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Puppeteer’s @puppeteer/browsers package exposes InstalledBrowser.readMetadata() and InstalledBrowser.writeMetadata(metadata) for installed-browser metadata. To enumerate managed browsers, use getInstalledBrowsers(options) or the package’s CLI list command. The public API references do not specify the metadata file’s name, location, serialization format, or write timing, so those implementation details should not be assumed.
What Puppeteer documents about metadata
The InstalledBrowser API reference lists readMetadata() and writeMetadata(metadata), alongside the browser, build ID, executable path, path, and platform properties. It marks the constructor as internal and advises third-party code not to construct or subclass the class directly.
The getInstalledBrowsers(options) reference says the function returns metadata about browsers installed in the cache directory. The returned items are InstalledBrowser instances. The package also provides a CLI list command to enumerate installed browsers, as described in the package overview.
What the documented install-and-inspect flow looks like
1. Configure the browser installation
The InstallOptions reference documents the browser, build ID, cache directory, and platform as installation inputs. Optional settings include a build ID alias and an expected archive hash. A build ID identifies a browser binary and is used for caching.
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2. Install the browser
The install() reference says installation downloads and unpacks the browser archive and resolves to an InstalledBrowser. With unpack: false, it downloads the archive and returns its absolute path instead. The returned object is the documented API boundary for working with installed-browser metadata.
3. Enumerate browsers in a cache
Call getInstalledBrowsers(options) with the relevant cache options, or use the package CLI’s list command. This gives you the documented way to discover browser installations; the API describes the result as metadata rather than promising a particular on-disk schema.
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4. Read or write metadata through the object
The InstalledBrowser reference names readMetadata() and writeMetadata(metadata). It does not explain what fields the metadata contains, when writing occurs, or whether a write is atomic. Use these methods according to the exact package version’s API and type definitions; do not build tooling around guessed filenames or fields.
Where the cache and executable are configured
Puppeteer’s configuration reference documents a cache directory configurable as cacheDirectory and overrideable with PUPPETEER_CACHE_DIR. It also documents executablePath, overrideable with PUPPETEER_EXECUTABLE_PATH, as well as download-skipping settings. These settings help identify the managed browser cache and runtime executable, but they do not establish the metadata file’s exact location.
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Installing a browser and selecting a browser at launch are related but separate tasks. The launch options reference documents Puppeteer’s bundled browser as the compatibility-guaranteed choice. A Chrome channel can select a system browser from a known location, while an explicit executablePath can point to a chosen binary; compatibility with an explicitly selected executable is the user’s responsibility.
What public documentation does not establish
The reviewed API references do not specify the metadata file’s exact location or name, serialized format, fields, write order, or atomicity guarantees. They establish that the methods exist and that installed browsers can be enumerated through the cache API. If your integration depends on storage internals, inspect the source for the exact @puppeteer/browsers version installed in your project before relying on any such detail; package internals can change.
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Version context
The official package and API references surfaced for this topic identify @puppeteer/browsers version 25.12.0. The installation guide linked from the package material is under Puppeteer’s /next/ documentation path, so treat it as Next documentation rather than a stable-version guarantee. Match implementation-level conclusions to the precise package version in your lockfile.
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