x-crawl
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x-crawl is a flexible nodejs crawler library. It is used to batch crawl data, network requests and download file resources. Support crawling data asynchronously or synchronously. Since it runs on nodejs, it is friendly to JS/TS developers.
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Features
- Support asynchronous/synchronous way to crawl data.
- Support Promise/Callback method to get the result.
- Anthropomorphic request interval.
- Crawl pages, JSON, file resources, etc. with simple configuration.
- Polling function, timing crawling.
- The built-in puppeteer crawls the page and uses the jsdom library to parse the page.
- Written in TypeScript, has type hints, and provides generics.
Relationship with puppeteer
The crawlPage API internally uses the puppeteer library to help us crawl pages.
We can do the following:
- Generate screenshots and PDFs of pages.
- Crawl a SPA (Single-Page Application) and generate pre-rendered content (i.e. "SSR" (Server-Side Rendering)).
- Automate form submission, UI testing, keyboard input, etc.
Table of Contents
Install
Take NPM as an example:
npm install x-crawl
Example
Regular crawling: Get the recommended pictures of the youtube homepage every other day as an example:
import path from 'node:path'
import xCrawl from 'x-crawl'
const myXCrawl = xCrawl({
timeout: 10000,
intervalTime: { max: 3000, min: 2000 }
})
myXCrawl.startPolling({ d: 1 }, () => {
myXCrawl.crawlPage('https://www.youtube.com/').then((res) => {
const { browser, jsdom } = res
const imgEls = jsdom.window.document.querySelectorAll(
'.yt-core-image--fill-parent-width'
)
const requestConfig = []
imgEls.forEach((item) => {
if (item.src) {
requestConfig.push(item.src)
}
})
myXCrawl.crawlFile({
requestConfig,
fileConfig: { storeDir: path.resolve(__dirname, './upload') }
})
browser.close()
})
})
running result:
Note: Do not crawl at will, you can check the robots.txt protocol before crawling. This is just to demonstrate how to use x-crawl.
Core concepts
Create application
An example of a crawler application
Create a new application instance via xCrawl():
import xCrawl from 'x-crawl'
const myXCrawl = xCrawl({
})
Related options can refer to XCrawlBaseConfig .
Choose crawling mode
A crawler application instance has two crawling modes: asynchronous/synchronous, and each crawler instance can only choose one of them.
import xCrawl from 'x-crawl'
const myXCrawl = xCrawl({
mode: 'async'
})
The mode option defaults to async .
- async: asynchronous request, in batch requests, the next request is made without waiting for the current request to complete
- sync: synchronous request, in batch requests, you need to wait for this request to complete before making the next request
If there is an interval time set, it is necessary to wait for the interval time to end before sending the request.
Multiple crawler application instances
import xCrawl from 'x-crawl'
const myXCrawl1 = xCrawl({
})
const myXCrawl2 = xCrawl({
})
Crawl page
Crawl a page via crawlPage()
import xCrawl from 'x-crawl'
const myXCrawl = xCrawl({
timeout: 10000
})
myXCrawl.crawlPage('https://xxx.com').then(res => {
const { jsdom, browser, page } = res
browser.close()
})
jsdom
Refer to jsdom for specific usage.
browser
**Purpose of calling close: **browser will keep running, so the file will not be terminated. Do not call crawlPage or page if you need to use it later. When you modify the properties of the browser object, it will affect the browser inside the crawlPage of the crawler instance, the returned page, and the browser, because the browser is shared within the crawlPage API of the crawler instance.
Refer to browser for specific usage.
page
The page attribute can be used for interactive operations such as events. For details, refer to page.
Crawl interface
Crawl interface data through crawlData()
import xCrawl from 'x-crawl'
const myXCrawl = xCrawl({
timeout: 10000,
intervalTime: { max: 3000, min: 1000 }
})
const requestConfig = [
{ url: 'https://xxx.com/xxxx' },
{ url: 'https://xxx.com/xxxx', method: 'POST', data: { name: 'coderhxl' } },
{ url: 'https://xxx.com/xxxx' }
]
myXCrawl.crawlData({ requestConfig }).then(res => {
})
Crawl files
Crawl file data via crawlFile()
import path from 'node:path'
import xCrawl from 'x-crawl'
const myXCrawl = xCrawl({
timeout: 10000,
intervalTime: { max: 3000, min: 1000 }
})
const requestConfig = [ 'https://xxx.com/xxxx', 'https://xxx.com/xxxx' ]
myXCrawl
.crawlFile({
requestConfig,
fileConfig: {
storeDir: path.resolve(__dirname, './upload')
}
})
.then((fileInfos) => {
console.log(fileInfos)
})
Start polling
Start a polling crawl with startPolling
import xCrawl from 'x-crawl'
const myXCrawl = xCrawl({
timeout: 10000,
intervalTime: { max: 3000, min: 1000 }
})
myXCrawl. startPolling({ h: 2, m: 30 }, (count, stopPolling) => {
myXCrawl.crawlPage('https://xxx.com').then(res => {
const { jsdom, browser, page } = res
browser.close()
})
})
Callback function parameters:
- The count attribute records the current number of polling operations.
