Puppeteer is a Node.js library that provides a high-level API to control Chrome or Chromium over the DevTools Protocol. Puppeteer runs headless by default, but can be configured to run non-headless. While it is an excellent tool for web scraping, automating browser tasks, and testing web pages, Puppeteer has some limitations. Here are a few:
Performance: Puppeteer can be slower than other scraping tools that do not load or render JavaScript, because it waits for all the JavaScript to be executed before scraping the page.
Memory Usage: Puppeteer can consume a lot of memory, especially if you are opening multiple pages at once. This can cause performance issues on machines with limited resources.
Complexity: Puppeteer has a steep learning curve if you're not already familiar with JavaScript promises and async/await syntax.
Limited Browser Support: Puppeteer only supports Chrome and Chromium-based browsers. This means you can't use it to test or scrape websites in other browsers like Firefox or Safari.
Lack of Robustness: Puppeteer can break with complex websites, leading to potential maintenance issues. Puppeteer may also struggle with websites that have strong anti-bot defenses.
Limitations with Dynamic Content: Puppeteer might have issues with websites that use a lot of AJAX. You might need to add delays or wait for certain elements to appear on the page, which can make your code more complex and harder to maintain.
No native support for CAPTCHA: Puppeteer does not have native CAPTCHA solving capabilities. If a website has CAPTCHA protection, you would need to use a third-party service.
Despite these limitations, Puppeteer remains a powerful tool for web scraping and browser automation when used correctly. It is important to understand these limitations to ensure that you're using the right tool for the job.
