> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.easyscraper.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# FAQ

> Frequently asked questions

## General Questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Is Easy Scraper free?">
    Yes, Easy Scraper is currently free to use. You can scrape as many pages as you need without any subscription or payment.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Which browsers are supported?">
    Easy Scraper works on all Chromium-based browsers including:

    * Google Chrome
    * Microsoft Edge
    * Brave
    * Opera
    * Vivaldi

    Note: Easy Scraper is not compatible with Firefox or Safari.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do I need coding knowledge to use Easy Scraper?">
    No! Easy Scraper is designed for everyone. You interact with a visual interface - just click on the data you want to extract. No coding, programming, or technical knowledge required.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Is my data private?">
    Yes. All scraping happens locally in your browser. The data you scrape is stored only on your device and is never sent to Easy Scraper's servers. Your scraped data remains completely private.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I scrape any website?">
    Technically, Easy Scraper can attempt to scrape most websites. However:

    * You should always respect the website's Terms of Service
    * Some websites have technical measures that prevent scraping
    * Some content may be protected by copyright
    * Always scrape ethically and responsibly
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What languages does Easy Scraper support?">
    Easy Scraper supports multiple languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, and more. The interface automatically adapts to your browser's language settings.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Getting Started

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="How do I install Easy Scraper?">
    1. Visit the [Chrome Web Store](https://easyscraper.com/install)
    2. Click "Add to Chrome" (or your browser's equivalent)
    3. Confirm the installation
    4. Pin the extension to your toolbar for easy access

    See the [Getting Started](/index) guide for detailed instructions.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why doesn't Easy Scraper detect any lists on my page?">
    This can happen for several reasons:

    * The page is still loading - wait a few seconds and refresh
    * The page doesn't have a repeating list structure
    * The list uses a complex or non-standard layout
    * Content is loaded dynamically - try scrolling or interacting with the page first

    If you're sure there's a list on the page, try refreshing and waiting longer for the page to fully load.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do I know what data I can extract?">
    Easy Scraper can extract three types of data:

    1. **Text content** - Any visible text on the page
    2. **Links (URLs)** - The href attribute from link elements
    3. **Images (URLs)** - The src attribute from image elements

    The extension automatically detects which type to extract based on the element you click.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I scrape data from multiple pages?">
    Yes! Easy Scraper supports pagination through:

    * **Infinite scroll** - Automatically scrolls to load more items
    * **Next page buttons** - Clicks "Next" or page numbers
    * **Load more buttons** - Clicks "Load More" or "Show More"

    See the [List Scraping](/list-scraping) guide for details.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## List Scraping

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Why are some items missing from my scraped list?">
    Common causes:

    * **Wait time too short**: Items didn't finish loading before scraping moved on
    * **Scroll issues**: Page didn't scroll far enough to trigger loading
    * **Rate limiting**: Website blocked further requests
    * **Max items limit**: You set a limit on the number of items

    **Solutions:**

    * Increase the max wait time in your configuration
    * Add a scroll delay
    * Reduce scraping speed to avoid rate limiting
    * Remove or increase the max items limit
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do I scrape a paginated list?">
    1. Start scraping the first page normally
    2. In the scraping configuration, choose a load more option:
       * "Scroll Down" for infinite scroll
       * "Click Next Page Button" for pagination
    3. Configure wait times
    4. Optionally set a max items limit
    5. Start scraping

    See the [Pagination Options](/list-scraping#pagination-options) section for detailed instructions.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why do I have duplicate items in my results?">
    This can happen when:

    * The page has multiple instances of the same list
    * Pagination loads items that were already scraped
    * The page structure causes the same elements to be detected multiple times

    **Solutions:**

    * Check if the page has duplicate content
    * Refresh and try again
    * After exporting, remove duplicates in your spreadsheet application
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What's the maximum number of items I can scrape?">
    There's no hard limit, but practical considerations include:

    * Browser memory (very large scrapes may slow down or crash)
    * Website rate limiting (sites may block excessive requests)
    * Time (scraping thousands of items can take hours)

    **Recommendation:** For large scrapes, use the "Max items" limit to scrape in smaller batches.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Page Details Scraping

