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The Chrome DevTools Protocol is organized into 53 domains, each providing methods and events for specific browser functionality. This page covers the most commonly used domains.

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Discovery Commands

Before diving into specific domains, use these commands to explore: 
# List all 53 domains
bdg cdp --list

# List methods in a domain
bdg cdp Network --list
bdg cdp Page --list

# Search across all methods
bdg cdp --search cookie
bdg cdp --search screenshot

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Core Domains

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Runtime

Exposes JavaScript runtime - Evaluate expressions, get object properties, and work with the JavaScript execution context. Key Methods:
  • Runtime.evaluate - Execute JavaScript expressions
  • Runtime.callFunctionOn - Call a function on an object
  • Runtime.getProperties - Get object properties
  • Runtime.getIsolateId - Get V8 isolate ID
Examples: 
# Evaluate JavaScript
bdg cdp Runtime.evaluate --params '{"expression":"document.title"}'

# Get element properties
bdg cdp Runtime.evaluate --params '{"expression":"document.querySelector(\"h1\").textContent"}'

# Execute complex script with return value
bdg cdp Runtime.evaluate --params '{
  "expression":"(() => ({ url: location.href, title: document.title }))()",
  "returnByValue":true
}'

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Page

Page lifecycle and navigation - Control page loading, navigation, screenshots, and lifecycle events. Key Methods:
  • Page.navigate - Navigate to a URL
  • Page.reload - Reload the page
  • Page.getNavigationHistory - Get navigation history
  • Page.captureScreenshot - Capture screenshot (use bdg dom screenshot instead)
  • Page.printToPDF - Generate PDF of page
Examples: 
# Navigate to URL
bdg cdp Page.navigate --params '{"url":"https://example.com"}'

# Reload page
bdg cdp Page.reload

# Get navigation history
bdg cdp Page.getNavigationHistory

# Generate PDF
bdg cdp Page.printToPDF --params '{"landscape":true}'

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Network

Network traffic monitoring - Inspect requests, responses, cookies, and caching. Key Methods:
  • Network.getCookies - Get browser cookies
  • Network.setCookie - Set a cookie
  • Network.deleteCookies - Delete cookies
  • Network.getAllCookies - Get all cookies (all URLs)
  • Network.clearBrowserCache - Clear browser cache
  • Network.clearBrowserCookies - Clear all cookies
Examples: 
# Get cookies for current page
bdg cdp Network.getCookies

# Get all cookies
bdg cdp Network.getAllCookies

# Set a cookie
bdg cdp Network.setCookie --params '{
  "name":"session",
  "value":"abc123",
  "domain":"example.com"
}'

# Clear cookies
bdg cdp Network.clearBrowserCookies

# Clear cache
bdg cdp Network.clearBrowserCache
Note: For inspecting captured network traffic, use bdg network commands instead.

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DOM

Document Object Model inspection - Query, modify, and traverse the DOM tree. Key Methods:
  • DOM.getDocument - Get document root node
  • DOM.querySelector - Query selector (returns nodeId)
  • DOM.querySelectorAll - Query all matching elements
  • DOM.getAttributes - Get element attributes
  • DOM.getOuterHTML - Get element HTML
  • DOM.focus - Focus an element
Examples: 
# Get document root
bdg cdp DOM.getDocument

# Query for element (need root nodeId first)
bdg cdp DOM.querySelector --params '{"nodeId":1,"selector":"h1"}'

# Get element HTML
bdg cdp DOM.getOuterHTML --params '{"nodeId":123}'
Note: For higher-level DOM operations, use bdg dom commands which handle nodeId management automatically.

