Embed and Automate Real Browsers on Demand

Live API Overview

Browserling's Live API lets you embed interactive online browsers in your applications on demand. It also lets you automate and control browsers through a very neat JavaScript API. You can offer cross-browser testing solutions from your own application and you can let your application users quickly jump into a particular browser. You can even rebrand, white-label and resell Browserling.

Watch this quick demo video:

Also see Live API demo and Live API documentation.

The Live API uses only HTML5 <canvas>. No Java, Flash or plugins!

Embedding Browsers in Your Webapps

The Live API lets you embed Browserling's virtual browsers in your own app. Wondering how that's useful? Here are some real-world use cases from Browserling's customers:

  • Allow users using modern browsers to use applications written for old browsers: Let's say your company has an older web application that only works in older browsers, such as Internet Explorer 8. With the Live API you can embed the good old Internet Explorer in your modern application and your users can just keep using the old version.
  • Allow users using old browsers to use applications written for modern browsers: The other way around - if your company has a modern application that doesn't work in old browsers (and your clients use old browsers), you can use Live API to run modern applications in old browsers. For example, you can use Chrome 50 in Internet Explorer 9.
  • Safe web browsing: Allow your application users to jump into a fully virtualized browser running on a virtual machine on demand. Useful for security teams and security researchers. Your users and your team will be protected from trojans, viruses and web malware. Very useful if you need to browse suspicious content.
  • Run automated, functional cross-browser javascript tests in all browsers: You can run your functional JS tests, such as MonkeyTestJs through the Live API in all browsers. The tests will run and you'll see if they succeeded or failed.
  • Continuous integration: Load a browser through the Live API on every code commit. Accept or reject commits based on the results you see.
  • Automate interacting with the browsers: The Live API also lets you move mouse, click, type text, send keypresses, change screen resolution, use ssh tunnels for local testing and more.
  • Automate QA: Implement a testing solution for your QA team on top of Live API. Your QA team will be able to load your application in all the browsers at once and automate interacting with the app to find bugs.
  • Rebranding, white-labeling and reselling: The Live API lets you implement your own Browserling. Just wrap around the API, add a design and accept payments, and you're done. We run the browsers and you make money with the new cross-browser testing service!

In fact the Live API isn't limited just to browsers. You can embed, control and automate any application on any platform through the API.

Using the Live API

We love simplicity at Browserling so we made it very easy to embed browsers in your app:

  • Step 1 - request a session token (server-side).
  • Step 2 - use the token to start a browser (client-side).
  • Step 3 - embed the browser in your application (client-side).

The following example demonstrates how easy it is to embed a browser. This is the code you'll use:

<script src="https://api.browserling.com/v1/browserling.js"></script>

<script>
var browserling = new Browserling(token);
browserling.setBrowser('ie');
browserling.setVersion('9');
browserling.setUrl('http://www.catonmat.net');

var div = document.querySelector('#browserling');
div.appendChild(browserling.iframe());
</script>

First, you load browserling.js library. Next, you create a new Browserling object with the session token. Then, you configure the browser. And finally, you embed the iframe containing the browser anywhere in your app. That's it! You just embedded a real, fully interactive, live browser in your webapp in less than 10 lines of code!

To learn more try the Live API Demo and read the full documentation.

Sales

Live API pricing starts at $99/month for 1 parallel session. For all sales inquiries, please contact us at or use contact form.

Support

For technical support and feedback please contact us at or use support forum.

Headless Browser API and Screenshots API

Are you interested in running headless browsers without graphical output? Coming soon the Headless API! Want to capture screenshots via the API? We're working on that as well!

Follow us @browserling on Twitter for updates!