Tutorials

Tutorials

Launching Chrome with a Real Browser Profile

WithProfileName tells GPAL to launch Chrome using one of your existing named profiles, so the browser opens already signed into whatever accounts that profile is logged into. This tutorial shows the minimal setup for a profile-based session and what to keep in mind when a real user profile is involved.

Complete Program

Here's the whole workflow, start to finish. Each piece is broken down and explained below.

using GenerallyPositive;

using GenerallyPositive.Browser;

using static GenerallyPositive.Enums;

GPAL

.WithExceptionHandler(ExceptionEventHandler)

.WithInformationHandler(InformationEventHandler);

IBrowser browser = GPAL.Browser

.WithBrowserType(BrowserType.Chrome)

.WithProfileName("Person 1")

.WithUseAutomationEngine(AutomationEngine.PuppeteerPort)

.ToGPALObject();

browser.GoTo("https://www.ebay.com");

browser.Close(true);

WithProfileName Picks an Existing Chrome Profile

Chrome stores each profile (the ones you switch between in the top-right avatar menu) under a name like "Person 1", "Person 2", and so on. Passing that name to WithProfileName tells GPAL to launch Chrome using that profile's user data - cookies, saved logins, extensions, everything - instead of a clean temporary profile.

IBrowser browser = GPAL.Browser

.WithBrowserType(BrowserType.Chrome)

.WithProfileName("Person 1")

.WithUseAutomationEngine(AutomationEngine.PuppeteerPort)

.ToGPALObject();

TIP

Because the launched browser is using a real profile's storage, sites that previously had you signed in will treat the automated session the same way - no login step needed. This is the difference between this tutorial and a normal GPAL.Browser call, which starts from a fresh, unauthenticated profile. See Browser Profiles: Signed-In vs Temporary.

GoTo vs Get

Once the browser exists, navigation works exactly the same as any other GPAL workflow - GoTo opens a visible window and navigates to the URL, while Get does the same thing for a headless run.

browser.GoTo("https://www.ebay.com");

// or, for a headless run:

// browser.Get("https://www.ebay.com");

Wire Up Exception and Information Handlers

Before doing anything else, the program registers handlers for GPAL's exception and information events. These fire throughout the run and are the easiest way to see what GPAL is doing (or where it's failing) without instrumenting every call yourself.

GPAL

.WithExceptionHandler(ExceptionEventHandler)

.WithInformationHandler(InformationEventHandler);

public static void ExceptionEventHandler(object sender, EventArgs e)

{

Console.WriteLine(((GPAL.GPALEventArgs)e).Message);

Console.WriteLine(((GPAL.GPALEventArgs)e).ExceptionRaised?.Message);

}

public static void InformationEventHandler(object sender, EventArgs e)

{

Console.WriteLine(((GPAL.GPALEventArgs)e).Message);

}

Close When You're Done

Close(true) shuts down the browser and kills the underlying driver process for this run.

browser.Close(true);

WARNING

If the named profile is currently open in a regular Chrome window on the same machine, Chrome can refuse to launch a second instance against that profile's data directory, or it may hand control to the existing window instead of starting automation. Close any open Chrome windows using that profile before running a profile-based workflow.

Behind the Scenes: Every Engine, Every Mode

The actual test program in the repo wraps this workflow in three nested loops, running it for every BrowserType, every AutomationEngine, and both headless and headful modes. That's purely for regression testing - it makes sure profile-based launches work no matter which engine drives the browser. Your own code only needs the single pass shown above. See Automation Engines for the full list of engines and how they differ.

On this page

Tutorials
Launching Chrome with a Real Browser Profile
  • Complete Program
  • WithProfileName Picks an Existing Chrome Profile
  • GoTo vs Get
  • Wire Up Exception and Information Handlers
  • Close When You're Done
  • Behind the Scenes: Every Engine, Every Mode