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Input

Simulated user input - Dispatch keyboard, mouse, and touch events. Key Methods:
  • Input.dispatchKeyEvent - Dispatch keyboard events
  • Input.dispatchMouseEvent - Dispatch mouse events
  • Input.insertText - Insert text at cursor
Examples: 
# Type text
bdg cdp Input.insertText --params '{"text":"Hello World"}'

# Press Enter key
bdg cdp Input.dispatchKeyEvent --params '{
  "type":"keyDown",
  "key":"Enter"
}'

# Click at coordinates
bdg cdp Input.dispatchMouseEvent --params '{
  "type":"mousePressed",
  "x":100,
  "y":200,
  "button":"left",
  "clickCount":1
}'
Note: For form filling and clicking, use bdg dom fill and bdg dom click which handle element targeting automatically.

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Debugging Domains

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Console

Console message access - Enable console logging and message inspection. Key Methods:
  • Console.enable - Enable console domain
  • Console.disable - Disable console domain
Note: For viewing console messages, use bdg console commands instead.

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Debugger

JavaScript debugging - Set breakpoints, step through code, and evaluate in scope. Key Methods:
  • Debugger.enable - Enable debugger
  • Debugger.setBreakpoint - Set breakpoint
  • Debugger.pause - Pause execution
  • Debugger.resume - Resume execution
  • Debugger.stepOver - Step over statement

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Log

Log message access - Browser log entries and violations. Key Methods:
  • Log.enable - Enable log domain
  • Log.clear - Clear log

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Performance Domains

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Performance

Performance metrics - Timing, memory, and performance measurement. Key Methods:
  • Performance.enable - Enable performance tracking
  • Performance.getMetrics - Get current metrics
  • Performance.disable - Disable performance tracking
Examples: 
# Get performance metrics
bdg cdp Performance.enable
bdg cdp Performance.getMetrics

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Profiler

CPU profiling - Sampling profiler for JavaScript performance analysis. Key Methods:
  • Profiler.enable - Enable profiler
  • Profiler.start - Start CPU profiling
  • Profiler.stop - Stop profiling and get data
Event-based: Results arrive after calling Profiler.stop, not from the start method. Examples: 
# Collect CPU profile
bdg cdp Profiler.enable
bdg cdp Profiler.start
# ... perform actions ...
bdg cdp Profiler.stop  # Returns profile data

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HeapProfiler

Memory profiling - Heap snapshots and sampling heap profiler. Key Methods:
  • HeapProfiler.enable - Enable heap profiler
  • HeapProfiler.takeHeapSnapshot - Take heap snapshot
  • HeapProfiler.startSampling - Start sampling
  • HeapProfiler.stopSampling - Stop and get samples
Event-based: Snapshot data arrives via events after takeHeapSnapshot.

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Tracing

Performance tracing - Detailed performance traces for analysis. Key Methods:
  • Tracing.start - Start tracing
  • Tracing.end - End tracing
  • Tracing.getCategories - Get trace categories
Event-based: Data arrives via Tracing.dataCollected events after calling Tracing.end.

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Accessibility

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Accessibility

Accessibility tree inspection - Query accessibility properties and ARIA attributes. Key Methods:
  • Accessibility.getFullAXTree - Get full accessibility tree
  • Accessibility.getPartialAXTree - Get partial tree from node
  • Accessibility.queryAXTree - Query accessibility tree
Examples: 
# Get full accessibility tree
bdg cdp Accessibility.getFullAXTree

# Query by role
bdg cdp Accessibility.queryAXTree --params '{
  "role":"button"
}'
Note: For higher-level accessibility inspection, use bdg dom a11y commands.

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Visual Debugging

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Overlay

Visual debugging overlays - Highlight elements, show layout information. Key Methods:
  • Overlay.enable - Enable overlay
  • Overlay.highlightNode - Highlight element (visual only)
  • Overlay.hideHighlight - Clear highlights
  • Overlay.setShowViewportSizeOnResize - Show viewport size
Event-based: Methods like highlightNode show visual feedback but return empty responses. Examples: 
# Highlight element by nodeId
bdg cdp Overlay.highlightNode --params '{
  "nodeId":123,
  "highlightConfig":{
    "contentColor":{"r":255,"g":0,"b":0,"a":0.3}
  }
}'

