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Installation

Download a build, verify it, and point your automation at the binary.

Clearcote is in active development. Builds are available for Windows x64 and Linux x64 — the SDK auto-downloads the right one for your OS. macOS is on the roadmap. On a minimal Linux host, install the browser's runtime libraries (libnss3 libgbm1 libasound2 libatk1.0-0 libatk-bridge2.0-0 libcups2 libxkbcommon0 libpango-1.0-0 …) and pass --no-sandbox in containers.

1. Download

Grab the latest archive from the GitHub Releases page. Each release ships:

  • clearcote-<version>-windows-x64.zip — the build (Chromium + runtime + VC++ DLLs)
  • ...zip.sha256 and SHA256SUMS.txt — checksums
  • ...asc + clearcote-signing-key.asc — GPG detached signatures and the public key

2. Verify (recommended)

The whole point of Clearcote is that you don't have to trust us. Before unzipping, confirm the download is exactly what was built and signed — see Verification.

3. Unzip & place the binary

The archive is self-contained — the VC++ 2015–2022 runtime DLLs are bundled, so it runs on a clean Windows 10/11 box.

powershell
# extract to a stable path
Expand-Archive clearcote-149.0.7827.114-windows-x64.zip -DestinationPath C:\clearcote

# you now have:
#   C:\clearcote\chrome.exe
#   C:\clearcote\chrome.dll  + runtime, locales, ICU, ANGLE, VC++ DLLs

4. Smoke test

Launch it against a fingerprint test page with a seed:

powershell
C:\clearcote\chrome.exe --fingerprint=seed-123 --fingerprint-platform=windows ^
  https://abrahamjuliot.github.io/creepjs/

Same --fingerprint seed ⇒ the same identity every launch; a new seed ⇒ a fresh one. Next, wire it into Playwright or Puppeteer.

Next steps: present a real machine's identity instead of the synthetic seed-derived one by importing a captured profile — see Fingerprint profiles — or pass it straight through your Playwright or Puppeteer launch config.

Run in Docker

The official image runs Clearcote as a CDP endpoint — pull it and point any Playwright, Puppeteer, or browser-use client at it over the Chrome DevTools Protocol, no code change.

bash
docker run -d --rm -p 9222:9222 teamflatearth/clearcote   # CDP on http://localhost:9222
python
from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright
with sync_playwright() as p:
    browser = p.chromium.connect_over_cdp("http://localhost:9222")   # your code, unchanged
    page = browser.new_page(); page.goto("https://example.com")

Configure the persona with env vars — CC_PLATFORM (windows/linux/macos/android), CC_FINGERPRINT (seed), CC_BRAND (Edge…), CC_ACCEPT_LANGUAGE, CC_TIMEZONE, CC_TLS_PROFILE. The Dockerfile is auditable — rebuild it yourself. The CDP endpoint is full browser control, so publish it only to trusted networks (-p 127.0.0.1:9222:9222 keeps it host-local).

Requirements

  • Windows 10 / 11, x64.
  • No separate VC++ redistributable needed — it's bundled in the archive.
  • For automation: your existing Playwright or Puppeteer install (Clearcote replaces the browser, not the driver).