webchanges

.. role:: underline :class: underline .. role:: additions :class: additions .. role:: deletions :class: deletions

====================== webchanges |downloads|

webchanges anonymously checks web content (including images) and commands for changes, delivering instant notifications and AI-powered summaries to your favorite platform <https://webchanges.readthedocs.io/en/stable/introduction.html#reporters-list>__.

Requirements

webchanges requires |support|.

For the best experience, use the current version of Python <https://www.python.org/downloads/>__. We also support older Python versions for 3 years after they're replaced by a newer one; we just ask that you use the most up-to-date bug and security fix release from that older version.

For Generative AI summaries (BETA), you need a free API Key from Google Cloud AI Studio <https://aistudio.google.com/app/apikey>__ (see here <https://webchanges.readthedocs.io/en/stable/differs.html#ai-google>__).

Installation

|pypi_version| |format| |status| |security|

Install webchanges with:

.. code-block:: bash

pip install webchanges

Running in Docker

webchanges can easily run in a Docker <https://www.docker.com/>__ container! You will find a minimal implementation (no browser) here <https://github.com/yubiuser/webchanges-docker>, and one with a browser here <https://github.com/jhedlund/webchanges-docker>.

Documentation |readthedocs|

The documentation is hosted on Read the Docs <https://webchanges.readthedocs.io/>__.

Quick Start

Initialize

#. Run the following command to create the default config.yaml (configuration) and jobs.yaml (jobs) files and open an editor to add your jobs <https://webchanges.readthedocs.io/en/stable/jobs.html>__:

.. code-block:: bash

  webchanges --edit

#. Run the following command to change the default configuration <https://webchanges.readthedocs.io/en/stable/configuration.html>, e.g. to receive change notifications ("reports <https://webchanges.readthedocs.io/en/stable/reporters.html>") by email <https://webchanges.readthedocs.io/en/stable/reporters.html#smtp>__ and/or one of many other methods:

.. code-block:: bash

  webchanges --edit-config

Run

To check the sources in your jobs and report on (e.g. display or via email) any changes found from the last time the program ran, just run:

.. code-block:: bash

webchanges

Schedule

webchanges leverages the power of a system scheduler:

• On Linux you can use cron, with the help of a tool like crontab.guru <https://crontab.guru>__ (help here <https://www.computerhope.com/unix/ucrontab.htm>__);
• On Windows you can use Windows Task Scheduler <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Task_Scheduler>__;
• On macOS you can use launchd <https://developer.apple .com/library/archive/documentation/MacOSX/Conceptual/BPSystemStartup/Chapters/ScheduledJobs.html>__ (help here <https://launchd.info/>__).

Code

|coveralls| |issues| |code_style|

The code, issues tracker, and discussions are hosted on GitHub <https://github.com/mborsetti/webchanges>__.

Contributing

We welcome any contribution no matter how small, both as pull requests or issue reports <https://github.com/mborsetti/webchanges/issues>__.

More information for code and documentation contributors is here <https://webchanges.readthedocs.io/en/stable/contributing.html>, and our wishlist is here <https://github.com/mborsetti/webchanges/blob/main/WISHLIST.md>.

License

|license|

See the complete licenses <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mborsetti/webchanges/refs/heads/main/LICENSE>__ (released under the MIT License <https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT>__ but redistributing modified source code, dated 30 July 2020, from urlwatch 2.21 <https://github.com/thp/urlwatch/tree/346b25914b0418342ffe2fb0529bed702fddc01f>__ licensed under a BSD 3-Clause License <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/thp/urlwatch/346b25914b0418342ffe2fb0529bed702fddc01f/COPYING>__).

Compatibility with and improvements from urlwatch

This project is based on code from urlwatch 2.21 <https://github.com/thp/urlwatch/tree/346b25914b0418342ffe2fb0529bed702fddc01f>__ dated 30 July 2020.