- stopPolling is a callback function, calling it can terminate subsequent polling operations.
Request interval time
Setting the requests interval time can prevent too much concurrency and avoid too much pressure on the server.
It can be set when creating a crawler instance, or you can choose to set it separately for an API. The request interval time is controlled internally by the instance method, not by the instance to control the entire request interval time.
import xCrawl from 'x-crawl'
const myXCrawl = xCrawl({
intervalTime: { max: 3000, min: 1000 }
})
myXCrawl.crawlFile({
requestConfig: [ 'https://xxx.com/xxxx', 'https://xxx.com/xxxx' ],
intervalTime: { max: 2000, min: 1000 }
})
The intervalTime option defaults to undefined . If there is a setting value, it will wait for a period of time before requesting, which can prevent too much concurrency and avoid too much pressure on the server.
- number: The time that must wait before each request is fixed
- Object: Randomly select a value from max and min, which is more anthropomorphic
Note: The first request will not trigger the interval.
Multiple ways of writing requestConfig options
The writing method of requestConfig is very flexible, there are 5 types in total, which can be:
- string
- array of strings
- object
- array of objects
- string plus object array
import xCrawl from 'x-crawl'
const myXCrawl = xCrawl({
timeout: 10000,
intervalTime: { max: 3000, min: 1000 }
})
const requestConfig1 = 'https://xxx.com/xxxx'
const requestConfig2 = [ 'https://xxx.com/xxxx', 'https://xxx.com/xxxx', 'https://xxx.com/xxxx' ]
const requestConfig3 = {
url: 'https://xxx.com/xxxx',
method: 'POST',
data: { name: 'coderhxl' }
}
const requestConfig4 = [
{ url: 'https://xxx.com/xxxx' },
{ url: 'https://xxx.com/xxxx', method: 'POST', data: { name: 'coderhxl' } },
{ url: 'https://xxx.com/xxxx' }
]
const requestConfig5 = [
'https://xxx.com/xxxx',
{ url: 'https://xxx.com/xxxx', method: 'POST', data: { name: 'coderhxl' } },
'https://xxx.com/xxxx'
]
myXCrawl.crawlData({ requestConfig: requestConfig5 }).then(res => {
console.log(res)
})
It can be selected according to the actual situation.
Multiple ways to get results
There are three ways to get the result: Promise, Callback and Promise + Callback.
- Promise: After all requests end, get the results of all requests
- Callback: After each request ends, get the result of the current request
These three methods apply to crawlPage, crawlData and crawlFile.
import xCrawl from 'x-crawl'
const myXCrawl = xCrawl({
timeout: 10000,
intervalTime: { max: 3000, min: 1000 }
})
const requestConfig = [ 'https://xxx.com/xxxx', 'https://xxx.com/xxxx', 'https://xxx.com/xxxx' ]
myXCrawl
.crawlFile({
requestConfig,
fileConfig: { storeDir: path. resolve(__dirname, './upload') }
})
.then((fileInfos) => {
console.log('Promise: ', fileInfos)
})
myXCrawl.crawlFile(
{
requestConfig,
fileConfig: { storeDir: path. resolve(__dirname, './upload') }
},
(fileInfo) => {
console.log('Callback: ', fileInfo)
}
)
myXCrawl
.crawlFile(
{
requestConfig,
fileConfig: { storeDir: path. resolve(__dirname, './upload') }
},
(fileInfo) => {
console.log('Callback: ', fileInfo)
}
)
.then((fileInfos) => {
console.log('Promise: ', fileInfos)
})
It can be selected according to the actual situation.
API
x-crawl
Create a crawler instance via call xCrawl. The request queue is maintained by the instance method itself, not by the instance itself.
Type
function xCrawl(baseConfig?: XCrawlBaseConfig): XCrawlInstance
Example
import xCrawl from 'x-crawl'
const myXCrawl = xCrawl({
baseUrl: 'https://xxx.com',
timeout: 10000,
intervalTime: {
max: 2000,
min: 1000
}
})
Note: To avoid repeated creation of instances in subsequent examples, myXCrawl here will be the crawler instance in the crawlPage/crawlData/crawlFile example.
crawlPage
crawlPage is the method of the crawler instance, usually used to crawl page.
Type
function crawlPage: (
config: CrawlPageConfig,
callback?: (res: CrawlPage) => void
) => Promise<CrawlPage>
Example
import xCrawl from 'x-crawl'
const myXCrawl = xCrawl({ timeout: 10000 })
myXCrawl.crawlPage('https://xxx.com/xxxx').then((res) => {
const { jsdom, browser, page } = res
console.log(jsdom.window.document.querySelector('title')?.textContent)
browser.close()
})
crawlData
crawlData is the method of the crawler instance, which is usually used to crawl APIs to obtain JSON data and so on.
