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Puppeteer’s page.tracing API records activity for the current page. Start a trace with the options you need, perform the actions you want to inspect, then call page.tracing.stop(). The four documented options are bufferSize, categories, path and screenshots. Only one trace can be active per browser.
What the Puppeteer tracing options do
The options configure the trace buffer, the event categories collected, where output is saved, and whether screenshots are captured in the trace. The Puppeteer TracingOptions reference documents these settings.
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| Option | What it controls | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
bufferSize |
Trace buffer size in kilobytes. If omitted or set to zero, the reference says Chromium’s default is 200 MB (200,000 KB). | Change it only when you have a specific reason to adjust the buffer. It is not a promise about the final trace file’s size. |
categories |
An array of tracing category strings to include or exclude. | Use it to focus the trace on relevant event categories. Prefix a category with a hyphen to exclude it, for example -toplevel. If omitted, Puppeteer uses the categories in its implementation; check the implementation for the defaults in the version you use. |
path |
A file path for writing the trace to disk. | Set it when you want a trace file you can open or share. Omit it to retrieve trace data from stop() instead. |
screenshots |
Whether screenshots are captured in the trace. The default is false. |
Set it to true when visual snapshots will help explain the timeline. The API reference does not quantify the resulting overhead or trace-size increase. |
Record a trace to a file
This minimal example records navigation to a file named trace.json. Choose actions representative of the behavior you are investigating; a trace only helps explain what happens during the interval between starting and stopping it.
const browser = await puppeteer.launch();
const page = await browser.newPage();
await page.tracing.start({
path: 'trace.json',
screenshots: true,
});
await page.goto('https://example.com');
await page.tracing.stop();
await browser.close();The Puppeteer Page tracing reference documents the start-and-stop workflow. You can inspect the resulting trace in Chrome DevTools or a timeline viewer.
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Choose file output or an in-memory trace
Use path when you want Puppeteer to write the trace to disk. Without path, the trace is not written to a file; stop() can instead return the trace data as a Uint8Array.
await page.tracing.start({ screenshots: false });
await page.goto('https://example.com');
const trace = await page.tracing.stop();
// trace is trace data as a Uint8Array when returned.The documented return type is Promise<Uint8Array | undefined>, so handle the possibility that the result is undefined. See the Puppeteer tracing stop reference.
Set categories and buffer size deliberately
Categories
Provide an array of category strings when you want to select or exclude events. A leading hyphen marks an excluded category, as in -toplevel. The categories used when the option is omitted come from Puppeteer’s implementation, so do not assume a particular default list across versions; consult the implementation for the version installed in your project.
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Buffer size
The dedicated options reference reports that omitting bufferSize or setting it to zero uses Chromium’s default trace-buffer size of 200 MB (200,000 KB). This is Chromium’s buffer default as reported by the Puppeteer TracingOptions reference, version 25.12.0—not a recommendation or an output-file size guarantee.
Respect the one-trace-per-browser limit
Only one trace can be active at a time per browser, even when that browser has multiple pages. Complete or stop the active trace before starting another in the same browser. Puppeteer states this limit in its Tracing.start reference and Tracing reference.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Or skip the browser setup
If your goal is simply to capture a website rather than inspect a Puppeteer trace, ScreenshotNeo provides a screenshot API and MCP server for developers. Its one-request call can return an image or PDF without setting up a browser script:
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curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://example.com -o shot.webpSee the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for request options. Cookie banners, newsletter popups and chat widgets are removed before capture; bot checks, blank pages and failed loads are not billed. AI agents can take screenshots through its MCP server. The Free plan includes 1,000 screenshots per month with no card, and paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 shots. Sign up for free.
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