crawl4ai/docs/md_v2/apps/crawl4ai-assistant/README.md

Crawl4AI Chrome Extension

Visual extraction tools for Crawl4AI - Click to extract data and content from any webpage!

🚀 Features

• Click2Crawl: Click on elements to build data extraction schemas instantly
• Markdown Extraction: Select elements and export as clean markdown
• Script Builder (Alpha): Record browser actions to create automation scripts
• Smart Element Selection: Container and field selection with visual feedback
• Code Generation: Generates complete Python code for Crawl4AI
• Beautiful Dark UI: Consistent with Crawl4AI's design language

📦 Installation

Method 1: Load Unpacked Extension (Recommended for Development)

1. Open Chrome and navigate to chrome://extensions/
2. Enable "Developer mode" in the top right corner
3. Click "Load unpacked"
4. Select the crawl4ai-assistant folder
5. The extension icon (🚀🤖) will appear in your toolbar

Method 2: Generate Icons First

If you want proper icons:

1. Open icons/generate_icons.html in your browser
2. Right-click each canvas and save as:
   • icon-16.png
   • icon-48.png
   • icon-128.png
3. Then follow Method 1 above

🎯 How to Use

Using Click2Crawl

1. Navigate to any website you want to extract data from
2. Click the Crawl4AI extension icon in your toolbar
3. Click "Click2Crawl" to start the capture mode
4. Select a container element:
   • Hover over elements (they'll highlight in blue)
   • Click on a repeating container (e.g., product card, article block)
5. Select fields within the container:
   • Elements will now highlight in green
   • Click on each piece of data you want to extract
   • Name each field (e.g., "title", "price", "description")
6. Test and Export:
   • Click "Test Schema" to see extracted data instantly
   • Export as Python code, JSON schema, or markdown

Running the Generated Code

The downloaded Python file contains:

# 1. The HTML snippet of your selected container
HTML_SNIPPET = """..."""

# 2. The extraction query based on your selections
EXTRACTION_QUERY = """..."""

# 3. Functions to generate and test the schema
async def generate_schema():
    # Generates the extraction schema using LLM
    
async def test_extraction():
    # Tests the schema on the actual website

To use it:

1. Install Crawl4AI: pip install crawl4ai
2. Run the script: python crawl4ai_schema_*.py
3. The script will generate a generated_schema.json file
4. Use this schema in your Crawl4AI projects!

🎨 Visual Feedback

• Blue dashed outline: Container selection mode
• Green dashed outline: Field selection mode
• Solid blue outline: Selected container
• Solid green outline: Selected fields
• Floating toolbar: Shows current mode and selection status

⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts

• ESC: Cancel current capture session

🔧 Technical Details

• Built with Manifest V3 for security and performance
• Pure client-side - no data sent to external servers
• Generates code that uses Crawl4AI's LLM integration
• Smart selector generation prioritizes stable attributes

🐛 Troubleshooting

Extension doesn't load

• Make sure you're in Developer Mode
• Check the console for any errors
• Ensure all files are in the correct directories

Can't select elements

• Some websites may block extensions
• Try refreshing the page
• Make sure you clicked "Schema Builder" first

Generated code doesn't work

• Ensure you have Crawl4AI installed
• Check that you have an LLM API key configured
• Make sure the website structure hasn't changed

🤝 Contributing

This extension is part of the Crawl4AI project. Contributions are welcome!

• Report issues: GitHub Issues
• Join discussion: Discord

📄 License

Same as Crawl4AI - see main project for details.