How do I install Alterlab?

Copy the http config for Cursor, Claude Desktop, Claude Code, or VS Code on this page. It uses the publisher's install, not a PlugMCP proxy.

Does Alterlab need an API key?

No required environment variable is listed on this record.

When was Alterlab last checked?

Last checked 2026-11-09. Web scraping MCP server — scrape, extract structured data, screenshot any site with anti-bot bypass.

Alterlab MCP server

One-Line Install

Claude Code

claude mcp add alterlab -- npx -y alterlab-mcp-server@latest

Then set your API key: export ALTERLAB_API_KEY=sk_live_... or add it to .claude.json (see full setup below).

Cursor

# Add to .cursor/mcp.json — see full config below

Smithery

npx -y @smithery/cli install alterlab-mcp-server --client claude

Why AlterLab Instead of WebFetch or Browser MCP?

Claude's built-in WebFetch tool and open-source browser MCP servers fail on most real-world websites. They cannot bypass Cloudflare, render JavaScript SPAs, or extract structured data.

AlterLab replaces broken fetch tools with one MCP server that actually works:

Capability	WebFetch / fetch()	Browser MCP	AlterLab MCP
Anti-bot bypass (Cloudflare, DataDome, Akamai)	No	Partial	Yes — automatic
JavaScript rendering (React, Angular, Vue SPAs)	No	Yes (slow)	Yes — headless Chromium
Structured data extraction (JSON, Schema.org)	No	No	Yes — built-in profiles
Smart tier escalation (cheapest method first)	N/A	N/A	Yes — saves 60-80%
Residential proxy rotation (195+ countries)	No	No	Yes
Screenshot and PDF capture	No	Screenshot only	Yes — both
OCR text extraction from images	No	No	Yes
Cost per request	Free (but fails)	Free (but slow)	From $0.0002

How Does AlterLab Web Scraping Work?

AlterLab uses a multi-tier scraping architecture. It 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 ($0.002/req) — Browser impersonation for Cloudflare/DataDome-protected sites
Light JS ($0.0025/req) — Lightweight JS extraction from server-rendered HTML
Browser ($0.004/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.

Installation

Install in Claude Desktop / Claude Code

Add to your Claude config file (~/.claude.json for Claude Code, or Settings for Claude Desktop):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "alterlab": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "alterlab-mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "ALTERLAB_API_KEY": "sk_live_your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Install in Cursor

Add to .cursor/mcp.json in your project root:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "alterlab": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "alterlab-mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "ALTERLAB_API_KEY": "sk_live_your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Install in Windsurf

Add to Windsurf MCP settings (~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "alterlab": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "alterlab-mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "ALTERLAB_API_KEY": "sk_live_your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Install via Smithery

npx -y @smithery/cli install alterlab-mcp-server --client claude

Get Your API Key

Sign up free — $1 free balance on signup
Go to Dashboard → API Keys and copy your key
Paste it into the ALTERLAB_API_KEY field in your MCP config

Tools

`alterlab_scrape` — Scrape Any Webpage

Scrape a URL and return its content as markdown, text, HTML, or JSON. Automatically handles anti-bot protection with tier escalation. Returns markdown by default — optimized for LLM context windows.

"Scrape https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSHF7WHW and summarize the product"

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`url`	string	required	URL to scrape
`mode`	`auto` \| `html` \| `js` \| `pdf` \| `ocr`	`auto`	Scraping mode
`method` / `body` / `content_type` / `headers`	enum / string / enum / object	`GET`	POST support (1.5x cost) and custom target headers
`formats`	`(text\|json\|json_v2\|html\|markdown\|rag\|content\|raw)[]`	`["markdown"]`	Output formats
`extraction_schema` / `extraction_prompt`	object / string	—	LLM extraction (+$0.001)
`extraction_profile` / `extraction_template`	enum	—	`auto`, `product`, `article`, `job_posting`, `faq`, `recipe`, `event`, `ecommerce_homepage`, `directory_listing` (`template` is a deprecated alias)
`extraction_provider` / `extraction_model`	enum / string	—	BYOK LLM selection
`evidence`, `promote_schema_org`, `filter_content`	boolean	—	Extraction behaviour
`cache`, `cache_ttl`, `force_refresh`	boolean / number / boolean	—	Response caching (`cache_ttl` 60-86400)
`render_js`	boolean \| `"auto"`	API default	Headless browser (forces Browser tier, $0.004)
`use_proxy`, `proxy_country`

Not exposed: source (dashboard tracking tag), sync (the tool is always synchronous), webhook_url (use alterlab_batch/alterlab_crawl webhooks). If a scrape outlives the ~85s synchronous window the tool returns a job_id; fetch it with alterlab_get_job.

