playwright-stealth
Make your playwright instance stealthy
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you need to bypass basic bot detection in Playwright automation. The package is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, and carries a permissive license. Install friction is minimal. However, do not expect it to defeat sophisticated detection systems—use it as a starting point and be prepared to add custom evasions for harder targets.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.9 or later and an active Playwright installation with browser binaries.
- Low friction: pure Python wheel with a single runtime dependency on playwright.
- Actively maintained as of 2026-04-04 with recent commits and a modest but engaged user base.
License · maintenance · safety
MIT (permissive) — MIT license permits unrestricted use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions—suitable for both open-source and commercial projects.
last release 2026-04-04 (132 days) · last repo commit 2026-04-04 · 263 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 3,512,899 downloads/mo, #2,596 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install playwright-stealth
import asyncio
from playwright.async_api import async_playwright
from playwright_stealth import Stealth
async def main():
async with Stealth().use_async(async_playwright()) as p:
browser = await p.chromium.launch()
page = await browser.new_page()
result = await page.evaluate("navigator.webdriver")
print(result)- Effectiveness against modern bot-detection systems beyond the 'simplest' methods mentioned in the description.
- Whether all evasion techniques remain current with evolving detection strategies.
- Compatibility with Playwright's persistent context launch mode (noted as a known limitation in the description).
What it is and what it does
playwright_stealth is a Playwright plugin that injects evasion scripts into browser contexts to mask the presence of automation. It works by modifying navigator properties (like `navigator.webdriver`) and other telemetry that websites use to detect headless or automated browsers. The package is a maintained fork of an earlier Puppeteer plugin, adapted for Playwright's async API.
The library offers both a simple recommended usage pattern (wrapping the async_playwright context manager) and fine-grained control via configuration options like custom language overrides and selective evasion toggles. It is explicitly positioned as a proof-of-concept for basic bot detection, not a comprehensive anti-detection solution—websites with sophisticated detection may still identify the browser as automated.
Use it for
- Web scraping against sites with basic bot-detection that check navigator.webdriver or similar properties.
- Automated testing scenarios where you need to reduce false positives from client-side bot-detection logic.
- Proof-of-concept or research into browser fingerprinting and evasion techniques.
- Customizing navigator properties (languages, platform) across multiple pages in a single context.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you need to bypass basic bot detection in Playwright automation.
The package is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, and carries a permissive license. Install friction is minimal. However, do not expect it to defeat sophisticated detection systems—use it as a starting point and be prepared to add custom evasions for harder targets.
Install
playwright-stealth on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction: pure Python wheel with a single runtime dependency on playwright. Actively maintained as of 2026-04-04 with recent commits and a modest but engaged user base.
Requires Python 3.9 or later and an active Playwright installation with browser binaries.
License in practice
MIT license permits unrestricted use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions—suitable for both open-source and commercial projects.
Quickstart
pip install playwright-stealth
import asyncio
from playwright.async_api import async_playwright
from playwright_stealth import Stealth
async def main():
async with Stealth().use_async(async_playwright()) as p:
browser = await p.chromium.launch()
page = await browser.new_page()
result = await page.evaluate("navigator.webdriver")
print(result)Verify before relying
- Effectiveness against modern bot-detection systems beyond the 'simplest' methods mentioned in the description.
- Whether all evasion techniques remain current with evolving detection strategies.
- Compatibility with Playwright's persistent context launch mode (noted as a known limitation in the description).
Package facts
| License | MIT permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.9 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 1 packageplaywright |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 132 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 3,512,899 / month, #2,596 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Operating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9 |
Evidence: playwright_stealth-2.0.3-py3-none-any.whl
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