actionbook-scraper

name	actionbook-scraper
description	Generate and verify web scraper scripts using Actionbook's verified selectors. Auto-validates generated scripts and fixes errors. Use when this capability is needed.
metadata	{"author":"actionbook"}

Actionbook Scraper Skill

⚠️ CRITICAL: Two-Part Verification

Every generated script MUST pass BOTH checks:

Check	What to Verify	Failure Example
Part 1: Script Runs	No errors, no timeouts	Selector not found
Part 2: Data Correct	Content matches expected	Extracted "Click to expand" instead of name

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│   1. Generate Script                                │
│          ↓                                          │
│   2. Execute Script                                 │
│          ↓                                          │
│   3. Check Part 1: Script runs without errors?      │
│          ↓                                          │
│   4. Check Part 2: Data content is correct?         │
│      - Not empty                                    │
│      - Not placeholder text ("Loading...")          │
│      - Not UI text ("Click to expand")              │
│      - Fields mapped correctly                      │
│          ↓                                          │
│      ┌───┴───┐                                      │
│   BOTH Pass  Either Fails                           │
│      │           │                                  │
│      │           ↓                                  │
│      │       Is it Actionbook data issue?           │
│      │           │                                  │
│      │       ┌───┴───┐                              │
│      │      Yes      No                             │
│      │       │       │                              │
│      │       ↓       ↓                              │
│      │    Log to   Fix script                       │
│      │    .actionbook-issues.log                    │
│      │       │       │                              │
│      │       └───┬───┘                              │
│      │           ↓                                  │
│      │       Retry (max 3x)                         │
│      ↓                                              │
│   Output Script                                     │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Default Output Format

/actionbook-scraper:generate <url>

DEFAULT = agent-browser script (bash commands)

agent-browser open "https://example.com"
agent-browser scroll down 2000
agent-browser get text ".selector"
agent-browser close

With --standalone Flag

/actionbook-scraper:generate <url> --standalone

Output = Playwright JavaScript code

---

Verification Requirements

Two-Part Verification

Every generated script must pass BOTH checks:

Check	What to Verify	Failure Action
1. Script Runs	No errors, no timeouts	Fix syntax/selector errors
2. Data Correct	Content matches expected fields	Fix extraction logic

Part 1: Script Execution Check

• No runtime errors
• No timeout errors
• Browser closes properly

Part 2: Data Content Check (CRITICAL)

Verify extracted data matches the expected structure:

Expected: Company name, description, website, year founded
Actual:   "Click to expand", "Loading...", empty strings

→ FAIL: Data content incorrect, need to fix extraction logic

Data validation rules:

Rule	Example Failure	Fix
Fields not empty	name: ""	Check selector targets correct element
No placeholder text	name: "Loading..."	Add wait for dynamic content
No UI text	name: "Click to expand"	Extract after expanding, not button text
Correct data type	year: "View Details"	Wrong selector, fix field mapping
Reasonable count	Expected ~100, got 3	Add scroll/pagination handling

For agent-browser Scripts

1. Execute the generated commands
2. Check script runs without errors
3. Check data content is correct:
   • Fields match expected structure
   • Values are actual data, not UI text
   • Count is reasonable
4. If failed:
   • Analyze what's wrong (script error vs data error)
   • Fix selector, wait logic, or extraction
   • Re-execute
5. If success:
   • Output the verified script
   • Show data preview with field validation

For Playwright Scripts (--standalone)

1. Write script to temp file
2. Run with node script.js
3. Check script runs without errors
4. Check output data is correct:
   • JSON structure matches expected fields
   • Values contain actual data
   • Count matches expected range
5. If failed:
   • Analyze error type
   • Fix script
   • Re-run
6. If success:
   • Output the verified script

Architecture Overview

/generate <url>              → OUTPUT: agent-browser bash commands
/generate <url> --standalone → OUTPUT: Playwright .js file

