Scrape Web Documents To Pdf

---
name: scrape-web-documents-to-pdf
description: "Scrape documents from Notion, DocSend, PDFs, and other sources into local PDF files. Use when the user needs to download, archive, or convert web documents to PDF format. Supports authentication flows for protected documents and session persistence via profiles. Returns local fi…"
category: "Productivity"
author: community
version: "0.0.1"
icon: check-square
---

# docs-scraper

CLI tool that scrapes documents from various sources into local PDF files using browser automation.

## Installation

```bash
npm install -g docs-scraper
```

## Quick start

Scrape any document URL to PDF:

```bash
docs-scraper scrape https://example.com/document
```

Returns local path: `~/.docs-scraper/output/1706123456-abc123.pdf`

## Basic scraping

**Scrape with daemon** (recommended, keeps browser warm):
```bash
docs-scraper scrape <url>
```

**Scrape with named profile** (for authenticated sites):
```bash
docs-scraper scrape <url> -p <profile-name>
```

**Scrape with pre-filled data** (e.g., email for DocSend):
```bash
docs-scraper scrape <url> -D email=user@example.com
```

**Direct mode** (single-shot, no daemon):
```bash
docs-scraper scrape <url> --no-daemon
```

## Authentication workflow

When a document requires authentication (login, email verification, passcode):

1. Initial scrape returns a job ID:
   ```bash
   docs-scraper scrape https://docsend.com/view/xxx
   # Output: Scrape blocked
   #         Job ID: abc123
   ```

2. Retry with data:
   ```bash
   docs-scraper update abc123 -D email=user@example.com
   # or with password
   docs-scraper update abc123 -D email=user@example.com -D password=1234
   ```

## Profile management

Profiles store session cookies for authenticated sites.

```bash
docs-scraper profiles list     # List saved profiles
docs-scraper profiles clear    # Clear all profiles
docs-scraper scrape <url> -p myprofile  # Use a profile
```

## Daemon management

The daemon keeps browser instances warm for faster scraping.

```bash
docs-scraper daemon status     # Check status
docs-scraper daemon start      # Start manually
docs-scraper daemon stop       # Stop daemon
```

Note: Daemon auto-starts when running scrape commands.

## Cleanup

PDFs are stored in `~/.docs-scraper/output/`. The daemon automatically cleans up files older than 1 hour.

Manual cleanup:
```bash
docs-scraper cleanup                    # Delete all PDFs
docs-scraper cleanup --older-than 1h    # Delete PDFs older than 1 hour
```

## Job management

```bash
docs-scraper jobs list         # List blocked jobs awaiting auth
```

## Supported sources

- **Direct PDF links** - Downloads PDF directly
- **Notion pages** - Exports Notion page to PDF
- **DocSend documents** - Handles DocSend viewer
- **LLM fallback** - Uses Claude API for any other webpage

---

## Scraper Reference

Each scraper accepts specific `-D` data fields. Use the appropriate fields based on the URL type.

### DirectPdfScraper

**Handles:** URLs ending in `.pdf`

**Data fields:** None (downloads directly)

**Example:**
```bash
docs-scraper scrape https://example.com/document.pdf
```

---

### DocsendScraper

**Handles:** `docsend.com/view/*`, `docsend.com/v/*`, and subdomains (e.g., `org-a.docsend.com`)

**URL patterns:**
- Documents: `https://docsend.com/view/{id}` or `https://docsend.com/v/{id}`
- Folders: `https://docsend.com/view/s/{id}`
- Subdomains: `https://{subdomain}.docsend.com/view/{id}`

**Data fields:**

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `email` | email | Email address for document access |
| `password` | password | Passcode/password for protected documents |
| `name` | text | Your name (required for NDA-gated documents) |

**Examples:**
```bash
# Pre-fill email for DocSend
docs-scraper scrape https://docsend.com/view/abc123 -D email=user@example.com

# With password protection
docs-scraper scrape https://docsend.com/view/abc123 -D email=user@example.com -D password=secret123

# With NDA name requirement
docs-scraper scrape https://docsend.com/view/abc123 -D email=user@example.com -D name="John Doe"

# Retry blocked job
docs-scraper update abc123 -D email=user@example.com -D password=secret123
```

**Notes:**
- DocSend may require any combination of email, password, and name
- Folders are scraped as a table of contents PDF with document links
- The scraper auto-checks NDA checkboxes when name is provided

---

### NotionScraper

**Handles:** `notion.so/*`, `*.notion.site/*`

**Data fields:**

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `email` | email | Notion account email |
| `password` | password | Notion account password |

**Examples:**
```bash
# Public page (no auth needed)
docs-scraper scrape https://notion.so/Public-Page-abc123

# Private page with login
docs-scraper scrape https://notion.so/Private-Page-abc123 \
  -D email=user@example.com -D password=mypassword

# Custom domain
docs-scraper scrape https://docs.company.notion.site/Page-abc123
```

**Notes:**
- Public Notion pages don't require authentication
- Toggle blocks are automatically expanded before PDF generation
- Uses session profiles to persist login across scrapes

---

### LlmFallbackScraper

**Handles:** Any URL not matched by other scrapers (automatic fallback)

**Data fields:** Dynamic - determined by Claude analyzing the page

The LLM scraper uses Claude to analyze the page HTML and detect:
- Login forms (extracts field names dynamically)
- Cookie banners (auto-dismisses)
- Expandable content (auto-expands)
- CAPTCHAs (reports as blocked)
- Paywalls (reports as blocked)

**Common dynamic fields:**

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `email` | email | Login email (if detected) |
| `password` | password | Login password (if detected) |
| `username` | text | Username (if login uses username) |

**Examples:**
```bash
# Generic webpage (no auth)
docs-scraper scrape https://example.com/article

# Webpage requiring login
docs-scraper scrape https://members.example.com/article \
  -D email=user@example.com -D password=secret

# When blocked, check the job for required fields
docs-scraper jobs list
# Then retry with the fields the scraper detected
docs-scraper update abc123 -D username=myuser -D password=secret
```

**Notes:**
- Requires `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` environment variable
- Field names are extracted from the page's actual form fields
- Limited to 2 login attempts before failing
- CAPTCHAs require manual intervention

---

## Data field summary

| Scraper | email | password | name | Other |
|---------|-------|----------|------|-------|
| DirectPdf | - | - | - | - |
| DocSend | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - |
| Notion | ✓ | ✓ | - | - |
| LLM Fallback | ✓* | ✓* | - | Dynamic* |

*Fields detected dynamically from page analysis

## Environment setup (optional)

Only needed for LLM fallback scraper:

```bash
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_key
```

Optional browser settings:
```bash
export BROWSER_HEADLESS=true   # Set false for debugging
```

## Common patterns

**Archive a Notion page:**
```bash
docs-scraper scrape https://notion.so/My-Page-abc123
```

**Download protected DocSend:**
```bash
docs-scraper scrape https://docsend.com/view/xxx
# If blocked:
docs-scraper update <job-id> -D email=user@example.com -D password=1234
```

**Batch scraping with profiles:**
```bash
docs-scraper scrape https://site.com/doc1 -p mysite
docs-scraper scrape https://site.com/doc2 -p mysite
```

## Output

**Success**: Local file path (e.g., `~/.docs-scraper/output/1706123456-abc123.pdf`)
**Blocked**: Job ID + required credential types

## Troubleshooting

- **Timeout**: `docs-scraper daemon stop && docs-scraper daemon start`
- **Auth fails**: `docs-scraper jobs list` to check pending jobs
- **Disk full**: `docs-scraper cleanup` to remove old PDFs