Playground

The Playground lets you build, test, and validate scraping requests without writing any code. It provides an interactive interface for configuring requests, previewing results, and generating production-ready API code.

Scraper Types

The Playground runs one of three scraper types. MrScraper selects the type automatically based on your extraction mode and the options you enable:

• Unblocker: Raw HTML mode with no Screenshot, Markdown, or automation. Returns the page's raw HTML.
• Manual Scraper: Raw HTML mode with Screenshot, Markdown, or automation (interaction steps) enabled.
• AI Scraper: AI Parser mode. Uses AI to return structured data and supports all available settings.

Each type consumes tokens differently. See Token Plan to learn how token usage is calculated for each one.

What You Can Do

Playground Overview

The Playground has these main panels:

• Target URL: Configure and run the request.
• Data Extraction: Choose how MrScraper returns the content.
• Extracted Data: View the response.
• API Token: See the token used to authenticate requests.
• Example Code: Copy generated request code.
• Settings: Adjust optional loading, rendering, and extraction options (Basic Settings, Advanced Settings, and Automation).
• Alert Settings: Get notified when a scrape returns errors or incomplete data.

Target URL

In the Target URL panel, you configure and run the request:

• Enter the target URL.
• Select the HTTP method.
• Enable Screenshot or Markdown output.
• Select Run to send the request, or Reset to clear the current configuration.

Data Extraction

The Data Extraction panel controls how MrScraper returns the page content. Choose one of two modes:

• Raw HTML: Returns the page's HTML.
• AI Parser: Uses AI to return structured data instead of raw HTML.

Your choice here, along with the options you enable, determines the scraper type and how tokens are counted.

Extracted Data

The Extracted Data panel displays the response MrScraper returns after a request completes. Depending on the extraction mode, the response may include:

• Raw HTML
• Markdown
• AI-generated structured data (JSON)

Use this panel to confirm the extracted content matches your requirements before you integrate the request into your application.

API Token

MrScraper creates an API token when you sign up. The API Token panel displays the token used to authenticate your requests.

If you create additional tokens, the Playground shows your most recently created token. All generated code and requests use the displayed token for authentication.

Example Code

The Example Code panel builds an API request from your current configuration and updates it automatically as you make changes. Copy the code and use it directly in your application.

Supported languages:

• cURL
• Python
• JavaScript
• PHP
• Go
• Java
• Ruby
• C#

Settings

The settings panels contain optional features that control how MrScraper loads, renders, and extracts content. Most websites work with the default settings. Enable these options only when a website needs extra handling, such as JavaScript rendering, geographic targeting, or user interactions.

Basic Settings

Token Cap

The Token Cap limits how many tokens a single scrape and its retries can use in the Playground. It applies to Unblocker and Manual Scraper only.

Use the token cap to keep your costs predictable. Automatic retries are bounded by the cap, so the total tokens for a single run stay at or below the value you set. This makes it easier to estimate and budget token usage while testing.

For how the cap works with retries and how tokens are counted, see Playground Token Cap in Token Plan.

Advanced Settings

Automation

Select Add interaction steps to simulate browser actions such as clicking, typing, scrolling, waiting, or running JavaScript before extraction. Use automation for infinite scrolling, form submissions, expanding hidden content, or interacting with dynamic websites.

Alert Settings

The Alert Settings panel notifies you when a scrape returns errors or incomplete data. Configure where alerts go, what triggers them, and how often they're sent.

Channel

Choose where MrScraper sends alerts. Set one or both.

Flag

Set the conditions that trigger an alert. Type a value and press Enter to add it.

Notification Rate

The Identifier sets the key MrScraper uses to group alerts, so the same alert isn't sent repeatedly. Rate Limit and TTL apply separately to each group.

Example

With a rate limit of 3 and errors on example.com and shopee.com:

• Domain: Grouped by domain. Once example.com hits the limit, its alerts pause for the TTL period, while shopee.com keeps its own separate count.
• URL: Grouped by full URL. example.com/path1 and example.com/path2 are tracked separately, so each can send its own alert.