Smart Fetch Scraper with Browser Fallback
Scrape webpages using the fastest method available: Fetch API first, full browser session as fallback for JS-rendered pages.
npx create-browser-app --template smart-fetch-scraper
uvx create-browser-app --template smart-fetch-scraper
Get started with the Smart Fetch Scraper
Scrape web pages using the fastest and most cost-effective method available. The Browserbase Fetch API handles most pages instantly, retrieving content in milliseconds without spinning up a browser session or using AI credits. For the rare cases where JavaScript rendering is required, the template gracefully falls back to a full Stagehand browser session with AI-powered extract(). Perfect for cost-optimized scraping pipelines, speed-sensitive workflows, and hybrid data extraction scenarios.
Steps
Send a POST request to the Browserbase Fetch API (
/v1/fetch) with the target URLCheck response content length and text density to determine if the page is server-rendered
If content is sufficient, parse the HTML directly for fast, zero-cost extraction
If content is insufficient (JS-rendered pages), fall back to a Stagehand browser session
Use Stagehand's AI-powered extract() with Zod schemas to pull structured data from complex pages