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                   /generate <url>                           │
│                                                             │
│   1. Search Actionbook → get selectors                      │
│   2. Generate OUTPUT:                                       │
│                                                             │
│      WITHOUT --standalone    │    WITH --standalone         │
│      ─────────────────────   │    ──────────────────        │
│      agent-browser commands  │    Playwright .js code       │
│                              │                              │
│      ```bash                 │    ```javascript             │
│      agent-browser open ...  │    const { chromium } = ...  │
│      agent-browser get ...   │    await page.goto(...)      │
│      agent-browser close     │    ```                       │
│      ```                     │                              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Tool Priority

Operation	Primary Tool	Fallback	Notes
Find selectors for URL	search_actions	None	Search by domain/keywords
Get full selector details	get_action_by_id	None	Use action_id from search
List available sources	list_sources	search_sources	Browse all indexed sites
Generate agent-browser script	Agent (sonnet)	-	Default mode for /generate
Generate Playwright script	Agent (sonnet)	-	Use --standalone flag
Structure analysis	Agent (haiku)	-	Parse Actionbook response
Request new website	agent-browser	Manual	Submit to actionbook.dev (ONLY command that executes agent-browser)

Workflow Rules

CRITICAL: Generate → Verify → Fix

Every generated script MUST be verified by executing it.

Step	Action
1	Generate script with Actionbook selectors
2	Execute script to verify it works
3	If failed: analyze error, fix script, go to step 2
4	If success: output verified script + data preview

Verification Process

For agent-browser scripts:

# Execute each command
agent-browser open "https://example.com"
agent-browser wait --load networkidle
agent-browser get text ".selector"
# Check if data is returned
# If error → fix and retry
agent-browser close

For Playwright scripts (--standalone):

# Write to temp file and execute
node /tmp/scraper.js
# Check if output file has data
# If error → fix and retry

Critical Rules

1. ALWAYS verify generated scripts - Execute and check BOTH parts
2. Part 1: Script must run - No errors, no timeouts
3. Part 2: Data must be correct - Not empty, not UI text, fields mapped correctly
4. Fix errors automatically - Don't output broken scripts or wrong data
5. Use Actionbook MCP tools first - Never guess selectors
6. Include scroll handling for lazy-loaded pages
7. Include expand/collapse logic for card-based layouts
8. Always close browser - Include agent-browser close
9. Retry up to 3 times - If still failing, report the specific issue

Common Data Errors to Catch

Error	Example	Fix
Extracted button text	name: "Click to expand"	Extract content after expanding
Extracted placeholder	desc: "Loading..."	Add wait for dynamic content
Empty fields	name: ""	Fix selector
Wrong field mapping	year: "San Francisco"	Fix selector for each field
Too few items	Expected 100, got 3	Add scroll/pagination

Record Actionbook Data Issues

If Actionbook selectors are wrong or outdated, record to local file:

.actionbook-issues.log

When to record:

• Selector doesn't exist on page
• Selector returns wrong element
• Page structure has changed
• Missing selectors for key elements

Log format:

[YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM] URL: {url}
Action ID: {action_id}
Issue Type: {selector_error | outdated | missing}
Details: {description}
Selector: {selector}
Expected: {what it should select}
Actual: {what it actually selects or error}
---

Selector Priority

When Actionbook provides multiple selectors, prefer in this order:

1. data-testid - Most stable, designed for automation
2. aria-label - Accessibility-based, semantic
3. css - Class-based selectors
4. xpath - Last resort, most fragile

Commands

Command	Description	Agent
/actionbook-scraper:analyze <url>	Analyze page structure and show available selectors	structure-analyzer
/actionbook-scraper:generate <url>	Generate agent-browser scraper script	code-generator
/actionbook-scraper:generate <url> --standalone	Generate Playwright/Puppeteer script	code-generator
/actionbook-scraper:list-sources	List websites with Actionbook data	-
/actionbook-scraper:request-website <url>	Request new website to be indexed (uses agent-browser)	website-requester

Data Flow

Analyze Command

1. User: /actionbook-scraper:analyze https://example.com/page
2. Extract domain from URL → "example.com"
3. search_actions("example page") → [action_ids]
4. For best match: get_action_by_id(action_id) → full selector data
5. Structure-analyzer agent formats and presents findings

