**Lightpanda** is an open-source, AI-native **headless web browser** — a browser built from scratch in the Zig programming language specifically for machines (AI agents, automation, scraping, and testing), not for human users. ## Key facts **What makes it different:** It is *not* a Chromium fork or a WebKit patch — it's an entirely new browser engine written in Zig, with JavaScript execution but **no graphical rendering**. The official homepage calls it "the first browser for machines, not humans" ([lightpanda.io](https://lightpanda.io/)). **Core features** (per the [official docs](https://lightpanda.io/docs/)): - JavaScript execution and support for Web APIs (partially implemented, work in progress) - Compatible with **Puppeteer, Playwright, and chromedp** through the Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP) — you connect via `browserWSEndpoint` and your existing scripts mostly just work - Built-in **agent mode** (`lightpanda agent`) that lets an LLM drive the browser in plain English or slash commands, producing **PandaScript** — deterministic, token-free JavaScript that can be replayed in production without a model ([GitHub README](https://github.com/lightpanda-io/browser)) - Official Docker images and nightly binaries for Linux/macOS (no native Windows build — use WSL2) **Performance claims** (benchmark of 933 real web pages on an AWS EC2 m5.large): roughly **9x faster execution** than headless Chrome (5s vs 46s per 100 pages) and ~**16x less peak memory** (123MB vs 2GB), plus near-instant startup ([lightpanda.io](https://lightpanda.io/), [GitHub README](https://github.com/lightpanda-io/browser)). **Project status:** Very popular — the [lightpanda-io/browser repo](https://github.com/lightpanda-io/browser) has ~34.4k stars, is licensed under AGPL-3.0, and is actively developed (9,000+ commits, nightly releases). **Who's behind it:** The team previously ran infrastructure that scraped millions of web pages per day and found Chrome too slow/expensive for cloud automation, so they started over. They also offer a **managed cloud** (Lightpanda Cloud) where you can connect Puppeteer/Playwright to a hosted endpoint, choosing between the Lightpanda engine or Chrome ([lightpanda.io](https://lightpanda.io/)). ## Quick example After starting the server (`./lightpanda serve --port 9222`), you use it like any CDP browser: ```js const browser = await puppeteer.connect({ browserWSEndpoint: "ws://127.0.0.1:9222" }); const page = await browser.newPage(); await page.goto('https://example.com'); ``` **Sources:** [lightpanda.io (homepage)](https://lightpanda.io/), [Official docs — "What is Lightpanda?"](https://lightpanda.io/docs/), [GitHub: lightpanda-io/browser README](https://github.com/lightpanda-io/browser)