try chrome launcher

Author: khendrikse

.puppeteerrc.cjs

@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+module.exports = {
+  // We use the system Chrome instead
+  skipDownload: true,
+};

src/index.js

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
-import { join } from 'path';
+import { existsSync } from 'fs';
 import { homedir } from 'os';
+import { join } from 'path';
 
 import * as dotenv from 'dotenv';
 
@@ -13,14 +14,26 @@ const puppeteerCacheDir = join(homedir(), '.cache', 'puppeteer');
 const restorePuppeteerCache = async ({ utils } = {}) => {
   console.log('Restoring Lighthouse cache...');
   // Puppeteer relies on a global cache since v19.x, which otherwise would not be persisted in Netlify builds
+  // Note: We use system Chrome now (skipDownload: true), so this cache may be empty
   await utils?.cache.restore(puppeteerCacheDir);
   console.log('Lighthouse cache restored');
 };
 
 const persistPuppeteerCache = async ({ utils } = {}) => {
   console.log('Persisting Lighthouse cache...');
-  await utils?.cache.save(puppeteerCacheDir);
-  console.log('Lighthouse cache persisted');
+  // Only cache if the directory exists and is not empty
+  // Since we use system Chrome (skipDownload: true), this may not exist
+  if (existsSync(puppeteerCacheDir)) {
+    try {
+      await utils?.cache.save(puppeteerCacheDir);
+      console.log('Lighthouse cache persisted');
+    } catch (error) {
+      // Non-critical error - cache persistence failed but build can continue
+      console.log('Note: Lighthouse cache persistence skipped');
+    }
+  } else {
+    console.log('Note: Lighthouse cache not found (using system Chrome)');
+  }
 };
 
 export default function lighthousePlugin(inputs) {

src/run-lighthouse.js

@@ -1,16 +1,52 @@
-import puppeteer from 'puppeteer';
+import { execSync } from 'child_process';
+
+import chromeLauncher from 'chrome-launcher';
 import lighthouse from 'lighthouse';
 import log from 'lighthouse-logger';
-import chromeLauncher from 'chrome-launcher';
+import puppeteer from 'puppeteer';
 
 export const getBrowserPath = async () => {
-  const browser = await puppeteer.launch({
-    headless: 'new',
-    args: ['--no-sandbox', '--disable-gpu', '--disable-dev-shm-usage'],
-  });
-  const path = browser.process().spawnfile;
-  await browser.close();
-  return path;
+  // First, try to find Chrome using chromeLauncher
+  // This works well on CI environments like Netlify
+  try {
+    const installations = chromeLauncher.getChromePath();
+    if (installations) {
+      return installations;
+    }
+  } catch (error) {
+    // chromeLauncher.getChromePath() failed, continue to next method
+  }
+
+  // Try to find Chrome using common paths
+  try {
+    const chromePath = execSync(
+      'which google-chrome || which chromium-browser || which chromium',
+      {
+        encoding: 'utf8',
+        stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'ignore'],
+      },
+    ).trim();
+    if (chromePath) {
+      return chromePath;
+    }
+  } catch (error) {
+    // which command failed, continue to next method
+  }
+
+  // Fall back to using puppeteer's bundled Chrome (if available)
+  try {
+    const browser = await puppeteer.launch({
+      headless: 'new',
+      args: ['--no-sandbox', '--disable-gpu', '--disable-dev-shm-usage'],
+    });
+    const path = browser.process().spawnfile;
+    await browser.close();
+    return path;
+  } catch (error) {
+    throw new Error(
+      'Could not find Chrome. Please ensure Chrome is installed on the system.',
+    );
+  }
 };
 
 export const runLighthouse = async (browserPath, url, settings) => {