Generate Command (Default: agent-browser script)

User: /actionbook-scraper:generate https://example.com/page

Step 1: Search Actionbook
  search_actions("example.com page") → action_ids

Step 2: Get selectors
  get_action_by_id(best_match) → selectors

Step 3: Generate agent-browser script
  ```bash
  agent-browser open "https://example.com/page"
  agent-browser wait --load networkidle
  agent-browser scroll down 2000
  agent-browser get text ".item-container"
  agent-browser close

Step 4: VERIFY script (REQUIRED) Execute the commands and check if data is extracted If failed → analyze error → fix script → retry (max 3x)

Step 5: Return verified script + data preview

**Example Output:**
````markdown
## Verified Scraper (agent-browser)

**Status**: ✅ Verified (extracted 50 items)

Run these commands to scrape:

```bash
agent-browser open "https://example.com/page"
agent-browser wait --load networkidle
agent-browser scroll down 2000
agent-browser get text ".item-container"
agent-browser close

Data Preview

[
  {"name": "Item 1", "description": "..."},
  {"name": "Item 2", "description": "..."},
  // ... showing first 3 items
]

### Generate Command (--standalone: Playwright script)

```
User: /actionbook-scraper:generate https://example.com/page --standalone

Step 1: Search Actionbook for selectors
Step 2: Get full selector data
Step 3: Generate Playwright/Puppeteer script
Step 4: VERIFY script (REQUIRED)
  Write to temp file → node /tmp/scraper.js → check output
  If failed → analyze error → fix script → retry (max 3x)
Step 5: Return verified script + data preview
```

**Example Output:**
````markdown
## Verified Scraper (Playwright)

**Status**: ✅ Verified (extracted 50 items)

```javascript
const { chromium } = require('playwright');
// ... generated code with Actionbook selectors
```

Usage:
```bash
npm install playwright
node scraper.js
```

### Data Preview
```json
[
  {"name": "Item 1", "description": "..."},
  // ... first 3 items
]
```

Request Website Command

1. User: /actionbook-scraper:request-website https://newsite.com/page
2. Launch website-requester agent (uses agent-browser)
3. Agent workflow:
   a. agent-browser open "https://actionbook.dev/request-website"
   b. agent-browser snapshot -i (discover form selectors)
   c. agent-browser type <url-field> "https://newsite.com/page"
   d. agent-browser type <email-field> (optional)
   e. agent-browser type <usecase-field> (optional)
   f. agent-browser click <submit-button>
   g. agent-browser snapshot -i (verify submission)
   h. agent-browser close
4. Output: Confirmation of submission

Selector Data Structure

Actionbook returns selector data in this format:

{
  "url": "https://example.com/page",
  "title": "Page Title",
  "content": "## Selector Reference\n\n| Element | CSS | XPath | Type |\n..."
}

Common Selector Patterns

Card-based layouts:

Container: .card-list, .grid-container
Card item: .card, .list-item
Card name: .card__title, .card-name
Card description: .card__description
Expand button: .card__expand, button.expand

Detail extraction (dt/dd pattern):

// Common pattern for key-value pairs
const items = container.querySelectorAll('.info-item');
items.forEach(item => {
  const label = item.querySelector('dt').textContent;
  const value = item.querySelector('dd').textContent;
});

Table layouts:

Table: table, .data-table
Header: thead th, .table-header
Row: tbody tr, .table-row
Cell: td, .table-cell

Page Type Detection

Indicator	Page Type	Template
Scroll to load more	Dynamic/Infinite	playwright-js (with scroll)
Click to expand	Card-based	playwright-js (with click)
Pagination links	Paginated	playwright-js (with pagination)
Static content	Static	puppeteer or playwright
SPA framework detected	SPA	playwright-js (network idle)

