# extract

Extracts structured data from websites, outputs JSON or CSV, and writes a standalone Playwright script.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 2300 installs · ★ 1619
- Author: actionbook
- License: Apache-2.0 · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/actionbook/actionbook/tree/HEAD/skills/extract/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-10-19
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/actionbook-extract

## What it does

The skill scrapes repeating content from websites. It handles catalogs, search results, or tables. Every run produces two deliverables: the extracted data file and a standalone `.cjs` Playwright script. You can run the resulting script independently.

Selector discovery follows a strict priority path. The skill first queries the Actionbook index via `actionbook search`. When the health score reaches 70% or higher, it pulls proven selectors via `actionbook get`. If the index has no matches, it opens the browser to inspect the accessibility tree.

Dynamic pages often break basic scrapers. This skill inspects hydration markers like `__NEXT_DATA__` and detects scroll containers. If a page virtualizes rows and removes off-screen DOM nodes, standard scrapers fail, so the generated code scrolls the container in increments to record every row.

## Requirements
- Works with: Playwright

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add actionbook/actionbook --skill extract -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/extract/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/extract/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add actionbook/actionbook --skill extract -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/extract/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add actionbook/actionbook --skill extract -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/extract/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install actionbook/actionbook extract
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/extract/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add actionbook/actionbook --skill extract -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/actionbook/actionbook --path skills/extract
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/extract/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add actionbook/actionbook --skill extract -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/actionbook/actionbook/tree/HEAD/skills/extract/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- scrape product prices and details from an online catalog
- pull search results and author listings into structured files
- extract table rows from dynamic dashboards
- generate an independent Playwright script for recurring scrapes

## Example prompts
- Pull the list of authors and titles from arXiv search results
- Extract all product prices from this page and save as JSON
- Collect all job listings from this page into a CSV file

## Source text · SKILL.md · Apache-2.0

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: 78d2196469da6c9e.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE 78d2196469da6c9e
````text
---
name: extract
description: Extract structured data from websites and produce an executable Playwright script plus extracted data. Use when the user wants to scrape, extract, pull, collect, or harvest data from any website — product listings, tables, search results, feeds, profiles, or any repeating content.
---

## When to Use This Skill

Activate when the user wants to **obtain data** from a website:

- "Extract all product prices from this page"
- "Scrape the table of results from ..."
- "Pull the list of authors and titles from arXiv search results"
- "Collect all job listings from this page"
- "Get the data from this dashboard table"
- "Harvest review scores from ..."
- "Download all the links/images/cards from ..."

The deliverable is always **two artifacts**:

1. **Executable Playwright script** — a standalone `.cjs` file that reproduces the extraction without Actionbook at runtime.
2. **Extracted data** — JSON (default), CSV, or user-specified format written to disk.

## Decision Strategy

Use Actionbook as a **conditional accelerator**, not a mandatory step. The goal is reliable selectors in the shortest path.

```
User request
  │
  ├─► actionbook search "<site> <intent>"
  │     ├─ Results with Health Score ≥ 70%  ──► actionbook get "<ID>" ──► use selectors
  │     └─ No results / low score  ──► Fallback
  │
  └─► Fallback: actionbook browser open <url>
        ├─ actionbook browser snapshot   (accessibility tree → find selectors)
        ├─ actionbook browser screenshot (visual confirmation)
        └─ manual selector discovery via DOM inspection
```

**Priority order for selector sources:**

| Priority | Source | When |
|----------|--------|------|
| 1 | `actionbook get` | Site is indexed, health score ≥ 70% |
| 2 | `actionbook browser snapshot` | Not indexed or selectors outdated |
| 3 | DOM inspection via screenshot + snapshot | Complex SPA / dynamic content |

**Non-negotiable rule:** if `search + get` already provides usable selectors for required fields, start from `get` selectors and do not jump to full fallback (`snapshot`/`screenshot`) by default. Exception: lightweight mechanism probes (for hydration/virtualization/pagination) are allowed when runtime behavior may affect script correctness. Escalate to `snapshot`/`screenshot` only when probes/sample validation indicate selector gaps or instability.

## Mechanism-Aware Script Strategy

Websites use patterns that break naive scraping. The generated Playwright script **must** account for these:

### Streaming / SSR / RSC hydration

Pages may render a shell first, then stream or hydrate content.

```javascript
// Wait for hydration to complete — not just DOMContentLoaded
await page.waitForSelector('[data-item]', { state: 'attached' });
await page.waitForFunction(() => {
  const items = document.querySelectorAll('[data-item]');
  return items.length > 0 && !document.querySelector('[data-pending]');
});
```
````
END THIRD-PARTY FILE 78d2196469da6c9e

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