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What's the difference between list scraping and page details scraping?">
    * **List scraping**: Extracts multiple items from a single page (e.g., product listings)
    * **Page details scraping**: Visits multiple URLs and extracts data from each individual page (e.g., product detail pages)

    They work great together: use list scraping to get URLs, then use page details scraping to get more information from each URL.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do I get URLs for page details scraping?">
    Two ways:

    1. **From list scraping**: Scrape a list that includes URLs, then click "Scrape each URL"
    2. **Upload a CSV**: Upload a CSV file with a column containing URLs

    See the [Page Details Scraping guide](/details-scraping) for step-by-step instructions.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I reuse a scraper I created?">
    Yes! When creating a details scraper:

    1. Select your fields as normal
    2. Give your scraper a descriptive name
    3. It's automatically saved
    4. Next time you scrape pages from the same domain, select your saved scraper from the dropdown

    You can also export scrapers as JSON files to back them up or share them.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why doesn't my saved scraper work on different pages?">
    Scrapers are domain-specific and designed for pages with similar structure. If a scraper doesn't work:

    * The new pages may have a different HTML structure
    * Content may be in different locations or use different element types
    * You may need to create a new scraper for the new page type

    Test your scraper on a few examples before running it on many URLs.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Some fields are empty in my results. Is this normal?">
    Yes, this is completely normal! Not every page will have every field. For example:

    * Some products don't have reviews
    * Some listings don't have images
    * Optional fields may be blank for some items

    Empty fields will appear as blank cells in your export, which is expected behavior.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How many URLs can I scrape with page details scraping?">
    You can scrape as many URLs as you want, but consider:

    * **Time**: With 2-3 second delays, 100 URLs takes 3-5 minutes, 1000 URLs takes 30-50 minutes
    * **Rate limiting**: Scraping too many pages too quickly may trigger anti-bot measures
    * **Browser performance**: Keep the browser window active for best results

    **Recommendation:** Test with 10-20 URLs first, then scale up once you're confident the scraper works correctly.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Technical Issues

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Easy Scraper isn't opening or is showing a blank screen">
    **Solutions:**

    1. Refresh the page you're on and try again
    2. Close and reopen the extension
    3. Restart your browser
    4. Check if the extension is enabled (check chrome://extensions/)
    5. Try updating to the latest version of the extension
    6. Clear your browser cache and cookies
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The extension stopped working mid-scrape">
    This can happen if:

    * You closed the popup window
    * The browser tab became inactive (some browsers throttle background tabs)
    * You ran out of memory
    * The website blocked further requests

    **Solutions:**

    * Keep the popup window open while scraping
    * Keep the browser tab active (don't minimize or switch away)
    * Close other tabs if you're running out of memory
    * Increase wait times and try again
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Data isn't appearing or is incomplete">
    **Common causes and solutions:**

    **For dynamically loaded content:**

    * Increase the max wait time to 5-10 seconds
    * Manually interact with the page before scraping

    **For timing issues:**

    * Add a scroll delay (500-1000ms)
    * Increase min wait times between actions

    **For JavaScript-heavy sites:**

    * Let the page fully load before opening the extension
    * Wait for loading spinners to disappear
    * Some sites may not be compatible with scraping
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I'm getting 'Element not found' errors">
    This means the scraper couldn't find the element using its selector. This happens when:

    * The page structure is different from the test page
    * Content hasn't loaded yet
    * The website changed its HTML structure

    **Solutions:**

    * Increase wait times
    * Remove and re-add the field
    * Create a new scraper if the website changed significantly
    * Check if the element actually exists on the page
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Scraping is very slow">
    Scraping speed depends on:

    * Your configured wait times (intentional delays)
    * How fast the website responds
    * How much data you're extracting

    This is normal - web scraping is inherently a slow process because you need to:

    * Wait for pages to load
    * Be respectful of server resources
    * Avoid triggering anti-bot measures

    **To speed up (carefully):**

    * Reduce min wait times
    * Reduce max wait times if pages load quickly
    * Remove unnecessary fields
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I'm seeing CAPTCHA challenges">
    This means the website has detected automated access and is challenging you to prove you're human.