Output Formats

Analysis Output

## Page Analysis: {url}

### Matched Action
- **Action ID**: {action_id}
- **Confidence**: HIGH | MEDIUM | LOW

### Available Selectors

| Element | Selector | Type | Methods |
|---------|----------|------|---------|
| {name} | {selector} | {type} | {methods} |

### Page Structure
- **Type**: {static|dynamic|spa}
- **Data Pattern**: {cards|table|list}
- **Lazy Loading**: {yes|no}
- **Expand/Collapse**: {yes|no}

### Recommendations
- Suggested template: {template}
- Special handling needed: {notes}

Generated Code Output

## Generated Scraper

**Target URL**: {url}
**Template**: {template}
**Expected Output**: {description}

### Dependencies
```bash
npm install playwright

Code

{generated_code}

Usage

node scraper.js

Output

Results saved to {output_file}

## Templates Reference

| Template | Flag | Output | Run With |
|----------|------|--------|----------|
| **agent-browser** | (default) | CLI commands | `agent-browser` CLI |
| playwright-js | --standalone | .js file | `node scraper.js` |
| playwright-python | --standalone --template playwright-python | .py file | `python scraper.py` |
| puppeteer | --standalone --template puppeteer | .js file | `node scraper.js` |

## Error Handling

| Error | Cause | Solution |
|-------|-------|----------|
| No actions found | URL not indexed | Use `/actionbook-scraper:request-website` to request indexing |
| Selectors not working | Page updated | Report to Actionbook, try alternative selectors |
| Timeout | Slow page load | Increase timeout, add retry logic |
| Empty data | Dynamic content | Add scroll/wait handling |
| Form submission failed | Network/page issue | Retry or submit manually at actionbook.dev |

## agent-browser Usage

For the `request-website` command, the plugin uses **agent-browser CLI** to automate form submission.

### agent-browser Commands

```bash
# Open a URL
agent-browser open "https://actionbook.dev/request-website"

# Get page snapshot (discover selectors)
agent-browser snapshot -i

# Type into form field
agent-browser type "input[name='url']" "https://example.com"

# Click button
agent-browser click "button[type='submit']"

# Close browser (ALWAYS do this)
agent-browser close

Selector Discovery

If form selectors are unknown, use snapshot to discover them:

agent-browser open "https://actionbook.dev/request-website"
agent-browser snapshot -i  # Returns page structure with selectors

Always Close Browser

Critical: Always run agent-browser close at the end of any agent-browser session, even if errors occur.

Rate Limiting

• Actionbook MCP: No rate limit for local usage
• Target websites: Respect robots.txt and add delays between requests
• Recommended: 1-2 second delay between page requests

Examples

Example 1: Generate agent-browser Script (Default)

/actionbook-scraper:generate https://firstround.com/companies

Output: agent-browser commands
```bash
agent-browser open "https://firstround.com/companies"
agent-browser scroll down 2000
agent-browser get text ".company-list-card-small"
agent-browser close

User runs these commands to scrape.

### Example 2: Generate Playwright Script

/actionbook-scraper:generate https://firstround.com/companies --standalone

Output: Playwright JavaScript code

const { chromium } = require('playwright');
// ... full script

User runs: node scraper.js

### Example 3: Analyze Page Structure

/actionbook-scraper:analyze https://example.com/products

Output: Analysis showing:

• Available selectors
• Page structure
• Recommended approach

### Example 4: Request New Website

/actionbook-scraper:request-website https://newsite.com/data

Action: Submits form to actionbook.dev (this command DOES execute agent-browser)

## Best Practices

1. **Always analyze before generating** - Understand the page structure first
2. **Check list-sources** - Verify the site is indexed before attempting
3. **Review generated code** - Verify selectors match expected elements
4. **Add appropriate delays** - Be respectful to target servers
5. **Handle edge cases** - Empty states, loading states, errors
6. **Test incrementally** - Run on small subset before full scrape

---
> Source: [actionbook/actionbook](https://github.com/actionbook/actionbook) — distributed by [TomeVault](https://tomevault.io).
<!-- tomevault:4.0:skill_md:2026-06-28 -->