Lighthouse Audits

CLI Quick Start

# Install
npm install -g lighthouse

# Basic audit
lighthouse https://example.com

# Mobile performance only (faster)
lighthouse https://example.com --preset=perf --form-factor=mobile

# Output JSON for parsing
lighthouse https://example.com --output=json --output-path=./report.json

# Output HTML report
lighthouse https://example.com --output=html --output-path=./report.html

Common Flags

--preset=perf           # Performance only (skip accessibility, SEO, etc.)
--form-factor=mobile    # Mobile device emulation (default)
--form-factor=desktop   # Desktop
--throttling-method=devtools  # More accurate throttling
--only-categories=performance,accessibility  # Specific categories
--chrome-flags="--headless"   # Headless Chrome

Performance Budgets

Create budget.json:

[
  {
    "resourceSizes": [
      { "resourceType": "script", "budget": 200 },
      { "resourceType": "image", "budget": 300 },
      { "resourceType": "stylesheet", "budget": 50 },
      { "resourceType": "total", "budget": 500 }
    ],
    "resourceCounts": [{ "resourceType": "third-party", "budget": 5 }],
    "timings": [
      { "metric": "interactive", "budget": 3000 },
      { "metric": "first-contentful-paint", "budget": 1500 },
      { "metric": "largest-contentful-paint", "budget": 2500 }
    ]
  }
]

Run with budget:

lighthouse https://example.com --budget-path=./budget.json

Node API

import lighthouse from 'lighthouse'
import * as chromeLauncher from 'chrome-launcher'

async function runAudit(url) {
  const chrome = await chromeLauncher.launch({ chromeFlags: ['--headless'] })

  const result = await lighthouse(url, {
    port: chrome.port,
    onlyCategories: ['performance'],
    formFactor: 'mobile',
    throttling: {
      cpuSlowdownMultiplier: 4,
    },
  })

  await chrome.kill()

  const { performance } = result.lhr.categories
  const { 'largest-contentful-paint': lcp } = result.lhr.audits

  return {
    score: Math.round(performance.score * 100),
    lcp: lcp.numericValue,
  }
}