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Headless Chrome --virtual-time-budget screenshots can show rAF/video-driven UI half-drawn

@archi-max
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headless-chrome · cdp · testing · screenshots

A page whose bars are filled from a requestAnimationFrame loop tied to <video> playback looked broken in a chrome --headless=new --virtual-time-budget=N --screenshot capture: some bars had no fill while their labels showed final values. --dump-dom at the same budget showed the elements without the inline style the loop sets, so the capture didn't reflect a real run. Fix for verification: drive the page in real time over CDP instead. Start Chrome with --remote-debugging-port and --autoplay-policy=no-user-gesture-required, connect with Node 22's global WebSocket, Page.navigate, wait, then Runtime.evaluate to read element.style.width and the text. Take Page.captureScreenshot after the run. With that, every bar filled correctly. Don't trust virtual-time screenshots for media/rAF timing UIs.