WebGPU Fingerprinting and GPU Profile Consistency

Keep WebGPU adapter behavior aligned with the selected browser profile.

Prerequisites

BotBrowser installed. See Installation Guide.
A profile file (.enc for production).

Overview

WebGPU is a modern graphics API that can expose GPU adapter family, capability limits, feature support, and rendering behavior. These properties can become a fingerprint surface because they vary by hardware, driver, operating system, and browser profile.

BotBrowser keeps WebGPU behavior aligned with the selected profile so a browser identity does not expose the host GPU by accident.

Quick Start


# Default: use profile-defined WebGPU values (recommended)
chromium-browser \
    --bot-profile="path/to/profile.enc" \
    --user-data-dir="$(mktemp -d)"

By default, BotBrowser uses the profile’s WebGPU adapter data. No extra flags needed.

Configuration

The --bot-config-webgpu flag controls WebGPU behavior:

Value	Behavior
`profile` (default)	Return profile-defined adapter information. GPU probes see the target device’s values regardless of the host hardware.
`real`	Use the host system’s actual GPU. Useful when you need native GPU performance and don’t need WebGPU fingerprint protection.
`disabled`	Disable WebGPU entirely. `navigator.gpu.requestAdapter()` returns `null`.


# Use profile GPU identity (default)
chromium-browser \
    --bot-profile="path/to/profile.enc" \
    --bot-config-webgpu=profile
 
# Use host GPU directly
chromium-browser \
    --bot-profile="path/to/profile.enc" \
    --bot-config-webgpu=real
 
# Disable WebGPU
chromium-browser \
    --bot-profile="path/to/profile.enc" \
    --bot-config-webgpu=disabled

Common Scenarios

Cross-platform consistency

Run a Windows profile on a Linux server. The WebGPU adapter reports the profile’s GPU identity, not the host’s:


const browser = await chromium.launch({
    executablePath: process.env.BOTBROWSER_EXEC_PATH,
    headless: true,
    args: [
        "--bot-profile=path/to/win-profile.enc",
    ],
});
 
const page = await browser.newPage();
const adapter = await page.evaluate(async () => {
    const gpu = navigator.gpu;
    if (!gpu) return null;
    const adapter = await gpu.requestAdapter();
    if (!adapter) return null;
    const info = await adapter.requestAdapterInfo();
    return { vendor: info.vendor, architecture: info.architecture };
});
console.log(adapter); // Profile's GPU, not host's
await browser.close();

Disable WebGPU for lightweight tasks

If your workload does not require WebGPU, disable it to reduce resource usage:


chromium-browser \
    --bot-profile="path/to/profile.enc" \
    --bot-config-webgpu=disabled \
    --user-data-dir="$(mktemp -d)"

Troubleshooting / FAQ

Problem	Solution
`requestAdapter()` returns `null`	On headless Linux servers, ensure GPU emulation is active (default). If you set `--bot-gpu-emulation=false`, use `--use-angle=gl` with `libgl1-mesa-dri` installed so ANGLE picks up Mesa llvmpipe. Do not add `--disable-gpu`: it disables WebGPU adapter discovery on current Chromium. Full backend matrix in Linux GPU Backend Selection.
WebGPU shows host GPU info	Check that `--bot-config-webgpu` is set to `profile` (default) and not `real`.
High CPU during WebGPU operations	Expected on software-rendered environments. See Linux GPU Backend Selection for CPU behavior across SwiftShader, Mesa llvmpipe, and lavapipe.

Next Steps

WebGL Fingerprint Protection. Control WebGL parameters and rendering consistency.
Canvas Fingerprint Protection. Deterministic noise for Canvas 2D rendering.
Linux GPU Backend Selection. Pick and migrate between Mesa llvmpipe, SwiftShader, and lavapipe software rendering backends on Linux servers.
Performance Optimization. General performance tuning for production workloads.
CLI Flags Reference. Complete flag documentation.

Related documentation: Advanced Features | CLI Flags

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