curl-cffivspydoll
Curl-cffi is a Python library for implementing curl-impersonate which is a
HTTP client that appears as one of popular web browsers like:
- Google Chrome
- Microsoft Edge
- Safari
- Firefox
Unlike requests and httpx which are native Python libraries, curl-cffi uses cURL and inherits it's powerful features
like extensive HTTP protocol support and detection patches for TLS and HTTP fingerprinting.
Using curl-cffi web scrapers can bypass TLS and HTTP fingerprinting.
Pydoll is a Python library for browser automation that uses the Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP) directly, designed to be undetectable by anti-bot systems. Unlike Selenium-based tools, Pydoll does not use WebDriver and avoids the common detection vectors that anti-bot systems look for.
Key features include:
- Native CDP communication Connects directly to Chrome/Chromium via CDP websocket without intermediary drivers, avoiding the automation flags and fingerprints that WebDriver-based tools leave behind.
- Event-driven architecture Built around an async event system that can listen for and react to browser events like network requests, console messages, and DOM changes.
- Network interception Can intercept, modify, and mock network requests and responses, useful for blocking unnecessary resources or modifying API responses during scraping.
- Async-first design Fully asynchronous API built on Python's asyncio for efficient concurrent automation.
- Clean API Provides a high-level, Pythonic API for common browser automation tasks while still allowing direct CDP command execution for advanced use cases.
- Multi-browser support Can manage multiple browser instances and pages concurrently.
Pydoll fills a similar niche to nodriver and camoufox — browser automation with a focus on avoiding detection — but takes a different approach by providing more granular control over CDP communication and network interception.