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

# Quickstart

> Install Scout, add your keys and run a first task on Outcrawl's cloud.

export const OutcrawlStyles = () => {
  if (typeof document !== 'undefined' && !document.getElementById('outcrawl-overrides')) {
    const s = document.createElement('style');
    s.id = 'outcrawl-overrides';
    s.textContent = `
      /* Match the product's radius grid (4 / 6 / 8 / 9999), not Mintlify's default. */
      .rounded-sm { border-radius: 0.375rem !important; } /* 6px, --r-ctl */
      .rounded-md { border-radius: 0.375rem !important; } /* 6px, --r-ctl */
      .rounded-lg { border-radius: 0.5rem !important; }   /* 8px, --r-panel */
      .rounded-l-sm { border-top-left-radius: 0.375rem !important; border-bottom-left-radius: 0.375rem !important; }
      .rounded-r-sm { border-top-right-radius: 0.375rem !important; border-bottom-right-radius: 0.375rem !important; }
      .rounded-l-md { border-top-left-radius: 0.375rem !important; border-bottom-left-radius: 0.375rem !important; }
      .rounded-r-md { border-top-right-radius: 0.375rem !important; border-bottom-right-radius: 0.375rem !important; }
      .rounded-l-lg { border-top-left-radius: 0.5rem !important; border-bottom-left-radius: 0.5rem !important; }
      .rounded-r-lg { border-top-right-radius: 0.5rem !important; border-bottom-right-radius: 0.5rem !important; }

      /* Cards: never pure white in light mode, matching the one-big-card surface tone. */
      .card { background-color: #fcfcfc !important; border-radius: 0.5rem !important; }
      html.dark .card { background-color: #141311 !important; }

      /* Docs hero box */
      .oc-hero { background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 1px solid #e5e2dc; }
      html.dark .oc-hero { background-color: #141311; border-color: #26241f; }
      html.dark .oc-hero h1 { color: #edeae4; }

      /* Thin, transparent-track, hide-until-hover scrollbar. */
      ::-webkit-scrollbar { width: 6px; height: 6px; background-color: transparent; }
      ::-webkit-scrollbar-track { background-color: transparent; }
      ::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb { background-color: rgba(155, 155, 155, 0.5); border-radius: 10px; transition: opacity 0.3s ease; opacity: 0; }
      ::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb:hover { background-color: rgba(155, 155, 155, 0.7); }
      *:hover::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb,
      *:focus::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb,
      *:active::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb { opacity: 1; }
      * { scrollbar-width: thin; scrollbar-color: rgba(155, 155, 155, 0.5) transparent; }
    `;
    document.head.appendChild(s);
  }
  return null;
};

<OutcrawlStyles />

Three steps to a first answer. On Outcrawl's cloud there is no browser to install.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Install Scout">
    You need Node 22 or later, or Bun.

    ```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"catppuccin-mocha"}}
    npm i @outcrawl/scout
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add your keys">
    An Outcrawl key for the browser, free at [outcrawl.ai](https://outcrawl.ai) with 1,000 credits every month and no card needed. Then your model endpoint's base URL (the part before `/chat/completions`), its key, and the model id it expects.

    ```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"catppuccin-mocha"}}
    export OUTCRAWL_API_KEY=your-outcrawl-key
    export SCOUT_BASE_URL=https://your-endpoint/v1
    export SCOUT_API_KEY=your-model-key
    export SCOUT_HANDS_MODEL=your-model-id
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Give it a task">
    Save this as `task.ts` and run `npx tsx task.ts`.

    ```ts task.ts theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"catppuccin-mocha"}}
    import { Scout } from '@outcrawl/scout';

    const scout = new Scout({
      browser: 'outcrawl',
      models: {
        hands: {
          model: process.env.SCOUT_HANDS_MODEL!,
          baseURL: process.env.SCOUT_BASE_URL!,
          apiKey: process.env.SCOUT_API_KEY ?? '',
        },
      },
    });

    const result = await scout.run(
      'Go to https://books.toscrape.com, open the first book in the Poetry category and report its title and price.',
      {
        caps: { steps: 15, duration: '8m' },
        schema: {
          type: 'object',
          properties: { title: { type: 'string' }, price: { type: 'string' } },
          required: ['title', 'price'],
        },
        onStep: (step) => console.log(step.index, step.action.description),
      },
    );

    console.log(result.status, result.data);
    console.log(result.replayUrl); // the whole run, step by step
    ```

    You see each step as it happens, then something like `completed { title: '...', price: '£..' }` and the replay link.
  </Step>
</Steps>

`browser: 'outcrawl'` reads `OUTCRAWL_API_KEY` from the environment. Scout has no default model, so `models.hands` is the one thing it cannot run without. See [models](/docs/scout/models) for the other jobs.

## Run on your own machine instead

Install `playwright-core` (or `puppeteer-core`) and a browser, then change the one line:

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"catppuccin-mocha"}}
npm i playwright-core && npx playwright install chromium
```

```ts theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"catppuccin-mocha"}}
const scout = new Scout({
  browser: { launch: {} }, // was: browser: 'outcrawl'
  models: { hands: { /* unchanged */ } },
});
```

Pass `browser: { launch: { headless: false } }` to watch it work. Your models and your task stay the same. Replays come with the cloud, so `replayUrl` stays empty on your own browser.

<Tip>
  Not writing the code yourself? Give this page to your coding agent and ask it to set Scout up and run your task.
</Tip>

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Browsers" icon="device-desktop" href="/docs/scout/browsers">
    Every browser option, and what the cloud adds.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Running tasks" icon="player-play" href="/docs/scout/runs">
    Caps, schemas, cancelling, and everything a result carries.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.