| name | scrape |
| description | Scrape web pages via Scrapling — stealth fetching, anti-bot bypass, CSS selectors, no API key. Use when the user says 'scrape', 'pull data from this URL', 'extract from this site'. Not for meaning-based search of the user's own vault; use `enable-semantic-search`. |
scrape
Extract data from any website using Scrapling's MCP tools. Bypasses Cloudflare, handles dynamic JS-rendered pages, supports CSS selectors to pre-filter content (saves tokens).
Usage
/scrape <url>
/scrape <url> with selector .article-content
/scrape stealth <url>
/scrape bulk <url1> <url2> <url3>
When to Use (Tool Selection)
| Scenario | Tool | Why |
|---|
| Simple page, no anti-bot | scrapling_get | Fastest. HTTP with browser TLS fingerprint |
| JS-rendered / SPA content | scrapling_fetch | Uses real Chromium browser |
| Cloudflare / anti-bot protected | scrapling_stealthy_fetch | Stealth mode, solves captchas |
| Multiple pages, same pattern | scrapling_bulk_get / scrapling_bulk_fetch | Parallel processing |
Implementation
Step 1: Parse User Intent
Determine from the user's request:
- URL(s) to scrape
- CSS selector (if specified — e.g.,
.main-content, #article, table.data)
- Stealth needed? (Cloudflare sites, login-protected, anti-bot mentions)
- Bulk? (multiple URLs)
Step 2: Choose the Right Scrapling MCP Tool
Default path (try in order, escalate on failure):
- Start with
scrapling_get — fast HTTP, handles most sites
- If content is empty/blocked → escalate to
scrapling_fetch (real browser)
- If still blocked → escalate to
scrapling_stealthy_fetch (stealth mode)
User explicitly asks for stealth: Go straight to scrapling_stealthy_fetch
Multiple URLs: Use the bulk_ variants for parallel processing
Step 3: Call the MCP Tool
Use the Scrapling MCP server tools. All tools accept:
url (required): The URL to scrapecss_selector (optional): CSS selector to extract specific elements — always use this when possible to reduce token consumption
Single page:
Call scrapling MCP tool: get
Arguments: { "url": "<url>", "css_selector": "<selector if provided>" }
Stealth:
Call scrapling MCP tool: stealthy_fetch
Arguments: { "url": "<url>", "css_selector": "<selector if provided>" }
Bulk:
Call scrapling MCP tool: bulk_get
Arguments: { "urls": ["<url1>", "<url2>"], "css_selector": "<selector>" }
Step 4: Process Results
The MCP returns extracted content (HTML or text depending on selector).
If user wants raw data: Present it formatted
If user wants summary: Summarize the extracted content
If user wants vault storage: Save to 00-Inbox/Scrape - [Title].md:
# [Page Title]
**Source:** [URL]
**Scraped:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Selector:** [CSS selector used, if any]
## Content
[Extracted content]
Step 5: Handle Failures
| Error | Action |
|---|
| Empty content | Escalate to next fetcher tier |
| Connection refused | Check URL is valid |
| Cloudflare challenge | Auto-escalate to stealthy_fetch |
| Timeout | Retry with longer timeout, suggest fetch for slow JS sites |
Smart Defaults
- News/blog articles: Auto-suggest
article, .post-content, .entry-content selectors
- Product pages: Auto-suggest
.product, .price, .description selectors
- Tables: Auto-suggest
table selector, offer to convert to markdown table
- Lists: Auto-suggest
ul, ol selectors
Examples
User: /scrape https://example.com/blog/ai-trends
→ Use scrapling_get, auto-detect article content
User: /scrape stealth https://protected-site.com/data
→ Use scrapling_stealthy_fetch with Cloudflare bypass
User: scrape this page and grab just the pricing table: https://saas.com/pricing
→ Use scrapling_get with css_selector="table" or ".pricing"
User: scrape these 5 competitor pages and compare their features
→ Use scrapling_bulk_get, extract feature lists, present comparison
Prerequisites
Scrapling must be installed with MCP support:
pip install "scrapling[ai]"
scrapling install
The scrapling MCP server must be configured in .mcp.json.
Relationship to Other Tools
- WebFetch (native): Basic URL fetch, no anti-bot, no selectors. Use for simple known-good pages.
- Firecrawl MCP: Cloud-based, requires API key, good for crawling entire sites. Use when you need recursive crawl.
- Scrapling: Local, free, stealthy, selector-based. Default choice for single-page or small-batch scraping.
- Apify: Marketplace of specialized scrapers. Use for platform-specific extraction (LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.)
