pybrinf

Browser discovery, history, downloads, bookmarks and session reader for Python.

pybrinf reads local browser data on Windows, Linux and macOS using the Python standard library. It inspects SQLite databases (History and places.sqlite with WAL copies), Chromium SNSS binary session files, Firefox mozLz4 session files, bookmark stores and Chromium DevTools Protocol endpoints.

Supported Browsers

Browser	Key	Engine	History & Downloads	Bookmarks	Saved Sessions	Live DevTools Tabs
Google Chrome	chrome	Chromium	Yes	Yes	Yes (SNSS)	Yes
Mozilla Firefox	firefox	Firefox	Yes	Yes	Yes (mozLz4)	No
Microsoft Edge	edge	Chromium	Yes	Yes	Yes (SNSS)	Yes
Brave Browser	brave	Chromium	Yes	Yes	Yes (SNSS)	Yes
Opera	opera	Chromium	Yes	Yes	Yes (SNSS)	Yes
Vivaldi	vivaldi	Chromium	Yes	Yes	Yes (SNSS)	Yes
Yandex Browser	yandex	Chromium	Yes	Yes	Yes (SNSS)	Yes
Chromium	chromium	Chromium	Yes	Yes	Yes (SNSS)	Yes
Arc	arc	Chromium	Yes	Yes	Yes (SNSS)	Yes

Installation

git clone https://github.com/manucabral/pybrinf.git
cd pybrinf
python -m pip install .

Optional extras are available for pandas DataFrames and pyarrow Parquet files:

python -m pip install ".[pandas]"
python -m pip install ".[parquet]"
python -m pip install ".[full]"

For local development and running the test suite:

python -m pip install -e ".[dev,full]"

Usage

Discover Installed Browsers and Profiles

from pybrinf import Brinf

brinf = Brinf()

default = brinf.default_browser
print(default.fullname, default.version, default.path)

for browser in brinf.installed_browsers(exclude="edge"):
    profiles = [p.name for p in browser.profiles()]
    print(browser.name, profiles)

Query History, Downloads and Bookmarks

from pybrinf import Brinf

brinf = Brinf()

for entry in brinf.history(limit=10):
    print(entry.browser, entry.last_visit, entry.title, entry.url)

for download in brinf.downloads(limit=5):
    print(download.browser, download.path, download.total_bytes)

for bookmark in brinf.bookmarks(limit=10):
    print(bookmark.browser, bookmark.folder, bookmark.title, bookmark.url)

To query a specific browser or user profile directly:

chrome = brinf.browser("chrome")
work_history = chrome.history(profile="Profile 1", domain="github.com", limit=20)

Read Saved Browser Sessions (SNSS and mozLz4)

from pybrinf import Brinf

brinf = Brinf()
session = brinf.default_browser.session()

current = session.current_tab
print(current.title, current.url)

for tab in session.tabs(include_closed=False):
    print(tab.id, tab.pinned, tab.active, tab.url)

Read Live Tabs via Chromium DevTools Protocol

from pybrinf import Brinf

brinf = Brinf()
chrome = brinf.browser("chrome")
chrome.dev_tools = True
chrome.open(port=9222)

for tab in chrome.tabs(port=9222):
    print(tab.id, tab.title, tab.url)

Export to JSON, CSV, DataFrame or Parquet

from pybrinf import Brinf, export_csv, export_json, save_parquet, to_dataframe

brinf = Brinf()
items = brinf.history(limit=50)

export_json(items, "history.json")
export_csv(items, "history.csv")

# Requires pybrinf[pandas]
df = to_dataframe(items)

# Requires pybrinf[parquet] (works without pandas)
save_parquet(items, "history.parquet")

Verification

ruff check pybrinf tests examples
pytest