Local-first MCP server for web scraping, crawling, URL mapping, batch extraction, structured extraction, summarization, diffing, brand extraction, and optional hosted API fallback for bot-protected pages.
by WebClaw · submitted by oktofeesh1·added 2026-06-06·1,800 source repo stars·
WebClaw MCP Server can scrape one URL, crawl same-origin links, map URLs, batch multiple URLs, extract structured data, summarize pages, compare snapshots, and extract brand metadata., Scraping, crawling, search, research, and hosted fallback can trigger target-site rate limits, bot protections, legal restrictions, or terms-of-service limits., The server validates public HTTP URLs and rejects private or internal destinations, but operators should still avoid fetching internal, secret, customer-specific, or credential-bearing URLs., Cookie-bearing requests, proxies, and browser profiles can expose authenticated sessions or route traffic through external infrastructure., Setting `WEBCLAW_API_KEY` enables hosted API fallback, which can send target URLs and page context to the WebClaw service., Structured extraction and summarization may use configured LLM providers; review provider data handling before enabling those tools with sensitive pages.
Privacy notes
URLs, fetched page content, crawl results, extracted structured data, snapshots, brand metadata, cookies, proxy settings, API keys, and LLM prompts can be exposed to the MCP client., Crawled pages may include personal data, customer content, non-public links, access tokens embedded in URLs, or site-specific identifiers., Diff snapshots and exported JSON can preserve page content longer than expected; store and delete them according to the workflow's retention needs., Hosted fallback, proxy providers, search/research APIs, and LLM providers may observe target URLs, headers, cookies, prompts, and extracted content when enabled., Redact sensitive URLs and extracted data before sharing MCP transcripts, crawl results, logs, or generated RAG context.
Author
WebClaw
Submitted by
oktofeesh1
Claim status
unclaimed
Last verified
2026-06-06
Decision playbook
Review trust signals before you adopt
Signals are present but mixed. Use the checklist below to confirm the source and operational safety for your environment.
Compare context
Selected
0
Current score
63
Baseline
—
Delta
No baseline selected
No major trust-signal divergence detected in the current selection.
Source and provenance checks
Needs review
Confirm ownership and provenance before trusting install instructions.
Source link availableRequired
Open the canonical repository and verify ownership.
Done
Source provenance statusRequired
Marked as source-backed.
Done
Metadata reviewed
No reviewed flag detected in metadata.
Pending
Safety and privacy checks
Complete
Validate risk disclosures before installation or API wiring.
Safety notes presentRequired
Review the listed safety guidance before running commands.
Done
Privacy notes presentRequired
Review data handling notes before connecting accounts or secrets.
Done
Trust level risk gateRequired
Trust level does not block evaluation.
Done
Package and install checks
Needs review
Check package metadata and artifact integrity signals.
Install payload available
Install or copy payload is available for review.
Done
Package verification flag
No package verification flag provided.
Pending
Checksum metadata
No checksum provided for downloaded artifact.
Pending
Compare-driven decision checks
Needs review
Use compare context to validate trade-offs before adoption.
Compare tray has multiple entries
Add at least one more entry to compare trust differences.
6 safety and 5 privacy notes across 5 risk areas. Review closely: credentials & tokens, third-party handling.
5 areas
SafetyGeneralWebClaw MCP Server can scrape one URL, crawl same-origin links, map URLs, batch multiple URLs, extract structured data, summarize pages, compare snapshots, and extract brand metadata.
SafetyGeneralScraping, crawling, search, research, and hosted fallback can trigger target-site rate limits, bot protections, legal restrictions, or terms-of-service limits.
SafetyCredentials & tokensThe server validates public HTTP URLs and rejects private or internal destinations, but operators should still avoid fetching internal, secret, customer-specific, or credential-bearing URLs.
SafetyCredentials & tokensCookie-bearing requests, proxies, and browser profiles can expose authenticated sessions or route traffic through external infrastructure.
SafetyGeneralSetting `WEBCLAW_API_KEY` enables hosted API fallback, which can send target URLs and page context to the WebClaw service.
SafetyThird-party handlingStructured extraction and summarization may use configured LLM providers; review provider data handling before enabling those tools with sensitive pages.
PrivacyCredentials & tokensURLs, fetched page content, crawl results, extracted structured data, snapshots, brand metadata, cookies, proxy settings, API keys, and LLM prompts can be exposed to the MCP client.
