❗ Note: This is a starting point for discussion, not a final decision. The team should review and adjust before any implementation begins.❗

Context

Cloud browser services like Browserless, Browserbase, and others allow connecting to remote browsers via CDP or Playwright's browser_type.connect(). Currently, BrowserPool only supports launching local browsers — there's no way to connect to a remote browser.

Analogous JS issue: apify/crawlee#1822

What's needed

Support connect_options (similar to existing launch_options) in BrowserPool / BrowserPlugin so users can connect to remote browser services instead of launching local browsers.

This will likely require a redesign of BrowserPool to accommodate both local and remote browser lifecycles, see #1744.

Reference

• Python BrowserPool: src/crawlee/browsers/_browser_pool.py
• Python BrowserPlugin: src/crawlee/browsers/_playwright_browser_plugin.py