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

# AdsCrawl: Browser Automation API for Scraping the Web

> AdsCrawl is a browser automation API for developers who need rendered HTML, structured data, screenshots, and full CDP sessions via residential proxies.

AdsCrawl gives your application a full browser environment — backed by residential proxies — without the overhead of managing infrastructure. Send a request with a URL, and AdsCrawl spins up a real Chromium browser, renders the page, and returns exactly what you asked for: raw HTML, clean Markdown, structured JSON, a PNG screenshot, or a live CDP connection for multi-step automation. Whether you're building a scraper, a monitoring tool, a data pipeline, or an AI workflow, AdsCrawl handles the rendering, proxy routing, and fingerprinting so you can focus on your data.

## What you can do

AdsCrawl exposes five core capabilities through a single base URL (`https://api.adscrawl.net`):

* **HTML extraction** — Fetch fully rendered HTML from any URL, or extract clean Markdown and structured article JSON using the built-in Readability parser.
* **Structured data extraction** — Pull specific fields from dynamic single-page apps using CSS selectors or intercepted network responses, with optional pre-built site templates for popular targets.
* **Screenshots** — Capture a full-page PNG or isolate a single element with a CSS selector.
* **Remote CDP** — Create a dedicated Chromium session and connect Playwright or Puppeteer over the Chrome DevTools Protocol for scripted, multi-step browser automation.
* **Cloud Browsers** — Launch a persistent browser profile with your own proxy and cookies, view it live in the interactive viewer, stop it, and reuse the saved profile on your next run.

## Explore the docs

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Quick Start" icon="rocket" href="/quickstart">
    Create an account, get your API key, and make your first request in minutes.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Authentication" icon="key" href="/authentication">
    Learn how to pass your API key and understand session tokens and data tokens.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Browser Tasks" icon="browser" href="/concepts/browser-tasks">
    HTML extraction, structured data, and screenshots — all synchronous, all proxied.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Remote CDP" icon="plug" href="/concepts/remote-cdp">
    Connect Playwright or Puppeteer to a remote browser over CDP for full automation.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Cloud Browsers" icon="cloud" href="/concepts/cloud-browsers">
    Persistent profiles, live viewer, proxy-per-session, and reusable state.
  </Card>

  <Card title="API Reference" icon="code" href="/api-reference/html">
    Complete endpoint reference with request and response schemas.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## How it works

Every AdsCrawl request follows the same pattern regardless of which API you use:

1. **Send a request** — Your server sends an HTTP request with your API key and the target URL (plus any options such as `waitUntil`, `contentMode`, or `countryCode`).
2. **Browser renders the page** — AdsCrawl launches a Chromium instance, routes it through a residential proxy, injects any cookies or fingerprint settings you specified, and waits for the page to reach the load state you requested.
3. **Get back your data** — The rendered HTML, Markdown, JSON, PNG binary, or CDP session URL is returned directly in the HTTP response. There is no polling or webhook step for the synchronous APIs.

For stateful workflows — scripted navigation, form submission, multi-step login flows — use the Remote CDP or Cloud Browser APIs, which keep the browser alive across multiple requests.

<Note>
  Residential proxies are built into every request. You can route through a specific two-letter country code, use `GLOBAL` for dynamic region selection across 15 popular regions, or supply your own custom proxy. There is no separate proxy subscription required.
</Note>