firecrawl-local-dev-loop

name	firecrawl-local-dev-loop
description	Configure Firecrawl local development with self-hosted Docker, mocking, and testing. Use when setting up a development environment, running Firecrawl locally to save credits, or configuring test workflows with vitest. Trigger with phrases like "firecrawl dev setup", "firecrawl local development", "firecrawl docker", "firecrawl self-hosted dev", "firecrawl test setup".
allowed-tools	Read, Write, Edit, Bash(npm:*), Bash(pnpm:*), Bash(docker:*), Grep
version	1.11.0
license	MIT
author	Jeremy Longshore <[e-mail]>
tags	["saas","firecrawl","testing","workflow"]
compatibility	Designed for Claude Code, also compatible with Codex and OpenClaw

Firecrawl Local Dev Loop

Overview

Set up a fast development workflow for Firecrawl integrations. Use self-hosted Firecrawl via Docker to avoid burning API credits during development, mock the SDK for unit tests, and run integration tests against the local instance.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ with npm/pnpm
• Docker + Docker Compose (for self-hosted Firecrawl)
• @mendable/firecrawl-js installed

Instructions

Step 1: Project Structure

my-firecrawl-project/
├── src/
│   ├── scraper.ts          # Firecrawl business logic
│   └── config.ts           # Environment-aware config
├── tests/
│   ├── scraper.test.ts     # Unit tests (mocked SDK)
│   └── integration.test.ts # Integration tests (real API)
├── docker-compose.yml      # Self-hosted Firecrawl
├── .env.local              # Dev secrets (git-ignored)
├── .env.example            # Template for team
└── package.json

Step 2: Self-Hosted Firecrawl for Zero-Credit Dev

# docker-compose.yml
services:
  firecrawl:
    image: mendableai/firecrawl:latest
    ports:
      - "3002:3002"
    environment:
      - PORT=3002
      - USE_DB_AUTHENTICATION=false
      - REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379
      - NUM_WORKERS_PER_QUEUE=1
      - BULL_AUTH_KEY=devonly
    depends_on:
      redis:
        condition: service_healthy

  redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    ports:
      - "6379:6379"
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", , ]