`alterlab_extract` — Extract Structured Data

Extract structured fields from HTML, text or markdown content using pre-built profiles or custom JSON Schema. Returns clean JSON — ready for databases, spreadsheets, or downstream processing.

"Extract the product name, price, and rating from this Amazon page"

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`content`	string (max 500,000)	required	HTML, text or markdown you already have (this tool does not fetch a URL)
`content_type`	`html` \| `text` \| `markdown`	`html`	Type of `content`
`extraction_profile` / `extraction_template`	enum	—	Profile: `auto`, `product`, `article`, `job_posting`, `faq`, `recipe`, `event`, `ecommerce_homepage`, `directory_listing`
`extraction_schema`	object	—	Custom JSON Schema for structured output
`extraction_prompt`	string	—	Natural language extraction instructions
`extraction_provider` / `extraction_model`	enum / string	—	BYOK LLM selection
`formats`	enum[]	`["json"]`	Output formats
`source_url`, `evidence`	string, boolean	—	Context URL and provenance
`cache`, `cache_ttl`	`auto` \| `skip` \| `only`, number	`auto`	Extraction result cache

To scrape and extract in one step, use alterlab_scrape with extraction_schema.

Extraction profiles:

Product — name, price, currency, rating, reviews, availability, images, description
Article — title, author, published date, body text, featured image
Job Posting — title, company, location, salary, description, requirements
FAQ — question-answer pairs
Recipe — ingredients, instructions, prep time, servings
Event — name, date, location, description, organizer

`alterlab_screenshot` — Screenshot Any Page

Take a full-page screenshot of any URL. Returns a PNG image directly in the conversation — no URLs to copy, no files to download.

"Take a screenshot of our landing page at https://alterlab.io"

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`url`	string	required	URL to screenshot
`wait_for`	string	—	CSS selector to wait for before capture
`wait_until`	enum	`networkidle`	`networkidle`, `domcontentloaded`, or `load`
`timeout`	number	`90`	Timeout in seconds (1-300)
`use_proxy`, `proxy_country`	boolean, string	—	Premium proxy and geo-targeting
`session_id`, `cookies`	UUID, object	—	Screenshot pages behind a login
`location`	`{country, language}`	—	Geo-targeting

`alterlab_estimate_cost` — Estimate Before You Scrape

Check how much a scrape will cost before running it. Returns the predicted tier, cost per request, and confidence level.

"How much would it cost to scrape linkedin.com?"

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`url`	string	required	URL to estimate
`mode`	enum	`auto`	Scraping mode
`method`	`GET` \| `POST`	`GET`	POST costs 1.5x
`render_js`	boolean \| `"auto"`	`false`	Include JS rendering cost
`use_proxy`, `use_own_proxy`	boolean	`false`	Include proxy cost / BYOP discount
`screenshot`, `generate_pdf`, `ocr`	boolean	—	Include add-on cost

`alterlab_get_job` — Fetch an Async Job

Fetch the status and result of a scrape that returned a job_id (a scrape that outlived the synchronous wait window). Parameter: job_id (string, required).

`alterlab_check_balance` — Check Your Credits

Check your account balance, total deposited, and total spent. No parameters needed.

"Check my AlterLab balance"

`alterlab_list_sessions` — List Stored Sessions

List all stored sessions for authenticated scraping. Sessions contain cookies for specific domains, allowing you to scrape content behind login walls.

"List my stored sessions"

`alterlab_create_session` — Create a Session

Create a new stored session with cookies from a logged-in browser. The session is stored securely and can be reused across multiple scrape requests.

