Implement initial MVP for Docker-based browser management in Crawl4ai, enabling
remote browser execution in containerized environments.
Key Changes:
- Add browser_farm module with Docker support components:
* BrowserFarmService: Manages browser endpoints
* DockerBrowser: Handles Docker browser communication
* Basic health check implementation
* Dockerfile with optimized Chrome/Playwright setup:
- Based on python:3.10-slim for minimal size
- Includes all required system dependencies
- Auto-installs crawl4ai and sets up Playwright
- Configures Chrome with remote debugging
- Uses socat for port forwarding (9223)
- Update core components:
* Rename use_managed_browser to use_remote_browser for clarity
* Modify BrowserManager to support Docker mode
* Add Docker configuration in BrowserConfig
* Update context handling for remote browsers
- Add example:
* hello_world_docker.py demonstrating Docker browser usage
Technical Details:
- Docker container exposes port 9223 (mapped to host:9333)
- Uses CDP (Chrome DevTools Protocol) for remote connection
- Maintains compatibility with existing managed browser features
- Simplified endpoint management for MVP phase
- Optimized Docker setup:
* Minimal dependencies installation
* Proper Chrome flags for containerized environment
* Headless mode with GPU disabled
* Security considerations (no-sandbox mode)
Testing:
- Extensive Docker configuration testing and optimization
- Verified with hello_world_docker.py example
- Confirmed remote browser connection and crawling functionality
- Tested basic health checks
This is the first step towards a scalable browser farm solution, setting up
the foundation for future enhancements like resource monitoring, multiple
browser instances, and container lifecycle management.
- Fix crawler text mode for improved performance; cover missing `srcset` and `data_srcset` attributes in image tags.
- Introduced Managed Browsers for enhanced crawling experience.
- Updated documentation for clearer navigation on configuration.
- Changed 'text_only' to 'text_mode' in configuration and methods.
- Improved performance and relevance in content filtering strategies.
- Introduced new configuration classes: BrowserConfig and CrawlerRunConfig.
- Refactored AsyncWebCrawler to leverage the new configuration system for cleaner parameter management.
- Updated AsyncPlaywrightCrawlerStrategy for better flexibility and reduced legacy parameters.
- Improved error handling with detailed context extraction during exceptions.
- Enhanced overall maintainability and usability of the web crawler.
