Web scraping node for n8n with anti-bot bypass, JavaScript rendering, and structured data extraction.
Get Started Free → $1 free balance on signup — up to 5,000 scrapes.
The n8n HTTP Request node works for simple APIs but fails on real-world websites. It cannot bypass Cloudflare, DataDome, PerimeterX, or Akamai. It cannot render JavaScript. It cannot solve CAPTCHAs.
AlterLab replaces chains of Browserless, proxy rotators, and custom retry logic with one node:
| Capability | HTTP Request Node | AlterLab Node |
|---|---|---|
| Anti-bot bypass (Cloudflare, DataDome, Akamai) | No | Yes — automatic |
| JavaScript rendering (React, Angular, Vue SPAs) | No | Yes — full Chromium |
| Structured data extraction (JSON, Schema.org) | No | Yes — built-in profiles |
| Smart tier escalation (cheapest method first) | N/A | Yes — saves 60-80% vs browser-only |
| Residential proxy rotation | No | Yes — 195+ countries |
| Screenshot and PDF capture | No | Yes |
| OCR text extraction from images | No | Yes |
AlterLab uses a multi-tier scraping architecture that automatically selects the cheapest method capable of fetching each URL:
- Curl ($0.0002/req) — Direct HTTP for static pages, RSS feeds, public APIs
- HTTP ($0.0003/req) — TLS fingerprint rotation for moderately protected sites
- Stealth ($0.0005/req) — Browser impersonation for Cloudflare/DataDome-protected sites
- Light JS ($0.0007/req) — Lightweight JS extraction from server-rendered HTML
- Browser ($0.001/req) — Full headless Chromium for JavaScript-heavy SPAs
Auto mode starts at Tier 1 and escalates only when blocked. Most websites resolve at Tiers 1-2, so $1 gets you 1,000 to 5,000 scrapes depending on the sites you target.
In your n8n instance: Settings → Community Nodes → Install → n8n-nodes-alterlab
npm install n8n-nodes-alterlabOption A — One-click OAuth (recommended):
- Add an AlterLab node to your workflow
- Click the credential dropdown → Create New → AlterLab OAuth2 API
- Click Connect → sign in → done. No API key copy-paste needed.
Option B — API key:
- Sign up free and copy your API key
- In n8n: Credentials → New → AlterLab API → paste key
- Add the AlterLab node to any workflow
- Enter a URL (e.g.,
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSHF7WHW) - Run
The node returns markdown, structured JSON, raw HTML, and metadata in a flat JSON object — ready for the next node in your workflow:
{{ $json.markdown }} → Clean markdown (best for LLMs and AI agents)
{{ $json.text }} → Plain text
{{ $json.json }} → Structured data (Schema.org, extracted fields)
{{ $json.html }} → Raw HTML
{{ $json.title }} → Page title
{{ $json.filteredContent }} → Custom schema extraction results
{{ $json.billing.cost }} → Amount charged from your balance
{{ $json.billing.tier }} → Scraping method used (curl, http, stealth, etc.)
{{ $json.billing.suggestion }} → Cost optimization tip
{{ $json.screenshotUrl }} → Screenshot URL (if enabled)
{{ $json.pdfUrl }} → PDF URL (if enabled)
Scrape Amazon, Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Shopify stores, and any product page. The Product extraction profile returns structured JSON: product name, price, currency, rating, review count, availability, image URLs, and description.
Scrape news sites, blogs, and publications. The Article extraction profile returns: title, author, published date, body text as clean markdown, and featured image URL. Markdown output is optimized for LLM context windows.
Scrape Indeed, LinkedIn job posts, Glassdoor, and company career pages. The Job Posting profile returns: job title, company, location, salary range, description, and requirements as structured JSON.
Define a JSON Schema for your exact output structure, or write a natural language extraction prompt like "extract the price, title, and all review texts as an array". AlterLab maps page content to your schema automatically.
Schedule → AlterLab (Product profile) → Compare to Google Sheet → IF price dropped → Slack notification
Monitor competitor prices daily. AlterLab handles anti-bot protection on e-commerce sites. Compare extracted prices against stored values and alert your team when prices change.
Schedule → AlterLab (Article profile, Markdown output) → OpenAI Summarize → Notion Database
Scrape industry news sources, get clean markdown (not messy HTML), summarize with GPT-4, and store in your knowledge base. AlterLab's markdown output is token-efficient for LLM processing.
Schedule → AlterLab (Job Posting profile) → Filter by keywords → Airtable → Email notification
Monitor job boards for roles that match your product. Extract structured listings, filter for relevant titles, and push qualified leads to your CRM.
