Installation

Install the package

npm install @vakra-dev/reader

Prerequisites

• Node.js 22.12.0+. Reader has ESM compatibility issues with Bun - use Node.
• x86_64 architecture for Docker. Chromium is bundled as x86_64 only, so Apple Silicon Macs must use native Node.js or a remote Linux server for Docker deployments.
• Chrome system libraries on Linux (see below). On macOS, Chrome is resolved automatically on first run.

macOS

Nothing extra needed. Install the package and run your code - Chrome is resolved automatically on first use.

npm install @vakra-dev/reader
node your-script.js

Linux (Debian / Ubuntu)

Reader needs Chrome's system dependencies to run a headless browser. Install them with:

apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
  wget gnupg ca-certificates curl \
  fonts-liberation fonts-freefont-ttf xvfb \
  libasound2 libatk-bridge2.0-0 libatk1.0-0 libatspi2.0-0 \
  libcups2 libdbus-1-3 libdrm2 libgbm1 libgtk-3-0 \
  libnspr4 libnss3 libxcomposite1 libxdamage1 \
  libxfixes3 libxkbcommon0 libxrandr2 libxshmfence1 libxss1 \
  xdg-utils

This is the same list used in the official Dockerfile.

Docker

Reader ships with a production-ready Dockerfile under examples/deployment/docker/ in the GitHub repo. The key constraints:

• platform: linux/amd64 - Chromium is bundled as x86_64
• shm_size: 2gb - Chrome uses /dev/shm heavily and crashes with the default 64 MB
• seccomp:unconfined + cap_add: SYS_ADMIN - required for the Chrome sandbox

See the Deployment guide for the full Docker Compose setup.

Verify the install

Create a file, test.js:

import { ReaderClient } from "@vakra-dev/reader";

const reader = new ReaderClient({ verbose: true });
const result = await reader.scrape({
  urls: ["https://example.com"],
  formats: ["markdown"],
});

console.log(result.data[0].metadata.website.title);
await reader.close();

Run it:

node test.js

If you see a title printed, you're done. If not, check that Chrome's system dependencies are installed and that you're on Node 22+.

Where to go next