Headless chrome in App Engine (golang)?

[Michael Leonard]

Hi can anyone confirm whether it's possible to use Headless Chrome in golang in App Engine Standard?

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More info:

Currently I have a go server that talks to Headless Chrome via the debug-protocol api (the same api the puppeteer library in node.js uses). I'm sure I can get this working on GCE/GKE but a managed service like app engine (or cloud functions or cloud run) would be ideal.

This app engine doc page for node [1] says: The App Engine Standard Environment comes with all of the system package needed to run Headless Chrome". 

The system packages look the same across nodejs [2] and go [3], so I'm hoping this is already possible just not documented anywhere. Can anyone confirm this is possible? 

Follow-up question: is chrome already installed? or do I need to download and install it inside of app engine standard? "npm install puppeteer" downloads the chrome binary so perhaps that's why it works on nodejs app engine.

Thanks in advance!

Mike.

[1] https://cloud.google.com/appengine/docs/standard/nodejs/using-headless-chrome-with-puppeteer

[2] https://cloud.google.com/appengine/docs/standard/nodejs/reference/system-packages

[3] https://cloud.google.com/appengine/docs/standard/go112/reference/system-packages

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PS anyone coming across this that wants to know more about puppeteer on app engine start here:

https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/gcp/introducing-headless-chrome-support-in-cloud-functions-and-app-engine

[Harmit Rishi (Cloud Platform Support)]

Hello, 

Thank you for using Google Groups!

Based on my research into this, Puppeteer seems to only be available for Node.js. However, I believe that your inquiry would merit a valid Feature Request. Due to this, I would recommend that you file one with the App Engine engineering team. You may find the necessary steps to do so here. 

In regards to the Chrome related questions, the referenced Node.js tutorial does not mention installing Chrome on GAE:standard. Also, as you pointed out, the documentation mentions that the system package already includes what is needed to run Headless Chrome. Therefore, I would find it safe to assume that it wouldn't be necessary for golang when it becomes available.

In summary, I believe you would get the appropriate support for your concerns once the feature request is processed. This action will allow the engineering team to evaluate and consider the implementation of Puppeteer for golang. Let me know if you run into any issues when filing the request.

I look forward to assisting you at that time.