Schedule → AlterLab (Custom schema) → Compare to previous scrape → Google Sheets → Looker Studio
Scrape competitor pages weekly. Define a custom schema for the data points you care about (pricing, features, team size). Track changes over time in a dashboard.
Schedule → AlterLab (Custom schema) → IF new listing → Telegram notification
Monitor property listing sites for new entries matching your criteria. Extract price, location, square footage, and images. Get notified the moment a matching property appears.
No subscriptions. No monthly minimums. Add balance and use it whenever you need it.
| Tier | Cost per Request | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Curl | $0.0002 | Static pages, RSS feeds, public APIs |
| HTTP | $0.0003 | Sites with basic TLS fingerprinting |
| Stealth | $0.0005 | Cloudflare, DataDome, PerimeterX protected sites |
| Light JS | $0.0007 | Server-rendered pages needing JSON extraction |
| Browser | $0.001 | Full JavaScript SPAs (React, Angular, Vue) |
| Add-On | Extra Cost per Request | Description |
|---|---|---|
| JavaScript Rendering | +$0.0006 | Headless Chromium for dynamic content |
| Screenshot Capture | +$0.0002 | Full-page PNG screenshot |
| PDF Export | +$0.0004 | Rendered page as downloadable PDF |
| OCR Text Extraction | +$0.001 | Extract text from images on the page |
| Premium Residential Proxy | +$0.0002 | Geo-targeted proxy (US, DE, GB, JP, and 190+ more) |
| Parameter | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| URL | Yes | — | The webpage URL to scrape |
| Mode | No | auto |
Scraping mode: auto, html, js, pdf, ocr |
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Extraction Profile | Pre-built schemas: Product, Article, Job Posting, FAQ, Recipe, Event |
| Extraction Prompt | Natural language instructions for custom data extraction |
| Extraction Schema | JSON Schema definition for structured output |
| Render JavaScript | Enable full Chromium rendering for SPAs and dynamic content |
| Screenshot | Capture a full-page PNG screenshot |
| PDF Export | Generate a PDF of the rendered page |
| OCR | Extract text from images on the page |
| Proxy | Route through residential proxies with country targeting |
| Cache | Cache responses from 60 seconds to 24 hours |
| Cost Controls | Set maximum spend per request, force specific tiers, prefer cost or speed |
AlterLab uses a multi-tier system that automatically escalates scraping methods. It starts with a simple HTTP request. If the site blocks it, AlterLab retries with TLS fingerprint rotation, then browser impersonation, then a full headless Chromium browser — all transparently. You send a URL and get content back. The anti-bot bypass is fully automatic.
Yes. Set the mode to js or enable "Render JavaScript" in the Advanced Options. AlterLab spins up a full headless Chromium browser, renders the page including all JavaScript, waits for dynamic content to load, then extracts content from the fully rendered DOM.
AlterLab starts at $0.0002 per request — 20x cheaper than most scraping APIs — because it only uses expensive browser rendering when a site actually requires it. Most scraping APIs charge browser-tier prices for every request. AlterLab's smart tier escalation means you only pay for what each site requires. No subscriptions, no monthly minimums.
Yes. AlterLab handles all major e-commerce anti-bot protection including Cloudflare, DataDome, PerimeterX, and Akamai. The Product extraction profile returns structured JSON with product name, price, rating, availability, and images — ready for price monitoring or catalog building.
Yes, both. Install via Settings → Community Nodes on n8n Cloud, or npm install n8n-nodes-alterlab for self-hosted. OAuth2 authentication works on both — click Connect, sign in, done.
Free-tier accounts have rate limits. Adding any balance to your account removes rate limits. Concurrent request limits scale with your balance.
Use markdown format (the default). It preserves document structure — headings, tables, lists, links — while being token-efficient. GPT-4, Claude, and other LLMs process markdown significantly better than raw HTML. AlterLab's markdown output is optimized for AI agent context windows.
Yes. The n8n node processes input items in a loop, so you can feed it thousands of URLs from a spreadsheet, database query, or upstream node. Enable caching and cost controls to manage spend at scale. Async job polling handles long-running scrapes automatically.
git clone https://github.com/RapierCraft/n8n-nodes-alterlab.git
cd n8n-nodes-alterlab
npm install
npm run build
npm run lintThis project uses GitHub Actions for automation:
- CI — Runs on every push and PR to
main. Builds and type-checks across Node.js 18, 20, and 22. Verifies all dist output files are present. - Publish — Automatically publishes to npm when a GitHub Release is created. Uses npm provenance for supply-chain security.
- Dependabot — Automated weekly dependency updates for npm packages and GitHub Actions.
| Secret | Description | Where to Get It |
|---|---|---|
NPM_TOKEN |
npm automation token for publishing | npmjs.com → Access Tokens → Generate — use "Automation" type |