With web pages becoming increasingly resource-heavy, especially due to JavaScript, I’m wondering why we don’t use a remote browser to offload some of the CPU and memory usage to a self-hosted server. Ideally, we’d run our browser as usual on our workstations, but the heavy computations would run on the server, making it more like a “thin web-client.” Does such a thing exist? How would this work?
Having worked in the cloud infrastructure space for a while, I can confirm that yes, a remote browser does exist. It’s called ‘remote browser rendering.’ Platforms like BrowserStack and Sauce Labs have nailed this — they run the browser in the cloud and stream the interface to your device. You’re essentially interacting with a remote browser, but all the real work—CPU, memory, rendering—happens off your machine. These services often use a mix of HTTP, WebRTC, or even specialized streaming protocols to make the experience smooth
Totally agree with @shashank_watak . I’ve worked with VDI setups in enterprise environments, and another angle to consider is using virtual machines via Remote Desktop Protocol. You’re still interacting with a remote browser, but this time it’s part of a full virtual desktop. Services like Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop or Amazon WorkSpaces let you spin up environments where your browser lives on a powerful server and just streams the visuals to you. It’s super helpful when you need browser performance without taxing your local hardware.
Right, and for those of us who prefer building our own setups — I’ve been doing this for automation projects — there’s also the self-hosted route. You can set up Headless Chrome or a Selenium Grid on your own servers to run a remote browser. You control it via HTTP APIs or WebSockets, and while it takes a bit more setup, you get full control and scalability. Great for test automation, debugging, or even secure browsing setups. Plus, you’re not locked into third-party ecosystems.