URL: /guides/browser-rendering

---
title: "Browser Rendering"
description: "Audit JavaScript-heavy sites with cloud browser rendering"
---

Some sites build their content with JavaScript - single-page apps, client-rendered frameworks, content loaded after the initial response. A plain HTTP fetch sees the empty shell, so content rules report missing headings, thin word counts, and absent meta tags that are actually there.

Browser rendering solves this: pages are loaded in a real headless browser in the cloud, and the audit runs against the fully rendered HTML.

<Note>Browser rendering is a [cloud feature](/cloud) - it requires login and costs **2 credits per page**. See [how it works under the hood](/cloud/rendering).</Note>

## It's automatic when you're logged in

```bash
squirrel auth login          # once
squirrel audit https://example.com
```

Once you're logged in, audits render every page in the cloud by default. The first time this would spend credits, the CLI asks once and remembers your answer - so you opt in knowingly and never get prompted again. The crawl progress shows the running credit spend:

```
Crawling (cloud-rendered) 34/100 · ~68 credits
```

Logged-out runs (and `--offline`) always use plain HTTP and cost nothing.

## Turn it off for one run

If a site is server-rendered and you don't want to spend render credits:

```bash
squirrel audit https://example.com --http
```

`--http` forces plain HTTP for that run. The opposite, `--render`, forces rendering even when your config disables it. The two are mutually exclusive.

## Make the choice permanent for a project

Pin the behavior in `squirrel.toml` so it never depends on login state or the prompt:

```toml squirrel.toml
[cloud]
rendering = "browser"   # always render; use "http" to always skip
```

Setting `rendering` explicitly overrides the auto default - no prompt, every audit of this project behaves the same.

## Watch your page count

At 2 credits per page, rendering is the most spend-sensitive cloud feature. Two settings to keep in mind:

- `--max-pages` / `[crawler] max_pages` - fewer pages, fewer credits.
- `[cloud] max_credits_per_audit` (default **1000**) - the hard cap. It covers rendering for about 500 pages; raise it or cap your pages for larger rendered crawls.

```toml squirrel.toml
[cloud]
rendering = "browser"
max_credits_per_audit = 400
```

## Do I need it?

Run a normal audit first. If pages you know are full of content come back with implausibly low word counts or missing headings, the site is client-rendered - switch to browser rendering. Server-rendered sites (most CMSs, SSR frameworks, static sites) gain nothing from it.

## If rendering fails

You never lose an audit to rendering problems:

- A single page that fails to render falls back to plain HTTP; the rest keep rendering.
- If you run out of credits or the service is down, the whole crawl falls back to plain HTTP with a one-line warning, and the report notes the fallback.

## Related

- [Cloud rendering explained](/cloud/rendering) - service behavior, costs, fallback details
- [Credits & Pricing](/cloud/credits) - balance, pricing, spend controls
- [Crawler settings](/configuration/crawler) - page limits and crawl behavior