You can easily upgrade to webchanges from the current version of urlwatch using the same job and configuration files (see here <https://webchanges.readthedocs.io/en/stable/upgrading.html>__) and benefit from many improvements, including:

• :underline:AI-Powered Summaries: Summary of changes in plain text using generative AI, useful for long documents (e.g. legal);

• :underline:Image Change Detection: Monitor changes to images and receive notifications with an image highlighting the differences;

• :underline:Structured Data Monitoring: Track changes in JSON or XML data on an element-by-element basis;

• :underline:Improved Documentation: We've revamped the documentation <https://webchanges.readthedocs.io/>__ to make implementation easier;

• :underline:Enhanced HTML Reports: HTML reports are now much clearer and include:

  • Clickable links!
  • Retention of most original formatting (bolding / headers, italics, :underline:underlining, lists with bullets (•), and indentation;
  • :additions:added and :deletions:deleted lines clearly highlighted with color and strikethrough;
  • Wrapping of long lines (instead of truncation);
  • Improved compatibility with a wider range of HTML email clients, including those that override stylesheets (e.g., Gmail);
  • General legibility improvements.

• :underline:New Filtering Options: New filters, like additions_only <https://webchanges.readthedocs.io/en/stable/diff_filters.html#additions-only>__, which allows you to focus on added content without the distraction of deletions;

• :underline:New Command Line Arguments: New command-line arguments such as --errors, which helps you identify jobs that are no longer functioning correctly;

• :underline:Increased Reliability and Stability: Testing coverage has increased by approximately 30 percentage points;

• :underline:Additional Enhancements: Numerous other additions, refinements, and bug fixes have been implemented. For more information, see here <https://webchanges.readthedocs.io/en/stable/migration.html#upgrade-details>__.

Example enhancements to HTML reporting:

.. image:: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mborsetti/webchanges/main/docs/html_diff_filters_example_1.png :width: 504

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.. image:: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mborsetti/webchanges/main/docs/html_diff_filters_example_3.png :width: 504

.. |support| image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/pyversions/webchanges.svg :target: https://www.python.org/downloads/ :alt: Supported Python versions .. |pypi_version| image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/webchanges.svg?label= :target: https://pypi.org/project/webchanges/ :alt: PyPI version .. |format| image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/format/webchanges.svg :target: https://pypi.org/project/webchanges/ :alt: Kit format .. |downloads| image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/dm/webchanges.svg :target: https://www.pepy.tech/project/webchanges :alt: PyPI downloads .. |license| image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/l/webchanges.svg :target: https://pypi.org/project/webchanges/ :alt: License at https://pypi.org/project/webchanges/ .. |issues| image:: https://img.shields.io/github/issues-raw/mborsetti/webchanges :target: https://github.com/mborsetti/webchanges/issues :alt: Issues at https://github.com/mborsetti/webchanges/issues .. |readthedocs| image:: https://img.shields.io/readthedocs/webchanges/stable.svg?label= :target: https://webchanges.readthedocs.io/ :alt: Documentation status .. |old_CI| image:: https://github.com/mborsetti/webchanges/actions/workflows/ci-cd.yaml/badge.svg?event=push :target: https://github.com/mborsetti/webchanges/actions :alt: CI testing status .. |CI| image:: https://img.shields.io/github/check-runs/mborsetti/webchanges/main :target: https://github.com/mborsetti/webchanges/actions :alt: CI testing status .. |old_coveralls| image:: https://coveralls.io/repos/github/mborsetti/webchanges/badge.svg?branch=main :target: https://coveralls.io/github/mborsetti/webchanges?branch=main :alt: Code coverage by Coveralls .. |coveralls| image:: https://img.shields.io/coverallsCoverage/github/mborsetti/webchanges.svg :target: https://coveralls.io/github/mborsetti/webchanges?branch=main :alt: Code coverage by Coveralls .. |code_style| image:: https://img.shields.io/badge/code%20style-black-000000.svg :target: https://github.com/psf/black :alt: Code style black .. |status| image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/status/webchanges.svg :target: https://pypi.org/project/webchanges/ :alt: Package stability .. |security| image:: https://img.shields.io/badge/security-bandit-green.svg :target: https://github.com/PyCQA/bandit :alt: Security Status