private Deployment | Self-Hosted Docker | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who runs the infrastructure | Browserless | Browserless, on dedicated VMs | You |
| Where your data lives | Browserless cloud | Browserless-managed cloud | Your VPC, on-prem, or air-gapped |
| Managed residential proxies | Included | Included | Bring your own |
| Hosted dashboard and fleet ops | Included | Included | Local metrics and OpenTelemetry |
| Best for | Fast start, prototyping, low ops | Production scale with no infra work | Data sovereignty, regulated industries, custom networking |
Not sure? Talk to our team and we'll size a deployment to your workload and compliance posture.
Pull the image. Point your code at it.
The open-source Docker image runs your Puppeteer and Playwright code over WebSocket, plus the core REST APIs, inside your own environment. The licensed Enterprise image adds BrowserQL, stealth, and session recording.
Your existing automation connects the same way it does in the cloud. Swap the endpoint, keep the code.
# Open-source single-browser image
docker run --rm -p 3000:3000 \
-e "TOKEN=YOUR_TOKEN" \
ghcr.io/browserless/chromium
# Or the multi-browser image:
# ghcr.io/browserless/multi
# Chrome · Chromium · Firefox · WebKit · EdgeOpen source to enterprise
Start with the open-source image, license it for commercial use, or run a private Enterprise deployment with dedicated infrastructure and support.
Open Source
Free, open-source
Open-source projects, prototyping, and evaluation.
- Public Docker image on GHCR
- Puppeteer, Playwright & core REST APIs
- SSPL-1.0 license
- Community support on GitHub
Commercial License
Talk to sales
Closed-source commercial products, SaaS, or CI that can't meet SSPL's open-source terms.
- Use in closed-source commercial products
- Run in commercial CI systems
- Priority support and source access
- Admin UI
Enterprise
Talk to sales
Private deployments with custom infrastructure and dedicated support.
- BrowserQL, stealth & session recording
- GPU-enabled instances
- Custom datacenter locations & providers
- SSO & user roles
- Dedicated technical account manager
What the cloud handles for you
A few capabilities are cloud-only. If you need them on a self-hosted deployment, here's how each one maps.
Production features, in your stack
Self-hosted Enterprise runs the same licensed image as our managed Private Deployments, including observability tools and BrowserQL. The open-source image covers the browsers, scaling controls, and core APIs.
How much hardware does it take?
Each container runs one or more Chromium processes. Scale out by adding containers behind a load balancer rather than pushing concurrency on a single host.
Light
5 to 10 concurrent sessions
Medium
10 to 20 concurrent sessions
Heavy
20 to 50 concurrent sessions
You control the upgrade path
Pin to a specific image version for production stability and upgrade on your own schedule when a new version ships.
# Pin to a version for reproducible deploys
docker pull \
registry.browserless.io/browserless/browserless/enterprise:2.3.0Test a new version in staging, then roll it out one instance at a time. Private Deployment customers also get release emails and a test environment from us.
Enterprise guide
Self-host Browserless on your infrastructure
Docker, Kubernetes, GPU acceleration, air-gapped licensing, and HIPAA-ready deployment, all in one guide.
Built to pass a security review
Self-hosting puts the controls in your hands. Here's what that means in practice.
Your data stays in your network
Self-hosted sessions run inside infrastructure you own. Browserless has no access to the pages, screenshots, or data your sessions produce.
Role-based access control
With the Enterprise image, issue per-team tokens with admin, developer, viewer, or public roles. Tokens persist to disk and survive container restarts.
Network isolation
Run behind a reverse proxy, disable unused features like ALLOW_GET, ALLOW_FILE_PROTOCOL, and ENABLE_CORS, and mount keys and tokens with Docker secrets.
Audit-ready compliance
SOC 2 Type II report and HIPAA BAA available on request for Enterprise deployments, plus a DPA for deployments we operate.
Self-hosting questions, answered
Is self-hosting Browserless free?
The open-source Docker image is free under SSPL-1.0 and a good fit for open-source projects, prototyping, and evaluation. Building a closed-source commercial product, or running it in a closed-source CI system, requires a commercial license.
What is the difference between the open-source and licensed builds?
The open-source image includes Puppeteer, Playwright, and the core REST APIs. A commercial license adds the right to run in closed-source commercial and CI environments, priority support, source access to fork and modify, and an admin UI. The Enterprise image adds BrowserQL, stealth, and session recording. Enterprise plans also include GPU support, custom infrastructure, and a dedicated technical account manager, and Private Deployments add SSO.
What is the difference between self-hosted Docker and Private Deployment?
Both use the same Enterprise image and the same APIs. With self-hosted Docker, you manage infrastructure, scaling, and updates. With Private Deployment, Browserless runs dedicated VMs for you with a managed dashboard, fleet operations, and load balancing. Choose self-hosted for data-residency or air-gapped needs; choose Private Deployment for enterprise-grade infrastructure you don't operate.
Can I run Browserless behind a firewall or in an air-gapped network?
Yes. Neither image needs a connection to our cloud to run. The licensed Enterprise image activates with a time-limited software key that works offline: no external connections, no callbacks. When a key expires, the container exits with an error, so renew keys before they lapse.
Do you see my data when I self-host?
No. Self-hosted containers run entirely in your network. The pages, screenshots, and scraped data your sessions produce never leave your infrastructure.
Do you support GPU-enabled deployments?
Yes. GPU-enabled infrastructure is available with Enterprise private deployments and licensed self-hosting, for faster rendering of WebGL, WebGPU, video, and animation-heavy pages.
Are the cloud and self-hosted APIs the same?
For most automation, yes. Puppeteer, Playwright, and the core REST APIs use the same paths as the cloud in both self-hosted images, and the licensed Enterprise image adds BrowserQL and stealth. Only the host and token in your connection URL change. Six advanced REST endpoints stay cloud-only: /unblock, /smart-scrape, /search, /map, /crawl, and /agent/run.
Run Browserless in your own environment.
Tell us about your infrastructure and compliance requirements, and we'll help you stand up a self-hosted deployment.