changedetection.io-cloak-browser

Stealth browser fetcher plugin for changedetection.io powered by CloakBrowser.

• ✅ Bypasses Cloudflare Turnstile, reCAPTCHA v3, FingerprintJS, BrowserScan and more
• ✅ 33 source-level C++ patches compiled into Chromium — no JS injection tricks
• ✅ Full browser steps support (same Playwright page API)
• ✅ Full screenshot and visual selector support
• ✅ Drop-in replacement — select "CloakBrowser" per-watch in the UI
• ✅ Proxy support with optional geo-IP auto-detection
• ✅ Human-like behaviour mode to avoid timing-based detection

Requirements

• changedetection.io >= 0.54.5
• Python 3.10+
• ~200 MB disk space for the CloakBrowser Chromium binary (downloaded automatically on first run)

NOTE: - The biggest red-flag is still your IP address "quality", always use a high quality 'residential IP address' through a SOCKS style proxy - When you sign up using https://brightdata.grsm.io/n0r16zf7eivq BrightData will match any first deposit up to $150 .

Cloak Browser works by downloading a pre-compiled binary chrome-browser from CloakHQ, remember, you are running a black-box piece of software that you do not know what's inside of it.

Quick Start

1. Install the plugin

Docker (docker-compose.yml):

services:
  changedetection:
    environment:
      - EXTRA_PACKAGES=changedetection.io-cloak-browser

Local install:

pip install changedetection.io-cloak-browser
# Download the Chromium binary
python -m cloakbrowser install

2. Select CloakBrowser for a watch

In the changedetection.io UI, open any watch → Edit → Fetch tab → choose "CloakBrowser - Stealth Chromium (anti-bot bypass)" from the fetcher dropdown.

3. (Optional) Environment variables

Docker Compose Example

version: '3'

services:
  changedetection:
    image: ghcr.io/dgtlmoon/changedetection.io:latest
    container_name: changedetection
    volumes:
      - ./datastore:/datastore
    environment:
      - EXTRA_PACKAGES=changedetection.io-cloak-browser
      - CLOAKBROWSER_HUMANIZE=true
      # Optional proxy
      # - playwright_proxy_server=http://proxy.example.com:8080
      # - playwright_proxy_username=user
      # - playwright_proxy_password=pass
    ports:
      - "5000:5000"
    restart: unless-stopped

How It Works

CloakBrowser is a patched Chromium binary with 33 source-level C++ modifications that make it indistinguishable from a real user's Chrome browser. Unlike JavaScript-injection approaches (which detection services can identify), these patches operate at the binary level.

The Python cloakbrowser package wraps the Playwright Python library but connects to the patched binary instead of stock Chromium. This means the page API is 100% identical to Playwright — browser steps, screenshots, visual selectors, and JS execution all work unchanged.

Warnings!

• A pre-built binary chrome will be downloaded from the CloakHQ/Cloak-browser source, this repository has no control over that file, please consider the implications of running unknown binaries! See https://github.com/CloakHQ/CloakBrowser
• Other leakage such as WebRTC, timezone information, RTT triangulation etc can still reveal the browser type!

Detection bypass results

Browser Steps

CloakBrowser fully supports all changedetection.io browser steps:

• Click element / Click element if exists
• Enter text in field
• Execute JS
• Wait for text / Wait for seconds
• Scroll down
• Check/uncheck checkbox
• Select by label
• Remove elements
• … and all others

This works because CloakBrowser pages are standard Playwright page objects — the browser steps engine requires no modification.

Troubleshooting

Plugin not loading?

from changedetectionio.pluggy_interface import plugin_manager
print([name for name, _ in plugin_manager.list_name_plugin()])
# Should include: cloak_browser

Binary not downloaded?

python -m cloakbrowser install
python -m cloakbrowser info

Test that the fetcher registers:

from changedetectionio.content_fetchers import available_fetchers
print(available_fetchers())
# Should include: ('html_cloakbrowser', 'CloakBrowser - Stealth Chromium (anti-bot bypass)')

Check for CloakBrowser updates:

python -m cloakbrowser update

License

MIT License — see LICENSE.

CloakBrowser binary: free-to-use, no redistribution. See CloakBrowser BINARY-LICENSE.

By using this software you agree to both the MIT LICENCE and the Cloak Browser licence(s).