Web Scraping Skill v3.0
Usage
/web-scrape <url> [options]
Options:
--format=markdown|json|text - Output format (default: markdown)--full - Include full page content (skip smart extraction)--screenshot - Also save a screenshot--scroll - Scroll to load dynamic content (infinite scroll pages)
Examples:
/web-scrape https://example.com/article
/web-scrape https://news.site.com/story --format=json
/web-scrape https://spa-app.com/page --scroll --screenshot
Execution Flow
Phase 1: Navigate and Load
1. mcp__playwright__browser_navigate
url: "<target URL>"
2. mcp__playwright__browser_wait_for
time: 2 (allow initial render)
If --scroll option: Execute scroll sequence to trigger lazy loading:
3. mcp__playwright__browser_evaluate
function: "async () => {
for (let i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
window.scrollTo(0, document.body.scrollHeight);
await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 1000));
}
window.scrollTo(0, 0);
}"
Phase 2: Capture Content
4. mcp__playwright__browser_snapshot
→ Returns full accessibility tree with all text content
If --screenshot option:
5. mcp__playwright__browser_take_screenshot
filename: "scraped_<domain>_<timestamp>.png"
fullPage: true
Phase 3: Close Browser
6. mcp__playwright__browser_close
Smart Content Extraction
After getting the snapshot, apply intelligent extraction:
Step 1: Identify Content Type
| Page Type | Indicators | Extraction Strategy |
|---|
| Article/Blog | <article>, long paragraphs, date/author | Extract main article body |
| Product Page | Price, "Add to Cart", specs | Extract title, price, description, specs |
| Documentation | Code blocks, headings hierarchy | Preserve structure and code |
| List/Search | Repeated item patterns | Extract as structured list |
| Landing Page | Hero section, CTAs | Extract key messaging |
Step 2: Filter Noise
ALWAYS REMOVE these elements from output:
- Navigation menus and breadcrumbs
- Footer content (copyright, links)
- Sidebars (ads, related articles, social links)
- Cookie banners and popups
- Comments section (unless specifically requested)
- Share buttons and social widgets
- Login/signup prompts
Step 3: Structure the Content
For Articles:
# [Title]
**Source:** [URL]
**Date:** [if available]
**Author:** [if available]
---
[Main content in clean markdown]
For Product Pages:
# [Product Name]
**Price:** [price]
**Availability:** [in stock/out of stock]
## Description
[product description]
## Specifications
| Spec | Value |
|------|-------|
| ... | ... |
Output Formats
Markdown (default)
Clean, readable markdown with proper headings, lists, and formatting.
JSON
{
"url": "https://...",
"title": "Page Title",
"type": "article|product|docs|list",
"content": {
"main": "...",
"metadata": {}
},
"extracted_at": "ISO timestamp"
}
Text
Plain text with minimal formatting, suitable for further processing.
Error Handling
Navigation Errors
| Error | Detection | Action |
|---|
| Timeout | Page doesn't load in 30s | Report error, suggest retry |
| 404 Not Found | "404" in title/content | Report "Page not found" |
| 403 Forbidden | "403", "Access Denied" | Report access restriction |
| CAPTCHA | "captcha", "verify you're human" | Report CAPTCHA detected, cannot proceed |
| Paywall | "subscribe", "premium content" | Extract visible content, note paywall |
Recovery Actions
If page load fails:
1. Report the specific error to user
2. Suggest: "Try again?" or "Different URL?"
3. Close browser cleanly
If content is blocked:
1. Report what was detected (CAPTCHA/paywall/geo-block)
2. Extract any available preview content
3. Suggest alternatives if applicable
Advanced Scenarios
Single Page Applications (SPA)
1. Navigate to URL
2. Wait longer (3-5 seconds) for JS hydration
3. Use browser_wait_for with specific text if known
4. Then snapshot
Infinite Scroll Pages
1. Navigate
2. Execute scroll loop (see Phase 1)
3. Snapshot after scrolling completes
Pages with Click-to-Reveal Content
1. Snapshot first to identify clickable elements
2. Use browser_click on "Read more" / "Show all" buttons
3. Wait briefly
4. Snapshot again for full content
Multi-page Articles
1. Scrape first page
2. Identify "Next" or pagination links
3. Ask user: "Article has X pages. Scrape all?"
4. If yes, iterate through pages and combine
Performance Guidelines
| Metric | Target | How |
|---|
| Speed | < 15 seconds | Minimal waits, parallel where possible |
| Token Usage | < 5000 tokens | Smart extraction, not full DOM |
| Reliability | > 95% success | Proper error handling |
Security Notes
- Never execute arbitrary JavaScript from the page
- Don't follow redirects to suspicious domains
- Don't submit forms or click login buttons
- Don't scrape pages that require authentication (unless user provides credentials flow)
- Respect robots.txt when mentioned by user
Quick Reference
Minimum viable scrape (4 tool calls):
1. browser_navigate → 2. browser_wait_for → 3. browser_snapshot → 4. browser_close
Full-featured scrape (with scroll + screenshot):
1. browser_navigate
2. browser_wait_for
3. browser_evaluate (scroll)
4. browser_snapshot
5. browser_take_screenshot
6. browser_close
Remember: The goal is to deliver clean, useful content to the user, not raw HTML/DOM dumps.