"Create an Amazon session with these cookies: session-id=abc123, session-token=xyz789"

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`name`	string	required	Human-readable name (e.g., "My Amazon Account")
`domain`	string	required	Domain (e.g., "amazon.com")
`consent`	boolean	required	Must be `true`: explicit GDPR consent to store the cookies (the API rejects creation otherwise)
`cookies`	`Record<string,string>` \| cookie objects[]	—	Cookies as key-value pairs or `{name, value, domain, path, ...}` objects
`headers`	`Record<string,string>`	—	Custom headers (e.g. a User-Agent)
`expires_at`, `notes`	string	—	Expiry (ISO 8601) and notes
`auto_refresh_enabled`, `notify_before_expiry`, `notify_on_failure`	boolean	`true`	Health checks and notifications
`organization_id`, `shared`	UUID, boolean	—	Organization sharing

`alterlab_validate_session` — Validate a Session

Check whether a stored session is still active and its cookies are valid.

"Is my Amazon session still valid?"

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`session_id`	string (UUID)	required	Session ID to validate

`alterlab_delete_session` — Delete a Session

Permanently delete a stored session and its cookies.

"Delete session abc-123-def"

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`session_id`	string (UUID)	required	Session ID to delete

Authenticated Scraping

AlterLab MCP supports scraping pages that require authentication. This enables AI agents to access user-specific content like order histories, account dashboards, and member-only pricing.

How It Works

Create a session with cookies from a logged-in browser using alterlab_create_session
Scrape authenticated pages by passing the session_id to alterlab_scrape
Manage sessions with list, validate, and delete tools

Example: Check Amazon Prime Pricing

User: "What's my Prime member price for this product?"

Claude: [calls alterlab_list_sessions → finds Amazon session]
Claude: [calls alterlab_scrape with session_id for authenticated pricing]
Claude: "The Prime member price is $24.99 (public price: $34.99)"

Inline Cookies vs Stored Sessions

Stored sessions (session_id): Best for repeated access to the same domain. Create once, reuse across requests.
Inline cookies (cookies): Best for one-off authenticated requests where you don't need to save the session.

What Can You Do with AlterLab MCP?

Research and Analysis

Ask Claude to scrape and analyze websites in real-time:

"Scrape the top 5 results from this Google search and summarize them"
"Extract all product prices from this Amazon category page"
"Compare the pricing pages of these 3 competitors"

Code Generation with Real Data

Let Cursor or Windsurf fetch live data while building:

"Scrape this API documentation page and generate TypeScript types from it"
"Extract the color palette from this website and create a Tailwind config"
"Screenshot this design and recreate it in React"

Content and SEO

Use Claude to analyze content at scale:

"Scrape this blog post and suggest improvements for SEO"
"Extract all FAQ entries from this help center and create a structured dataset"
"Compare our landing page to the competitor's and identify gaps"

Monitoring and Alerts

Build agentic workflows that watch the web:

"Check if this product is back in stock"
"Scrape this page daily and alert me when the price drops below $50"
"Monitor this job board for new senior engineering positions"

Pricing — Pay-As-You-Go Web Scraping

No subscriptions. No monthly minimums. Add balance and use it whenever you need it.

Base Scraping Costs

Tier	Method	Cost per Request	Use Case
Curl	Direct HTTP	$0.0002	Static pages, RSS feeds, public APIs
HTTP	TLS fingerprinting	$0.0003	Sites with basic bot detection
Stealth	Browser impersonation	$0.002	Cloudflare, DataDome, PerimeterX protected sites
Light JS	JSON extraction	$0.0025	Server-rendered pages needing structured data
Browser	Headless Chromium	$0.004	Full JavaScript SPAs (React, Angular, Vue)

Optional Add-Ons

Add-On	Extra Cost	Description
JavaScript Rendering	forces Browser tier	No separate add-on: `render_js` bills the Browser tier ($0.004)
PDF Generation	+$0.0004	PDF of the rendered page
LLM Extraction / Embeddings	+$0.001	`extraction_schema` / `extraction_prompt`, `embeddings`
POST requests	x1.5	`method: "POST"` costs 1.5x the tier price
Own proxy (BYOP)	-20%	`use_own_proxy` discount on the tier price
Search	$0.001 / $0.004	duckduckgo / google and bing engines
Screenshot Capture	+$0.0002	Full-page PNG screenshot
Premium Proxy	+$0.0002	Geo-targeted residential proxy (195+ countries)
OCR Text Extraction	+$0.001	Extract text from images on the page

$1 = 5,000 light scrapes. New accounts get $1 free balance on signup.

