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apify/crawlee

Crawlee—A web scraping and browser automation library for Node.js to build reliable crawlers. In JavaScript and TypeScript. Extract data for AI, LLMs, RAG, or GPTs. Download HTML, PDF, JPG, PNG, and other files from websites. Works with Puppeteer, Playwright, Cheerio, JSDOM, and raw HTTP. Both headful and headless mode. With proxy rotation.

TypeScript ◇ apify Apache-2.0
★25.9KSTARS
⑂1.7KFORKS
!137ISSUES
🏆#403GLOBAL RANK
🔥2DAYS TRENDING
🚀
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Momentum

+648

STARS · LAST 30 DAYS

22

PER DAY

#79

MOST-STARRED TypeScript

Window7 days30 days90 days
Stars gained+154+648+2K
Per day222222
Forks gained+8+34+84

crawlee gained 648 stars in the last 30 days, about 22 a day, and now has 25.9K. It is about 10 years old and has averaged roughly 2.6K stars a year. It ranks #79 among TypeScript repositories and #403 across all languages on GitHubRepo.

Trending Record

crawlee has maintained a continuous presence across global trending indexes, peaking at #1674. Below is the 30-day activity profile:

💡 Overview

crawlee is an open-source project written in TypeScript: Crawlee—A web scraping and browser automation library for Node.js to build reliable crawlers. In JavaScript and TypeScript. Extract data for AI, LLMs, RAG, or GPTs. Download HTML, PDF, JPG, PNG, and other files from websites. Works with Puppeteer, Playwright, Cheerio, JSDOM, and raw HTTP. Both headful and headless mode. With proxy rotation.

Engineered for speed, consistency, and developer ease, it solves common hurdles in apify, automation, crawler. It provides clear interfaces, comprehensive configuration options, and seamless integration with existing tools across the modern development stack.

⚡ Key Features

1

Optimized execution pipeline written in TypeScript for predictable speed.

2

Zero-friction configuration with comprehensive sensible defaults out of the box.

3

Cross-platform runtime support across Linux, macOS, and Windows environments.

4

Strong typing and modular architecture designed for easy extension and maintainability.

5

Standardized CLI and API interfaces for smooth integration into CI/CD workflows.

6

Active community maintenance with regular dependency updates and security patches.

📥 Installation

terminal
$ npm install crawlee

⚙ System Requirements

Platforms

  • • macOS
  • • Linux
  • • Windows

Runtime & Dependencies

Node.js >= 18, npm, pnpm or bun

Architecture

x86_64, ARM64 (Apple Silicon & Graviton)

🧠 How It Works

crawlee coordinates its core functionality through a modular TypeScript pipeline. It parses configuration parameters, validates inputs, and resolves dependencies asynchronously. By minimizing runtime overhead and keeping allocations localized, it delivers predictable performance in both local development environments and automated production workloads.

🎯 Production Use Cases

Production System Integration

Embed crawlee into TypeScript backend services to handle core application logic.

CI/CD Automated Pipelines

Run automated validation, builds, and integration suites during deployments.

Developer Tooling & Workflows

Accelerate developer onboarding with pre-configured project utilities.

Open Source Extension

Fork and customize internal modules under the repository's open Apache-2.0 license.

🚀 Getting Started

1

Install crawlee using your package manager: `npm install crawlee`

2

Initialize your project workspace or configuration file for crawlee.

3

Import crawlee into your codebase or invoke it directly from your terminal.

4

Execute your test suite or run `crawlee --help` to verify successful setup.

👍 Strengths

Active community backing with 25,937 GitHub stars and verified adoption.
Permissive open-source distribution under the Apache-2.0 license.
Built in TypeScript for high execution speed and developer familiarity.
Cross-platform compatibility across modern Linux, macOS, and Windows environments.
Clean modular design allowing flexible configuration and pipeline integration.

⚠️ Considerations

Requires familiarity with TypeScript and modern CLI workflows.
Ecosystem extensions may require manual configuration depending on environment constraints.
Active development roadmap means breaking API changes may occur across major versions.

⇄ Alternatives & Direct Competitors

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👥 Who Should Use This

Developers and engineering teams building with TypeScript, seeking reliable, tested, and actively maintained tooling for production workloads.

🏆 Nearby in the Rankings

apify/crawlee is currently ranked #403 by stars across every repository tracked on GitHubRepo. These are adjacent projects:

RankRepositoryLanguageStarsAction
#398 dapr/dapr Go ★ 26.1K Compare ↗
#399 floci-io/floci Java ★ 26.1K Compare ↗
#400 apache/incubator-seata Java ★ 26K Compare ↗
#401 zulip/zulip Python ★ 26K Compare ↗
#402 rancher/rancher Go ★ 25.9K Compare ↗
#403 apify/crawlee This Project TypeScript ★ 25.9K
#404 bazelbuild/bazel Java ★ 25.9K Compare ↗
#405 henrygd/beszel Go ★ 25.8K Compare ↗
#406 pulumi/pulumi Go ★ 25.7K Compare ↗
#407 iBotPeaches/Apktool Java ★ 25.7K Compare ↗
#408 cilium/cilium Go ★ 25.6K Compare ↗

Frequently Asked Questions

What does crawlee do? +

Crawlee—A web scraping and browser automation library for Node.js to build reliable crawlers. In JavaScript and TypeScript. Extract data for AI, LLMs, RAG, or GPTs. Download HTML, PDF, JPG, PNG, and other files from websites. Works with Puppeteer, Playwright, Cheerio, JSDOM, and raw HTTP. Both headful and headless mode. With proxy rotation.

What language is crawlee written in? +

The primary language is TypeScript. Topics include: apify, automation, crawler, crawling, headless.

Is crawlee actively maintained? +

Yes, the last recorded push was on Sep 29, 2026 with 137 open issues being tracked.

How many stars does crawlee have? +

crawlee has 25,937 stars and 1,683 forks on GitHub.

How does crawlee rank among GitHub repositories? +

With 25,937 stars, apify/crawlee is ranked #403 globally across all repositories tracked on GitHubRepo and #79 among TypeScript projects.

What license is crawlee distributed under? +

The repository reports a Apache-2.0 license. Always verify the repository LICENSE file for legal terms.

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