What is CDP (Chrome DevTools Protocol)?

Chrome DevTools Protocol, or CDP, lets an external program control and inspect a Chromium browser. Browserbase's explainer shows the basic exchange: a program sends a navigation command, then receives an event when the page loads. Commands request operations; events report what happened.

The same connection can expose browser functions such as network inspection and JavaScript execution. This gives automation software a programmatic control surface beneath the visible page, so a browser task can coordinate actions with information about the browser's state.

“CDP is the control surface that gives external programs access to Chromium’s pages, network stack, JavaScript runtime, input system, debugger, and performance instrumentation.”

“At Browserbase, we’ve learned a lot about the protocol, spending years worth of engineering hours trying to tame it’s imperfections.”

“If your code controls Chromium, CDP is somewhere underneath it.”

“CDP started as the plumbing behind Chrome’s DevTools , not as a general automation API.”