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Default	Description
`ALTERLAB_API_KEY`	Yes	—	Your API key (get one free)
`ALTERLAB_API_URL`	No	`https://api.alterlab.io`	API base URL (for self-hosted or development)

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I add web scraping to Claude, Cursor, or Windsurf?

Install the AlterLab MCP server. For Claude Code, run claude mcp add alterlab -- npx -y alterlab-mcp-server@latest and set your ALTERLAB_API_KEY. For Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Windsurf, add the JSON config block to your MCP settings file. Once configured, your AI assistant can scrape any URL, extract structured data, and take screenshots directly in conversation.

Can Claude scrape websites that are behind Cloudflare or anti-bot protection?

Yes. AlterLab automatically handles Cloudflare, DataDome, PerimeterX, Akamai, and other anti-bot systems. It uses a multi-tier approach that starts with the cheapest method and escalates only when blocked. You don't need to configure anything — anti-bot bypass is fully automatic.

What is an MCP server and how does it work with Claude?

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is Anthropic's open standard for connecting AI assistants to external tools and data sources. An MCP server is a small program that exposes tools — like web scraping — that Claude, Cursor, or Windsurf can call during a conversation. The AlterLab MCP server gives your AI assistant 23 tools: scrape, extract, screenshot, crawl, search, map, batch scraping, session management, beta features, and more.

How is AlterLab different from Firecrawl, ScrapingBee, or Apify MCP servers?

AlterLab starts at $0.0002 per request — 5-20x cheaper than most scraping APIs — because it only uses expensive browser rendering when a site actually requires it. Smart tier escalation means you pay for what each site needs, not the maximum. AlterLab also includes built-in structured data extraction with pre-built profiles (product, article, job posting, etc.).

Can I scrape Amazon, Walmart, and other e-commerce sites from Claude?

Yes. AlterLab handles all major e-commerce anti-bot protection. Use the alterlab_extract tool with extraction_profile: "product" to get structured JSON: product name, price, currency, rating, review count, availability, and images — ready for analysis, comparison, or data pipelines.

Can Cursor scrape documentation and generate code from it?

Yes. With AlterLab MCP installed in Cursor, you can ask it to scrape API documentation, library docs, or any reference page and generate TypeScript types, API clients, or component code from the live content. This is more reliable than relying on the LLM's training data, which may be outdated.

Does AlterLab MCP work with JavaScript-heavy sites (React, Angular, Vue)?

Yes. Use render_js: true or set mode: "js" to enable full headless Chromium rendering. AlterLab renders the complete page including all JavaScript, waits for dynamic content to load, then extracts content from the fully rendered DOM. This works for React, Angular, Vue, Next.js, and any other JavaScript framework.

What output format is best for AI and LLM context windows?

Use markdown (the default). It preserves document structure — headings, tables, lists, links — while being 60-80% smaller than raw HTML. Claude, GPT-4, and other LLMs process markdown significantly better than HTML. AlterLab's markdown output is specifically optimized for LLM context windows.

Is there rate limiting?

Free-tier accounts have rate limits. Adding any balance removes rate limits. The MCP server includes automatic retry with exponential backoff for transient rate limit errors (429).

Can I use this MCP server for large-scale scraping?

Yes. For parallel scraping, use alterlab_batch to scrape up to 100 URLs in a single request — much faster than sequential calls. For crawling entire domains, use alterlab_crawl. You can also build agentic workflows that scrape many URLs sequentially, or use the n8n integration for workflow automation.