Type
function crawlData: <T = any>(
config: CrawlDataConfig,
callback?: (res: CrawlResCommonV1<T>) => void
) => Promise<CrawlResCommonArrV1<T>>
Example
import xCrawl from 'x-crawl'
const myXCrawl = xCrawl({
timeout: 10000,
intervalTime: { max: 2000, min: 1000 }
})
const requestConfig = [
{ url: 'https://xxx.com/xxxx' },
{ url: 'https://xxx.com/xxxx', method: 'POST', data: { name: 'coderhxl' } },
{ url: 'https://xxx.com/xxxx' }
]
myXCrawl.crawlData({ requestConfig }).then(res => {
console.log(res)
})
crawlFile
crawlFile is the method of the crawler instance, which is usually used to crawl files, such as pictures, pdf files, etc.
Type
function crawlFile: (
config: CrawlFileConfig,
callback?: (res: CrawlResCommonV1<FileInfo>) => void
) => Promise<CrawlResCommonArrV1<FileInfo>>
Example
import xCrawl from 'x-crawl'
const myXCrawl = xCrawl({
timeout: 10000,
intervalTime: { max: 2000, min: 1000 }
})
const requestConfig = [ 'https://xxx.com/xxxx', 'https://xxx.com/xxxx' ]
myXCrawl
.crawlFile({
requestConfig,
fileConfig: {
storeDir: path.resolve(__dirname, './upload')
}
})
.then((fileInfos) => {
console.log(fileInfos)
})
startPolling
crawlPolling is a method of the crawler instance, typically used to perform polling operations, such as getting news every once in a while.
Type
function startPolling(
config: StartPollingConfig,
callback: (count: number, stopPolling: () => void) => void
): void
Example
import xCrawl from 'x-crawl'
const myXCrawl = xCrawl({
timeout: 10000,
intervalTime: { max: 2000, min: 1000 }
})
myXCrawl.startPolling({ h: 2, m: 30 }, (count, stopPolling) => {
})
Types
AnyObject
interface AnyObject extends Object {
[key: string | number | symbol]: any
}
Method
type Method = 'get' | 'GET' | 'delete' | 'DELETE' | 'head' | 'HEAD' | 'options' | 'OPTONS' | 'post' | 'POST' | 'put' | 'PUT' | 'patch' | 'PATCH' | 'purge' | 'PURGE' | 'link' | 'LINK' | 'unlink' | 'UNLINK'
RequestConfigObject
interface RequestConfigObject {
url: string
method?: Method
headers?: AnyObject
params?: AnyObject
data?: any
timeout?: number
proxy?: string
}
RequestConfig
type RequestConfig = string | RequestConfigObject
MergeRequestConfigObject
interface MergeRequestConfigObject {
url: string
timeout?: number
proxy?: string
}
IntervalTime
type IntervalTime = number | {
max: number
min?: number
}
XCrawlBaseConfig
interface XCrawlBaseConfig {
baseUrl?: string
timeout?: number
intervalTime?: IntervalTime
mode?: 'async' | 'sync'
proxy?: string
}
CrawlBaseConfigV1
interface CrawlBaseConfigV1 {
requestConfig: RequestConfig | RequestConfig[]
intervalTime?: IntervalTime
}
CrawlPageConfig
type CrawlPageConfig = string | MergeRequestConfigObject
CrawlDataConfig
interface CrawlDataConfig extends CrawlBaseConfigV1 {
}
CrawlFileConfig
interface CrawlFileConfig extends CrawlBaseConfigV1 {
fileConfig: {
storeDir: string
extension?: string
}
}
StartPollingConfig
interface StartPollingConfig {
d?: number
h?: number
m?: number
}
XCrawlInstance
interface XCrawlInstance {
crawlPage: (
config: CrawlPageConfig,
callback?: (res: CrawlPage) => void
) => Promise<CrawlPage>
crawlData: <T = any>(
config: CrawlDataConfig,
callback?: (res: CrawlResCommonV1<T>) => void
) => Promise<CrawlResCommonArrV1<T>>
crawlFile: (
config: CrawlFileConfig,
callback?: (res: CrawlResCommonV1<FileInfo>) => void
) => Promise<CrawlResCommonArrV1<FileInfo>>
startPolling: (
config: StartPollingConfig,
callback: (count: number, stopPolling: () => void) => void
) => void
}
CrawlResCommonV1
interface CrawlCommon<T> {
id: number
statusCode: number | undefined
headers: IncomingHttpHeaders
data: T
}
CrawlResCommonArrV1
type CrawlResCommonArrV1<T> = CrawlResCommonV1<T>[]
FileInfo
interface FileInfo {
fileName: string
mimeType: string
size: number
filePath: string
}
CrawlPage
interface CrawlPage {
httpResponse: HTTPResponse | null
browser
page: Page
jsdom: JSDOM
}
More
If you have any questions or needs , please submit Issues in https://github.com/coder-hxl/x-crawl/issues .