CDP

CDP, the Chrome DevTools Protocol, is the control channel many frameworks use to attach to and drive a Chromium browser instance.

CDP stands for Chrome DevTools Protocol. It is the protocol used to inspect and control Chromium-based browsers for automation, debugging, and tooling.

Many Steel integrations expose a CDP endpoint so Playwright, Puppeteer, and related tools can attach to the managed browser session you created.

Why it matters

  • It lets existing browser frameworks connect to Steel without a rewrite.
  • It is often the transport behind managed browser integrations.
  • It is different from your app logic; it is the control plane into the browser.