PrivacyCredentials & tokensCrawled pages may include personal data, customer content, non-public links, access tokens embedded in URLs, or site-specific identifiers.
PrivacyData retentionDiff snapshots and exported JSON can preserve page content longer than expected; store and delete them according to the workflow's retention needs.
PrivacyThird-party handlingHosted fallback, proxy providers, search/research APIs, and LLM providers may observe target URLs, headers, cookies, prompts, and extracted content when enabled.
PrivacyExecution & processesRedact sensitive URLs and extracted data before sharing MCP transcripts, crawl results, logs, or generated RAG context.
Disclosure: Open source AGPL-3.0 MCP server and extraction engine for WebClaw. Local tools run without a hosted API key; optional hosted fallback through webclaw.io can be enabled with `WEBCLAW_API_KEY`.
Safety notes
WebClaw MCP Server can scrape one URL, crawl same-origin links, map URLs, batch multiple URLs, extract structured data, summarize pages, compare snapshots, and extract brand metadata.
Scraping, crawling, search, research, and hosted fallback can trigger target-site rate limits, bot protections, legal restrictions, or terms-of-service limits.
The server validates public HTTP URLs and rejects private or internal destinations, but operators should still avoid fetching internal, secret, customer-specific, or credential-bearing URLs.
Cookie-bearing requests, proxies, and browser profiles can expose authenticated sessions or route traffic through external infrastructure.
Setting `WEBCLAW_API_KEY` enables hosted API fallback, which can send target URLs and page context to the WebClaw service.
Structured extraction and summarization may use configured LLM providers; review provider data handling before enabling those tools with sensitive pages.
Privacy notes
URLs, fetched page content, crawl results, extracted structured data, snapshots, brand metadata, cookies, proxy settings, API keys, and LLM prompts can be exposed to the MCP client.
Crawled pages may include personal data, customer content, non-public links, access tokens embedded in URLs, or site-specific identifiers.
Diff snapshots and exported JSON can preserve page content longer than expected; store and delete them according to the workflow's retention needs.
Hosted fallback, proxy providers, search/research APIs, and LLM providers may observe target URLs, headers, cookies, prompts, and extracted content when enabled.
Redact sensitive URLs and extracted data before sharing MCP transcripts, crawl results, logs, or generated RAG context.
Prerequisites
Node.js for the `create-webclaw` installer, or Rust/Cargo when building the MCP binary from source.
Review of AGPL-3.0 obligations before redistributing or operating modified server versions.
Review of target-site terms, robots expectations, rate limits, and scraping permissions.
Optional `WEBCLAW_API_KEY` only when hosted API fallback is acceptable for bot-protected or JavaScript-heavy pages.
Optional proxy, cookie, or LLM-provider configuration only for workflows that explicitly require it.
Schema details
Install type
cli
Troubleshooting
No
Source repository stats
Scope
Source repo
Stars
1,800 source repo stars
Collection metadata
Estimated setup
15 minutes
Difficulty
intermediate
Tool listing metadata
Disclosure
Open source AGPL-3.0 MCP server and extraction engine for WebClaw. Local tools run without a hosted API key; optional hosted fallback through webclaw.io can be enabled with `WEBCLAW_API_KEY`.
WebClaw MCP Server connects Claude and other MCP clients to the WebClaw
extraction engine. It supports local-first scraping, crawling, URL mapping,
batch extraction, structured extraction, summarization, page diffs, brand
metadata extraction, and optional hosted fallback for bot-protected or
JavaScript-heavy pages.
Use it when Claude needs supervised access to clean web content for research,
RAG preparation, documentation crawling, competitor-page comparison, or website
metadata extraction, while keeping scraping limits and hosted fallback explicit.
These sources were reviewed on 2026-06-06. Prefer the live repository,
README, installer package metadata, license, workspace manifest, installer
package manifest, MCP server implementation, tool schemas, and URL safety guard
for current setup and behavior details.
Features
Scrape a single public URL as markdown, text, JSON, LLM-optimized text, or
HTML.
Crawl same-origin links with configurable depth, page count, concurrency, and
optional sitemap discovery.
Map URLs without extracting every page.
Batch-scrape multiple URLs in parallel.
Extract structured data from a page with a prompt and JSON schema.
Summarize pages with configured local or remote LLM providers.