    **What to do:**

    1. Complete the CAPTCHA manually
    2. Slow down your scraping (increase wait times to 3-5+ seconds)
    3. Reduce the number of pages per session
    4. Take breaks between scraping sessions

    Frequent CAPTCHAs indicate the website doesn't want automated access. Consider if continuing is appropriate.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Exporting Data

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Which export format should I use?">
    * **CSV**: Best for Excel, Google Sheets, databases, and data analysis
    * **JSON**: Best for programming, APIs, and further processing with scripts
    * **Copy (TSV)**: Best for quickly pasting into spreadsheets or documents

    All formats contain the same data - choose based on what you plan to do with it.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Special characters look wrong in my CSV file">
    This is an encoding issue. Easy Scraper exports CSV files with UTF-8 encoding, which supports all international characters.

    **If you see garbled characters in Excel:**

    1. Don't double-click the CSV file to open it
    2. Open Excel first
    3. Use File > Import > CSV/Text File
    4. Choose UTF-8 encoding in the import wizard

    **If you see garbled characters in Google Sheets:**
    This shouldn't happen - Google Sheets handles UTF-8 automatically. Try uploading the file again.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Where are my exported files saved?">
    Downloaded files (CSV and JSON) are saved to your browser's default download location, typically:

    * Windows: `C:\Users\YourName\Downloads`
    * Mac: `/Users/YourName/Downloads`
    * Linux: `/home/YourName/Downloads`

    Check your browser's download settings to see or change the location.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Best Practices

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="How can I scrape more reliably?">
    Follow these best practices:

    1. **Test first**: Always test with a small sample before full scrape
    2. **Use adequate wait times**: Don't rush - give pages time to load
    3. **Verify selectors**: Use the "Verify" button to check your selections
    4. **Monitor progress**: Watch the first few items to ensure everything works
    5. **Save your work**: Export data frequently and save scrapers for reuse
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How fast can I scrape without getting blocked?">
    There's no universal answer, but general guidelines:

    * **Safe for most sites**: 2-3 seconds
    * **Conservative**: 3-5 seconds
    * **Very cautious**: 5-10 seconds

    If you're getting blocked or seeing CAPTCHAs, slow down significantly.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Is it legal to scrape websites?">
    Web scraping legality is complex and varies by jurisdiction. Generally:

    **Usually acceptable:**

    * Scraping publicly available data for personal use
    * Respecting robots.txt and Terms of Service
    * Using reasonable rate limits

    **Potentially problematic:**

    * Scraping copyrighted content for republication
    * Scraping personal data in violation of privacy laws (GDPR, CCPA)
    * Violating a website's Terms of Service
    * Scraping data behind authentication without permission
    * Using scraped data commercially without rights

    **Recommendation:** Always review the website's Terms of Service and robots.txt before scraping. When in doubt, seek legal advice.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Should I scrape during business hours?">
    Consider scraping during off-peak hours (evenings, weekends) for:

    * Large scraping jobs (hundreds or thousands of pages)
    * Websites that may have limited server capacity
    * Being extra respectful of server resources

    For small scrapes (dozens of pages), timing is less critical.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Data and Privacy

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What permissions does Easy Scraper need?">
    Easy Scraper requires certain browser permissions to function:

    * **Access to all websites**: Needed to scrape any website you visit
    * **Storage**: To save your scrapers and scraping data locally
    * **Active tab**: To interact with the page you're currently viewing

    These are standard permissions for web scraping extensions. Your data stays local on your device.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does Easy Scraper collect my data?">
    No. All scraping happens locally in your browser. Easy Scraper does not:

    * Send your scraped data to any servers
    * Track what websites you scrape
    * Collect or store your personal information
    * Share your data with third parties

    Your scraped data and saved scrapers remain entirely on your device.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What happens to my scraped data?">
    Your scraped data is stored locally in your browser until you:

    * Export it (download CSV/JSON or copy to clipboard)
    * Clear your browser data
    * Uninstall the extension

    The data never leaves your computer unless you explicitly export and share it.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Still Need Help?

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Report a Bug" icon="bug" href="https://easyscraper.com/report-bug">
    Found an issue? Let us know so we can fix it
  </Card>

  <Card title="Documentation" icon="book-open" href="/index">
    Read the full documentation and guides
  </Card>
</CardGroup>