Error Handling

The MCP server returns helpful error messages with suggested next actions:

Error	What Happens	Suggested Action
401 Unauthorized	Invalid API key	Check `ALTERLAB_API_KEY` is set correctly
402 Insufficient Credits	Balance too low	Run `alterlab_check_balance`, add funds
403 Forbidden	Site blocked the request	Try `render_js: true` + `use_proxy: true`
429 Rate Limited	Too many requests	Automatic retry with backoff
504 Gateway Timeout	Scrape took too long	Increase `timeout`, simplify request

Agentic Workflows — AI Agents That Scrape the Web

AlterLab MCP turns any AI agent into a web-capable agent. Instead of relying on stale training data, your agent can fetch live information from any website during execution.

Use Cases for AI Agents

Research agents — scrape multiple sources, cross-reference facts, generate reports with citations
Data pipeline agents — extract structured product/pricing/job data on a schedule
Competitive intelligence — monitor competitor pages, track pricing changes, detect new features
Content generation — scrape real data to ground LLM output in facts, not hallucinations
Lead enrichment — scrape company websites to enrich CRM records with live data
Compliance monitoring — check regulatory pages, terms of service, and policy updates

Compatible AI Frameworks and Clients

Works with any tool that supports MCP (Model Context Protocol):

Claude Desktop / Claude Code — Anthropic's AI assistant
Cursor — AI-powered code editor
Windsurf — Codeium's AI IDE
Cline — VS Code AI assistant
GitHub Copilot — via MCP configuration
Custom agents — any framework using the MCP SDK (Python, TypeScript, Go)
n8n — workflow automation via n8n-nodes-alterlab

Contributing

git clone https://github.com/RapierCraft/alterlab-mcp-server.git
cd alterlab-mcp-server
npm install
npm run build

Support

License

MIT

Add this server

Host a copy with our keys and logs.

Server facts

Tools

Questions

How do I install Alterlab?

Does Alterlab need an API key?

What transport does Alterlab use?

When was Alterlab last checked?

Documentation

One-Line Install

Claude Code

Cursor

Smithery

Why AlterLab Instead of WebFetch or Browser MCP?

How Does AlterLab Web Scraping Work?

Installation

Install in Claude Desktop / Claude Code

Install in Cursor

Install in Windsurf

Install via Smithery

Get Your API Key

Tools

alterlab_scrape — Scrape Any Webpage

alterlab_extract — Extract Structured Data

alterlab_screenshot — Screenshot Any Page

alterlab_estimate_cost — Estimate Before You Scrape

alterlab_get_job — Fetch an Async Job

alterlab_check_balance — Check Your Credits

alterlab_list_sessions — List Stored Sessions

alterlab_create_session — Create a Session

alterlab_validate_session — Validate a Session

alterlab_delete_session — Delete a Session

Authenticated Scraping

How It Works

Example: Check Amazon Prime Pricing

Inline Cookies vs Stored Sessions

What Can You Do with AlterLab MCP?

Research and Analysis

Code Generation with Real Data

Content and SEO

Monitoring and Alerts

Pricing — Pay-As-You-Go Web Scraping

Base Scraping Costs

Optional Add-Ons

Environment Variables

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I add web scraping to Claude, Cursor, or Windsurf?

Can Claude scrape websites that are behind Cloudflare or anti-bot protection?

What is an MCP server and how does it work with Claude?

How is AlterLab different from Firecrawl, ScrapingBee, or Apify MCP servers?

Can I scrape Amazon, Walmart, and other e-commerce sites from Claude?

Can Cursor scrape documentation and generate code from it?

Does AlterLab MCP work with JavaScript-heavy sites (React, Angular, Vue)?

What output format is best for AI and LLM context windows?

Is there rate limiting?

Can I use this MCP server for large-scale scraping?

Error Handling

Agentic Workflows — AI Agents That Scrape the Web

Use Cases for AI Agents

Compatible AI Frameworks and Clients

Contributing

Support

License

`alterlab_scrape` — Scrape Any Webpage

`alterlab_extract` — Extract Structured Data

`alterlab_screenshot` — Screenshot Any Page

`alterlab_estimate_cost` — Estimate Before You Scrape

`alterlab_get_job` — Fetch an Async Job

`alterlab_check_balance` — Check Your Credits

`alterlab_list_sessions` — List Stored Sessions

`alterlab_create_session` — Create a Session

`alterlab_validate_session` — Validate a Session

`alterlab_delete_session` — Delete a Session