Compare a current page against a previous extraction snapshot.
Extract brand colors, fonts, logos, and metadata.
Run site-specific vertical extractors for supported platforms.
Reject private or internal fetch targets through server-side URL validation.
Enable optional hosted fallback with WEBCLAW_API_KEY.
Installation
Run the installer from a trusted terminal:
npx create-webclaw
If configuring manually after installation, point the MCP client at the trusted
webclaw-mcp binary installed by that setup flow:
Leave WEBCLAW_API_KEY unset when local-only extraction is required. Set it
only when hosted fallback is allowed for the target workflow.
Use Cases
Convert a public documentation page into clean markdown for Claude.
Crawl a small documentation site and prepare context for a RAG index.
Compare a pricing page against a saved snapshot.
Extract structured product, repository, or review metadata from supported
public pages.
Pull brand colors, fonts, logos, and metadata from a company website.
Batch-scrape a short list of approved public URLs.
Summarize public articles with configured LLM providers.
Safety and Privacy
WebClaw is powerful web-fetching infrastructure. Confirm that each target URL is
public, allowed by the site terms, and appropriate for automated extraction
before scraping or crawling it.
Keep local-only and hosted-fallback workflows separate. If proxies, cookies,
LLM providers, or WEBCLAW_API_KEY are configured, document which third parties
can observe target URLs, page content, prompts, and generated results.
Show that WebClaw MCP Server is listed on HeyClaude. Paste this Markdown into your README — it renders the badge and links back to this page.
[](https://heyclau.de/entry/mcp/webclaw-mcp-server)
How it compares
WebClaw MCP Server side by side with 3 alternatives on trust, install, platform support, and disclosed safety notes — all from reviewed registry metadata.
Local-first MCP server for web scraping, crawling, URL mapping, batch extraction, structured extraction, summarization, diffing, brand extraction, and optional hosted API fallback for bot-protected pages.
MCP server that unifies web search, AI answer, GitHub search, and web extraction providers including Tavily, Brave, Kagi, Exa, Linkup, Firecrawl, and GitHub behind four consolidated tools.
No-key multi-engine MCP server, CLI, and local daemon for web search and public web content retrieval across engines such as Bing, DuckDuckGo, Brave, Exa, Baidu, CSDN, Juejin, Startpage, and Sogou.
✓WebClaw MCP Server can scrape one URL, crawl same-origin links, map URLs, batch multiple URLs, extract structured data, summarize pages, compare snapshots, and extract brand metadata.
Scraping, crawling, search, research, and hosted fallback can trigger target-site rate limits, bot protections, legal restrictions, or terms-of-service limits.
The server validates public HTTP URLs and rejects private or internal destinations, but operators should still avoid fetching internal, secret, customer-specific, or credential-bearing URLs.
Cookie-bearing requests, proxies, and browser profiles can expose authenticated sessions or route traffic through external infrastructure.
Setting `WEBCLAW_API_KEY` enables hosted API fallback, which can send target URLs and page context to the WebClaw service.
Structured extraction and summarization may use configured LLM providers; review provider data handling before enabling those tools with sensitive pages.
✓Omnisearch MCP Server can query multiple third-party search, AI answer, GitHub search, extraction, scraping, crawling, summarization, and content-processing providers.
Firecrawl crawl, scrape, map, extract, and action modes can interact with websites and may trigger robots.txt, TOS, rate-limit, or authentication concerns.
GitHub search depends on the configured token scope and can reveal private code, repositories, users, or organization metadata when a broad token is used.
Large result mode can write response content to files; review where those files are stored before using it with private or regulated data.
Require confirmation before crawling sites, extracting private URLs, using authenticated providers on sensitive targets, or running broad GitHub searches against private organizations.
✓open-webSearch can send search queries to multiple public engines and fetch public web pages, GitHub READMEs, CSDN articles, Juejin articles, and other supported targets.
Search and fetch results can be incomplete, stale, rate-limited, blocked, region-dependent, or affected by search-engine ranking and scraping protections.
Respect each target site's terms and robots expectations; do not use the server for abusive scraping, credentialed browsing, paywall bypass, or personal-data harvesting.
The optional local daemon exposes HTTP endpoints for local tooling; keep it bound to trusted local interfaces and do not treat it as a public internet API.
Proxy settings, Playwright WebSocket/CDP endpoints, and reused browser sessions can route traffic or cookies through external systems; configure them deliberately.
