Plaintext Storage Access

Read browser storage data (cookies, passwords, credit cards, LocalStorage) directly from disk after a BotBrowser session.

Prerequisites

BotBrowser ENT Tier1 or higher. Plaintext storage mode is only available on ENT Tier1+.
A profile file (.enc) loaded via --bot-profile.
Node.js with better-sqlite3 and level packages installed.


npm install better-sqlite3 level

Quick Start

Run a BotBrowser session with a known --user-data-dir, then read the stored data after the browser closes:


# 1. Launch BotBrowser with a known user data directory
chromium-browser \
    --bot-profile="/path/to/profile.enc" \
    --user-data-dir="/tmp/bb-session" \
    "https://example.com"
 
# 2. After the session, read cookies
node read_cookies.js "/tmp/bb-session" ".example.com"
 
# 3. Read saved passwords
node read_passwords.js "/tmp/bb-session"

Example scripts are available in examples/storage-access/ .

How It Works

Standard Chromium encrypts browser storage (cookies, passwords, credit cards) using OS-level credential managers (DPAPI on Windows, Keychain on macOS, Secret Service on Linux). This makes it impossible to read storage data programmatically from disk.

ENT Tier1 profiles enable plaintext storage mode. Data is stored with a v00 prefix followed by the raw value, allowing direct programmatic access without decryption:


v00<actual_value>

Storage locations

Data Type	File Path	Format
Cookies	`User Data/Default/Cookies`	SQLite
Passwords	`User Data/Default/Login Data`	SQLite
Credit Cards	`User Data/Default/Web Data`	SQLite
LocalStorage	`User Data/Default/Local Storage/leveldb/`	LevelDB
IndexedDB	`User Data/Default/IndexedDB/`	LevelDB

Common Scenarios

Extract session cookies for API replay


const puppeteer = require("puppeteer-core");
const { readCookies, toHeaderString } = require("./read_cookies");
 
const userDataDir = "/tmp/bb-session";
 
const browser = await puppeteer.launch({
    executablePath: process.env.BOTBROWSER_EXEC_PATH,
    args: [
        `--bot-profile=${process.env.BOT_PROFILE_PATH}`,
        `--user-data-dir=${userDataDir}`,
    ],
});
 
const page = await browser.newPage();
await page.goto("https://example.com/login");
// ... perform login flow
await browser.close();
 
// Read cookies from disk after browser closes
const cookies = readCookies(userDataDir, ".example.com");
const cookieHeader = toHeaderString(cookies, "example.com");
console.log("Cookie:", cookieHeader);

Filter cookies by domain


# All cookies
node read_cookies.js "/tmp/bb-session"
 
# Only .github.com cookies
node read_cookies.js "/tmp/bb-session" ".github.com"

Read saved credentials


node read_passwords.js "/tmp/bb-session"

Read LocalStorage for a specific origin


node read_localstorage.js "/tmp/bb-session" "https://example.com"

Troubleshooting / FAQ

Problem	Solution
Cookie values are encrypted (not `v00` prefix)	Verify your license is ENT Tier1 or above. Plaintext storage is only available on ENT Tier1+.
`SQLITE_BUSY` or locked database	Ensure the browser is fully closed before reading. Chromium holds a lock on SQLite databases while running.
`better-sqlite3` installation fails	The package requires native compilation. Install build tools: `apt install build-essential` (Linux) or Xcode Command Line Tools (macOS).
LocalStorage empty for expected origin	LocalStorage uses LevelDB, which may compact data. Check that the origin matches exactly (including protocol).

Security Notes

Handle extracted data responsibly:

Store credentials securely and never commit them to version control
Use for authorized testing and debugging only
Delete extracted data when no longer needed
Add user data directories to .gitignore

Next Steps

Cookie Management. Inject cookies at launch with --bot-cookies.
Automation Consistency Practices. Reduce framework-related inconsistency signals.
Storage Access Examples . Complete example scripts for cookies, passwords, credit cards, and LocalStorage.
CLI Flags Reference. Complete list of all available flags.

Related documentation: Storage Access Examples | Cookie Management CLI Flag

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