Google Chrome Headless is a browser mode without a graphical user interface, making it perfect for automated web tasks such as testing, data scraping, and generating PDFs or screenshots. To start these tasks on Linux systems, you first need to install Google Chrome on Ubuntu. This setup is widely used in CI/CD pipelines for web automation, allowing developers to efficiently run UI tests without a visible browser window, which speeds up testing and reduces resource consumption.

If you want to run Google Chrome in headless mode for automated tasks or server-based browsing, this guide will walk you through the steps to install Google Chrome Headless on an Ubuntu server.

Prerequisites

• Access to an Ubuntu server.
• sudo privileges to install and configure packages.

Step 1: Update the Package Index

Update the package index to ensure all repositories are in sync:

#apt-get update

Step 2: Install Dependencies

Install the required dependencies for Chrome:

#apt-get install libappindicator1 fonts-liberation

Step 3: Download Google Chrome

Use wget to download the latest version of Google Chrome:

#wget https://dl.google.com/linux/direct/google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb

Step 4: Install Google Chrome

Install the Chrome package using dpkg. This may show some dependency errors, which we’ll resolve in the next step:

#dpkg -i google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb

Step 5: Fix Broken Dependencies

Resolve any missing dependencies:

#apt --fix-broken install

Step 6: Re-run the Chrome Installation

After fixing dependencies, rerun the Chrome installation:

#dpkg -i google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb

Step 7: Verify the Installation

To check if Google Chrome is installed and functioning, run:

#google-chrome-stable --version

Example Command: Run Chrome in Headless Mode

To generate a PDF of a webpage, you can use:

#google-chrome-stable --headless --disable-gpu --print-to-pdf https://example.com/

Note: Replace example.com with the domain you want to process.

With these above mentioned steps, you can successfully install Google Chrome Headless on your Ubuntu server, and handle automated browsing, screenshots, or testing scripts.

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