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Installation

What is WebDriver BiDi?

WebDriver BiDi is a W3C standard bidirectional protocol for browser automation. Unlike the classic WebDriver protocol (which is request/response only), BiDi uses a WebSocket connection that allows the browser to push events to your script in real time — console logs, network requests, navigation events, and more.

bidiwave is a Python client for this protocol. It does not use Selenium, CDP (Chrome DevTools Protocol), or Playwright. It talks directly to the browser via the W3C standard, which means it works with any browser that implements BiDi: Chrome, Edge, and Firefox.

Architecture

Your Python script
       │
       ▼
  bidiwave (WebSocket client)
       │
       ▼
  WebDriver BiDi (W3C standard)
       │
       ▼
  ChromeDriver / EdgeDriver / Firefox (driver process)
       │
       ▼
  Browser (Chrome / Edge / Firefox)

The driver process acts as a proxy between bidiwave and the browser. You launch the driver, it exposes a WebSocket endpoint, and bidiwave connects to it. Firefox is the exception — it exposes BiDi natively without a driver.

Requirements

  • Python 3.11 or higher — bidiwave uses modern features like match statements and Self from typing.
  • A browser with BiDi support:
    • Chrome 111+ (via ChromeDriver)
    • Edge 111+ (via EdgeDriver)
    • Firefox 129+ (native BiDi, no driver needed)
  • A driver process — Chrome and Edge require a driver (ChromeDriver / EdgeDriver) running locally or on a remote host. See Browser Setup for instructions.

Install

pip install bidiwave

Development install

If you want to contribute or run the test suite:

git clone https://github.com/MathiasPaulenko/bidiwave.git
cd bidiwave
pip install -e ".[dev]"

This installs ruff, mypy, pytest, pytest-asyncio, and mkdocs with the Material theme.

Optional extras

Extra Description
dev Ruff, mypy, pytest, pytest-asyncio
docs MkDocs + Material theme + mkdocstrings

Verify

import bidiwave
print(bidiwave.__version__)

You should see the version number printed. If you get an ImportError, make sure your Python version is 3.11+ and the package is installed in the correct environment.

Next steps

  • Quick Start — your first BiDi script in 5 minutes
  • Browser Setup — how to launch ChromeDriver, EdgeDriver, or Firefox with BiDi
  • Configuration — timeouts, reconnection, and event queue tuning