BrowserContext is Puppeteer’s unit for separating browser storage between automation tasks. Create one with browser.createBrowserContext(), open pages with context.newPage(), and close the context when the task is done. Puppeteer documents separation of cookies, localStorage, and cache across contexts; this is storage isolation within a browser instance, not a guarantee of a separate browser process or a complete security boundary.
What a BrowserContext does
A Puppeteer BrowserContext represents an individual user context. A launched browser has at least one context, called the default context. You can create additional contexts for tasks that should not share the documented browser storage with other contexts. See the BrowserContext API reference.
Puppeteer documents cookies and localStorage as isolated between contexts. The createBrowserContext() API also states that a newly created context does not share cookies or cache with other browser contexts. Treat “isolated session” as shorthand for these storage boundaries; the documentation does not establish that contexts are separate OS processes or a complete boundary for hostile tenants.
Create, use, and close a context
In current Puppeteer examples, create an explicit context when a task needs separate storage or grouped cleanup:
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const context = await browser.createBrowserContext();
try {
const page = await context.newPage();
await page.goto('https://example.com');
// Run the task using this page and any other pages in the context.
} finally {
await context.close();
}This uses an existing browser instance. The try/finally ensures the context is closed if navigation or later task code throws. Closing a non-default context closes its associated pages. The browser-management guide documents the same create-page-close workflow: Puppeteer browser management.
Choose the default context or an explicit context
| Approach | Page creation | Storage and cleanup |
|---|---|---|
| Default context | const page = await browser.newPage(); |
The page belongs to the default context. The default context cannot be closed, so this is not a disposable per-task context. |
| Explicit context | const context = await browser.createBrowserContext(); |
Use for storage separation from other contexts and close the context to close its associated pages. |
Use the default context when a separate storage area and context-wide cleanup are not needed. Use an explicit context when independent tasks should not reuse the documented cookies, localStorage, or cache, or when you want to dispose of all task pages together. Puppeteer documents lifecycle and storage behavior, not a numeric performance difference between these approaches.
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Pages, popups, and context membership
A context can contain multiple pages. Create additional pages with context.newPage(). If a page opens a popup with window.open, Puppeteer places that popup in the parent page’s context; it does not automatically get a fresh context. The Page.browserContext() reference describes how to obtain a page’s context.
For example, if a test needs two independent sessions, create two contexts and a page in each. Opening a popup in the first page keeps it in the first context; it does not create the second session for you.
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Cookies and test state
For a non-default test context, use its context-level cookie APIs, such as cookies(), setCookie(), and the available deletion methods. Puppeteer’s cookie guide explains reading, setting, and deleting browser cookies, and notes that equivalent methods on Browser operate on its default context.
Page-level cookie methods are deprecated in favor of the Browser and BrowserContext APIs in the current Page API reference. For tests that deliberately need a fresh context, avoid using browser-level cookie methods as though they targeted that context: call the context’s methods instead.
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Default context and incognito details
The default context cannot be closed, whereas a non-default context can. In Chrome, Puppeteer documents non-default contexts as incognito. The default context may also be incognito if Chrome was launched with --incognito. Therefore, “default” describes a context’s role in Puppeteer and does not always mean “non-incognito.”
To inspect open contexts, use browser.browserContexts(). A newly created browser returns a single context from this method; see the Browser.browserContexts() API. Do not assume every returned context can be closed: the default context is not disposable.
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API naming in current Puppeteer
Use browser.createBrowserContext() in current code. Puppeteer 22.0.0 renamed createIncognitoBrowserContext() to createBrowserContext() as a breaking change; the changelog dates that release entry to 2024-02-05. Older examples may therefore use the previous method name. Check the Puppeteer changelog when adapting code written for an older version.
Troubleshooting common context mistakes
- Pages unexpectedly share state: confirm that each task creates its own context and calls that context’s
newPage(). Callingbrowser.newPage()creates a page in the default context. - Closing a context closes more pages than expected: pages associated with that context are closed together. Create a separate context for work that needs independent cleanup.
- Closing the default context fails: the default context cannot be closed. Close only the non-default contexts your code created.
- A popup appears in the same session: that is expected; a
window.openpopup belongs to its parent page’s context. Create a separate context explicitly if the new task requires separated storage. - An older snippet says
createIncognitoBrowserContext(): for Puppeteer 22.0.0 and current examples, usecreateBrowserContext(); consult the changelog if maintaining version-specific code. - Cookie changes affect the wrong context: use the selected
BrowserContextcookie methods for a non-default context. Browser-level equivalents operate on the default context.
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