AnyEvent::Chromi - Remotely control Google Chrome from Perl

# Start in client mode (need "chromix-server" or examples/server.pl)
my $chromi AnyEvent::Chromi->new(mode => 'client', on_connect => sub {
    my ($chromi) = @_;
    ...
    $chromi->call(...);
});

# Start in server mode
my $chromi AnyEvent::Chromi->new(mode => 'server');

AnyEvent::Chromi allows you to remotely control Google Chrome from a Perl script. It requires the Chromi extension https://github.com/smblott-github/chromi, which exposes all of the Chrome Extensions API via a websocket connection.

• $chromi = AnyEvent::Chromi->new(mode => ..., on_connect => ...);

  • mode => 'client|server'

    If 'server' (default), it will start a websocket server on port 7441 and wait for the connection from Chrome (initiated by the Chromi extension). This is the most practical way to use AnyEvent::Chromi if you write a long-running script, because it doesn't require a separate daemon.

    If 'client', it will connect to port 7441 itself, expecting a websocket server, like the one provided by chromix-server, or by the examples/server.pl script.

  • port => N

    Use port N instead of 7441.

  • on_connect => sub { my ($chromi) = @_; ... }

    Will be executed as soon as Chrome connects (in server mode), or as the connection to the websocket server is done.

• $chromi->call($method, $args, $cb)

  Call the Chrome extension method $method, e.g. chrome.windows.getAll.

  $args is expected to be a ARRAYREF with the arguments for the method. It will be converted to JSON by AnyEvent::Chromi.

  $cb is a callback for when the reply is received. The first argument to the callback is the status (either "done" or "error"), and the second is a ARRAYREF with the data.

  Note: you need to make sure that the JSON::XS serialization is generating the proper data types. This is particularly important for booleans, where Types::Serialiser::true and Types::Serialiser::false can be used.

• $chromi->is_connected

  In server mode: returns true if Chrome is connected and awaits commands.

  In client mode: returns true if connected to chromix-server.

• List all tabs

    $chromi->call(
        'chrome.windows.getAll', [{ populate => Types::Serialiser::true }],
        sub {
            my ($status, $reply) = @_;
            $status eq 'done' or return;
            defined $reply and ref $reply eq 'ARRAY' or return;
            map { say "$_->{url}" } @{$reply->[0]{tabs}};
            $cv->send();
        }
  

• Focus a tab

    $chromi->call(
        'chrome.tabs.update', [$tab_id, { active => Types::Serialiser::true }],
    );
  

See also the "examples" directory:

• examples/client.pl

  Lists the URLs of all tabs. Requires chromix-server

• examples/server.pl

  chromix-server replacement written in Perl. Additionally to chromix-server, it also properly supports multiple clients with one or more chrome instances.

David Schweikert <[email protected]>, heavily influenced by Chromi/Chromix by Stephen Blott.

• GitHub project

  https://github.com/open-ch/AnyEvent-Chromi

• Chromi (Chrome extension)

  https://github.com/smblott-github/chromi

• Chromix (command-line tool)

  https://http://chromix.smblott.org/