Browsers

Scout drives any Chrome or Chromium, so moving between browsers is one line. Your models and your task stay the same. Pass exactly one of the three.

// Outcrawl's cloud browser (recommended). Reads OUTCRAWL_API_KEY.
browser: 'outcrawl'

// A local Chromium, launched and closed by Scout.
browser: { launch: {} }

// Any browser you already run, over CDP.
browser: { cdpUrl: 'http://127.0.0.1:9222' }

Whichever you pick, Scout opens a fresh tab of its own for the run. When the run ends it closes that tab and its connection, and closes the browser only when Scout launched it or allocated it. A browser you passed in stays running.

Outcrawl’s cloud

The best way to run Scout. Many sites stop a browser that runs from a data center or behaves like a script; on the cloud, Scout gets a browser built to get through, with nothing to install. See Outcrawl’s cloud for what it adds and how a session is billed. browser: 'outcrawl' uses the defaults. To set anything, pass browser: { outcrawl: { ... } }:

browser: {
  outcrawl: { apiKey, proxy: 'http://user:pass@host:port', record: false },
}

Option	Default	What it does
`apiKey`	`OUTCRAWL_API_KEY` from the environment	Your Outcrawl API key. Without one, the run throws `ScoutConfigError` before it opens anything.
`proxy`	an Outcrawl exit	Your own proxy URL for the session’s traffic, instead of an Outcrawl exit.
`record`	`true`	Records the session for replay. `false` records nothing, and the result carries `recordingDeclined: true` instead of a `replayUrl`.
`baseUrl`	`https://api.outcrawl.ai`	The API’s base URL.

On the cloud the browser plans every pointer move, scroll and keystroke itself, so Scout sends it plain actions.

A local Chromium

browser: { launch: {} }, or an empty browser: {}, starts a local browser for the run and closes it afterwards. Scout uses playwright-core if it is installed, with the Chromium that Playwright downloads. Otherwise it uses puppeteer-core with the Chrome you have installed. Both are optional peer dependencies; install one.

npm i playwright-core && npx playwright install chromium
# or, to drive your installed Chrome
npm i puppeteer-core

Option	Default	What it does
`headless`	`true`	Run without a window. `false` lets you watch it work.
`executablePath`	the Chromium Playwright downloads, or your installed browser	Path to the browser binary to run.
`args`	none	Extra command-line switches for the browser. Without a `--window-size` switch, Scout adds `--window-size=1280,800`.
`driver`	`playwright-core` if installed, then `puppeteer-core`	Which installed library launches it: `'playwright'` or `'puppeteer'`.

browser: {
  launch: {
    headless: false,
    executablePath: '/path/to/browser',
    args: ['--lang=en-GB'],
    driver: 'puppeteer',
  },
}

If neither library is installed, or the one driver names is missing, the run throws ScoutBrowserError with the install command.

A browser you already run

browser: { cdpUrl } connects to any browser that exposes the DevTools protocol. Pass a ws:// or wss:// WebSocket URL, or an http:// or https:// address such as http://127.0.0.1:9222, from which Scout reads the WebSocket URL at /json/version. Scout opens its own tab, closes it after the run, and leaves your browser running.

browser: { cdpUrl: 'http://127.0.0.1:9222' } // or the ws:// webSocketDebuggerUrl

Input

On a local or CDP browser, Scout plans pointer and keyboard input with its bundled input planner, agenthands. On the cloud it sends plain actions, because the browser plans input itself. To plan input your own way, pass a HandsPort as hands in the Scout options; it replaces the default on every browser.

Outcrawl's cloud

Residential connections, captcha solving and replays.

Models

Name a model for each job.

Get started

Configure

Resources

Outcrawl’s cloud

A local Chromium

A browser you already run

Input

Outcrawl's cloud

Models

​Outcrawl’s cloud

​A local Chromium

​A browser you already run

​Input

Outcrawl's cloud

Models

Outcrawl’s cloud

A local Chromium

A browser you already run

Input