# Clear highlights
bdg cdp Overlay.hideHighlight

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Security & Auditing

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Security

Security state inspection - Certificate info, mixed content, security issues. Key Methods:
  • Security.enable - Enable security domain
  • Security.setIgnoreCertificateErrors - Ignore cert errors

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Audits

Automated audits - Accessibility, contrast, and other automated checks. Key Methods:
  • Audits.enable - Enable audits
  • Audits.checkContrast - Check color contrast
Event-based: Results arrive via Audits.issueAdded events, not method responses. Examples: 
# Enable and check contrast
bdg cdp Audits.enable
bdg cdp Audits.checkContrast
# Results arrive via events
Alternative: Use bdg dom eval 'getComputedStyle(element).color' for direct contrast checking.

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Storage

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Storage

Storage inspection - IndexedDB, localStorage, sessionStorage, cache. Key Methods:
  • Storage.getStorageKeyForFrame - Get storage key
  • Storage.clearDataForOrigin - Clear origin data
  • Storage.getCookies - Get cookies (alternative to Network.getCookies)

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IndexedDB

IndexedDB inspection - Query and modify IndexedDB databases. Key Methods:
  • IndexedDB.requestDatabaseNames - List databases
  • IndexedDB.requestDatabase - Get database metadata

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CacheStorage

Cache Storage API - Service worker cache inspection. Key Methods:
  • CacheStorage.requestCacheNames - List caches
  • CacheStorage.requestEntries - Get cache entries

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Device Emulation

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Emulation

Device and sensor emulation - Viewport, user agent, geolocation, device metrics. Key Methods:
  • Emulation.setDeviceMetricsOverride - Set viewport size
  • Emulation.setUserAgentOverride - Set user agent
  • Emulation.setGeolocationOverride - Set geolocation
  • Emulation.setTouchEmulationEnabled - Enable touch events
Examples: 
# Set mobile viewport
bdg cdp Emulation.setDeviceMetricsOverride --params '{
  "width":375,
  "height":667,
  "deviceScaleFactor":2,
  "mobile":true
}'

# Set user agent
bdg cdp Emulation.setUserAgentOverride --params '{
  "userAgent":"Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 13_0 like Mac OS X)"
}'

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Advanced Domains

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Target

Target management - Create, attach to, and manage browser targets (pages, workers). Key Methods:
  • Target.getTargets - List all targets
  • Target.createTarget - Create new page
  • Target.attachToTarget - Attach to target

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Browser

Browser-level operations - Version info, permissions, downloads. Key Methods:
  • Browser.getVersion - Get browser version
  • Browser.getBrowserCommandLine - Get launch arguments
  • Browser.grantPermissions - Grant permissions
Examples: 
# Get browser version
bdg cdp Browser.getVersion

# Grant geolocation permission
bdg cdp Browser.grantPermissions --params '{
  "permissions":["geolocation"]
}'

​
SystemInfo

System information - GPU, process info. Key Methods:
  • SystemInfo.getInfo - Get system info
  • SystemInfo.getProcessInfo - Get process info

​
Complete Domain List

To see all 53 domains with descriptions and method counts: 
bdg cdp --list
All domains: Accessibility, Animation, Audits, BackgroundService, Browser, CacheStorage, Cast, Console, CSS, Database, Debugger, DeviceAccess, DeviceOrientation, DOM, DOMDebugger, DOMSnapshot, DOMStorage, Emulation, EventBreakpoints, Fetch, FileSystem, HeadlessExperimental, HeapProfiler, IndexedDB, Input, Inspector, IO, LayerTree, Log, Media, Memory, Network, Overlay, Page, Performance, PerformanceTimeline, Preload, Profiler, PWA, Runtime, Schema, Security, ServiceWorker, Storage, SystemInfo, Target, Tethering, Tracing, WebAudio, WebAuthn, and more.

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External Resources

  • CDP Overview - How to use the bdg cdp command
  • bdg dom - High-level DOM operations
  • bdg network - Network request inspection
  • bdg console - Console message inspection

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