Leave TLS verification enabled unless a specific target has a broken certificate chain and the risk has been accepted.
✓AgentQL MCP exposes one tool, `extract-web-data`, that sends a target URL and natural-language extraction prompt to the AgentQL API.
The tool is intended for public webpages; do not use it to bypass access controls, scrape private pages, evade paywalls, or extract data where automated collection is prohibited.
Web extraction can still trigger target-site rate limits, legal restrictions, robots guidance, or terms-of-service concerns.
The source implementation uses AgentQL's query-data endpoint with fast mode, no screenshot capture, no scroll-to-bottom behavior, and no local browser cookies.
Treat extracted output as untrusted web data that may include errors, stale content, ads, tracking text, or prompt-injection attempts.
Privacy notes
✓URLs, fetched page content, crawl results, extracted structured data, snapshots, brand metadata, cookies, proxy settings, API keys, and LLM prompts can be exposed to the MCP client.
Crawled pages may include personal data, customer content, non-public links, access tokens embedded in URLs, or site-specific identifiers.
Diff snapshots and exported JSON can preserve page content longer than expected; store and delete them according to the workflow's retention needs.
Hosted fallback, proxy providers, search/research APIs, and LLM providers may observe target URLs, headers, cookies, prompts, and extracted content when enabled.
Redact sensitive URLs and extracted data before sharing MCP transcripts, crawl results, logs, or generated RAG context.
✓Provider API keys, GitHub tokens, search queries, URLs, extracted page content, crawled site maps, scraped text, summaries, AI answers, GitHub search results, and large-result files can be exposed to the MCP client.
Search and extraction providers may log queries, URLs, source content, account identifiers, usage metadata, and generated responses according to their own policies.
Web extraction can capture personal data, paywalled content, internal URLs, or proprietary documents if supplied by the user or available to an authenticated provider.
GitHub search output may include repository names, code snippets, file paths, commit metadata, and organization details.
Keep provider credentials in local MCP configuration only, and avoid sharing transcripts that contain private queries, URLs, source text, or tokens.
✓Search queries, fetched URLs, result titles, snippets, article content, proxy URLs, browser endpoints, and fetched page text can be exposed to MCP clients, logs, and model context.
Live search engines and fetched websites may observe queries, IP address, proxy exit, browser fingerprints, cookies, timing, and request headers.
Playwright fallback or CDP reuse can expose browser state, existing cookies, logged-in sessions, or verification state to fetched pages.
The project includes public URL validation and private-network target protections, but operators should still avoid fetching internal, secret, or customer-specific URLs.
Redact sensitive search terms and downloaded page content before sharing transcripts or logs.
✓Target URLs, extraction prompts, API key-authenticated requests, and extracted structured data are sent to AgentQL's API.
Extracted data can include personal data, copyrighted content, customer information, job postings, prices, social content, or other third-party material.
AGENTQL_API_KEY should stay out of prompts, issues, logs, screenshots, and committed configuration files.
Claude transcripts and downstream reports may retain extracted data, so avoid collecting information that is not approved for the model session.
Prerequisites
Node.js for the `create-webclaw` installer, or Rust/Cargo when building the MCP binary from source.
Review of AGPL-3.0 obligations before redistributing or operating modified server versions.
Review of target-site terms, robots expectations, rate limits, and scraping permissions.
Optional `WEBCLAW_API_KEY` only when hosted API fallback is acceptable for bot-protected or JavaScript-heavy pages.
Node.js 22 or newer for the published npm package.
At least one provider API key for Tavily, Kagi, Brave Search, GitHub, Exa, Linkup, or Firecrawl.
Optional `FIRECRAWL_BASE_URL` when using a self-hosted Firecrawl instance.
Optional `OMNISEARCH_LARGE_RESULT_MODE` choice for file or inline handling of large results.
Node.js 18 or newer for the published npm package.
Review of search-engine terms, scraping limits, rate limits, and allowed use for the target websites.
Optional proxy configuration only when live search or fetch traffic must route through an approved proxy.
Optional Playwright or browser endpoint setup only when request-based search/fetch is insufficient.
Node.js and npx available to the MCP client runtime.
AgentQL API key from the AgentQL developer portal.
Approved list of public webpages or domains Claude may query.
Review of target site terms, robots guidance, rate limits, and data-use rules before extraction.