Deep Audit (Pro)

Run your creative in a real browser before adops uploads it - and catch the rejections the standard audit can't see: runtime errors, heavy CPU, oversized loads, blank renders, and policy violations like endless animations or missing borders.

Your creative never leaves your machine. The audit runs in a local headless browser - nothing about the creative is uploaded anywhere.

See also: CLI guide for the free checks · CI/CD guide for pipelines

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What it checks

The Deep Audit loads your ad in a headless Chrome, watches it like a real device would, and grades every size against platform rules (Google display rules by default):

Every issue comes with a suggested fix, written for creative developers.

Multi-size packs

Point it at one folder containing your size variants and get a single report:

my-campaign/
├── 300x250/index.html
├── 728x90/index.html
└── 160x600/index.html

Each size is audited separately and rolled up into one pass/fail summary.

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Try it free

Get a trial token at ad-preflight.com - it arrives by email. Then activate it on this machine:

npx @ad-preflight/cli trial <your-trial-token>

Trial audits produce a watermarked report and cover one creative size per run. The current limits and terms are on the site.

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Where to buy

1. Go to ad-preflight.com and choose a plan - plans, pricing and machine limits are listed there.
2. After checkout you receive a purchase token on the confirmation page. Save it - it's your proof of purchase, and you'll reuse it to install on a new machine or after a Node upgrade. Lost it? npx @ad-preflight/cli recover-license <your-email> emails it back.

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How to install

Requirements: Node.js 22 or 24, and an internet connection for the one-time install (the plugin downloads a dedicated headless Chrome, ~300 MB - allow a few minutes).

npx @ad-preflight/cli plugin-install <your-purchase-token>

The installer activates your license for this machine, downloads the plugin and browser, and self-tests the setup. When you see "Plugin installed and verified" you're done.

Good to know:

• Reinstalling on the same machine doesn't use an extra activation, and plugin-uninstall hands the slot back so you can move it to another machine.
• If you upgrade Node to a different major version (e.g. 22 → 24), just run plugin-install again with the same token.
• npx @ad-preflight/cli license shows what's installed on this machine at any time.

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How to use

Validate a creative

npx @ad-preflight/cli package ./my-ad --deep

The standard audit runs first (same as the free checks), then the deep audit loads every size in the browser. You get a per-size scorecard:

 PASS  300x250 (300x250)
    ✓ JavaScript errors   no runtime errors
    ✓ Long tasks          main thread never blocked >50ms
    ✓ CPU usage           avg 5.9% · peak 32.2% @4x throttle
    ✓ Network             1 request(s) · 0.7 KB · first paint 124ms
    ✓ Visual              renders correctly in slot
    ✓ Animation           static or completed within window
    ✓ Behavior            no auto-redirects or popups

When something is wrong, the finding tells you what, where, and how to fix it:

 FAIL  300x250 (300x250)
  ✗ [js-errors] Uncaught error - renderCampaign is not defined (script.js:13:1)
      ↳ Fix: Define or load the referenced symbol before it runs (check script
        order/timing) or guard the call. Uncaught errors typically make the ad
        render blank on the platform.

Shareable PDF report

npx @ad-preflight/cli package ./my-ad --deep --report

Writes ad-preflight-my-ad.pdf (named after the creative folder) - a single self-contained file with the overall verdict, every size's scorecard, screenshots, and all findings with fixes. Send it to adops or attach it to the campaign ticket; it opens anywhere, no tools required. (Use --report my-report.pdf to pick the filename.)

CI/CD

npx @ad-preflight/cli package ./my-ad --deep --json

Outputs the full result as JSON and sets the exit code from the audit: 0 when everything passes (warnings allowed), 1 when any size has a blocking issue - so your pipeline fails before a broken creative reaches trafficking. Exit 1 also covers a licence that refuses to run the audit, and exit 2 means the plugin isn't installed on the runner. See the CI/CD guide.

Ad types

By default creatives are audited against Google display rules. Use --type amp or --type app for AMPHTML ads and App campaign assets - size budgets adjust accordingly.

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Reading the results

The pack summary rolls all sizes together: one FAIL anywhere fails the run.

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Troubleshooting

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FAQ

Does my creative get uploaded for validation? No. The audit runs entirely on your machine in a local headless browser. Nothing about your creative leaves your computer.

Why do the CPU numbers look higher than my machine's task manager? The audit deliberately runs at 4x CPU throttle to emulate the low-end devices where Google's Heavy Ad Intervention actually triggers. An ad that looks fine on a dev machine can still be unloaded on a budget phone - this is the number that matters.

Do I need to be online to validate? The audit itself runs on your machine. (If your creative references external assets, those are fetched during the audit like a real impression would.) Trial audits need a connection every run.

How long does an audit take? Roughly 5–10 seconds per size, since each size gets a full load, settle, and measurement window in the browser.