I’ve been working on scraping data from different websites lately. Most of these sites use a lot of JavaScript so regular HTTP requests don’t work at all. I had to use browser automation tools at first but they use way too much memory and CPU when you try to scale up. Recently I found a way to use a direct API endpoint on one site by studying how the JavaScript works. The performance difference is huge compared to running a full browser. Now I’m wondering if the best approach to scraping is finding these hidden endpoints and understanding how the JavaScript security works. Is this the right direction or am I missing something?
Understanding JavaScript execution flow is valuable, but not always necessary for scraping. It really depends on the site’s architecture. Some sites expose data through predictable REST endpoints you can find by inspecting network requests. Others use complex client-side rendering that needs deeper analysis. I usually start simple - check XHR requests and form submissions first before diving into JavaScript reverse engineering. Match your technique to the site’s complexity instead of jumping straight to the most advanced approach.
for sure! js exec flow can help a lot, but just keep in mind that some sites can be tricky with dynamic endpoints. personally, i dive into the network tab first too; it’s like a shortcut to find the real api calls without hunting too much in the js stuff.
You’re spot on about JavaScript execution flow. Most developers jump straight to headless browsers when they could get way better performance by figuring out how the data actually flows. Finding those direct API endpoints is huge for scraping at scale. But there’s a tradeoff - reverse engineering JS gives you massive performance wins, but you’ll spend more time maintaining it when sites change their code. I mix both approaches: browser automation for discovery and prototyping, then optimize the important scrapers by finding the real data sources. You get browser reliability plus API performance where it counts.
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