Custom Browser Instructions
A feature of Web Scraper API and Web Unblocker that lets you automate browser interactions to load and extract dynamic web content.
Render JavaScript and extract data from complex web pages
Configure browser instructions to automate user interactions
Customize browser behavior to simulate an organic user
*Custom Browser Instructions is a feature of Web Scraper API and Web Unblocker
JavaScript rendering
Some website content appears only when rendering JavaScript. When web scraping with Oxylabs Web Scraper API, JavaScript rendering is handled automatically on our side — no additional setup needed. This loads dynamic content onto the page with a single line of code, saving time and resources for your main task: subsequent data analysis.
Browser interactions
Perform action sequences to complete a specific task by setting up custom browser instructions. Define sequences of mouse clicks, text inputs, page scrolls, waits for elements to appear, and more – all executed automatically on the target page. To automate data extraction tasks that require user interaction, you should:
Study web page layout by inspecting HTML elements
Identify interactive elements containing target data
Define browser instructions to interact with the elements and load required data
{ "source": "universal", "url": "https://www.ebay.com/", "render": "html", "browser_instructions": [ { "type": "input", "value": "pizza boxes", "selector": { "type": "xpath", "value": "//input[@class='gh-tb ui-autocomplete-input']" } }, { "type": "click", "selector": { "type": "xpath", "value": "//input[@type='submit']" } }, { "type": "wait", "wait_time_s": 5 } ] }
Web scraping with browser automation
Automate browser behavior by setting wait times and timeout periods for dynamic elements to load before web scraping. Custom Browser Instructions let you focus on data analysis, leaving infrastructure management and web data extraction activities like Document Object Model (DOM) manipulations, JavaScript rendering, and JavaScript fingerprinting to us.
What is Custom Browser Instructions?
A feature of Oxylabs Web Scraper API and Web Unblocker, Custom Browser Instructions allow you to define website-specific interactions to load dynamic elements.
Step 1
The user submits custom browser instructions to Web Scraper API/Web Unblocker.
Step 2
Web Scraper API/Web Unblocker sends an HTTP(S) request to the target web page.
Step 3
The browser executes the custom instructions to interact with the web page and load necessary data.
Step 4
Extracted data in raw HTML or a structured JSON file is transferred to the user's storage.
Solutions featuring Custom Browser Instructions
Get a free trial of Web Scraper API and Web Unblocker, including access to Custom Browser Instructions.
Web Scraper API
Parsed real-time data from almost any website.
Customizable request parameters
Structured JSON data
JavaScript rendering
Best for:
SERP data analysis, pricing intelligence, travel fare monitoring.
From $49/month
Web Unblocker
Access public data from the most difficult sites.
Easily imitate real website users
Bypass advanced anti-bot systems
Appear as an organic user on sites
Best for:
Anti-bot and CAPTCHAs handling for even the most difficult websites.
From $75/month
Vincent Patrizio
Senior Account Manager @ Oxylabs
With Headless Browser, you can automate user interactions to load dynamic data for extraction. This feature saves time and resources as you don’t have to develop and maintain your own headless browser solution.
Jorūnė Skridailaitė
Senior Account Manager @ Oxylabs
Headless Browser greatly simplifies the whole process of data extraction with browser instructions, allowing our clients to quickly sequence actions for site interaction.
A word from our dedicated Account Managers
With certain Enterprise plans, you get your own Dedicated Account Manager.
Useful resources
Step-by-step guides
Learn how to set up your browser instructions with our technical documentation.
Writing browser instructions
Check a tutorial on GitHub and copy the code directly to Custom Browser Instructions.
What is a headless browser?
Get familiar with headless browsers: uses, examples, and limitations.
Frequently asked questions
The use cases focus on web automation for data extraction:
Execution of JavaScript on target websites for data extraction.
Scraping JavaScript-heavy website components without managing additional infrastructure.
Data extraction from web pages that require user interactions (loading, scrolling, typing text).
Workflow streamlining – automating wait times for elements or resources to load before concluding a scraping task.
Compared to a regular browser, a Custom Browser Instructions usually give much more control over web browser-server communication as you can customize all parts of web interaction. On top of that, ease of scalability and running in the background without a graphical user interface utilize fewer resources, making all processes faster.
Custom Browser Instructions reads websites’ HTML code and executes JavaScript code found within. Part of the JavaScript code may make Custom Browser Instructions initiate HTTP requests to fetch additional data. The additional data is then loaded onto the HTML DOM (Document Object Model) and, as a consequence, made visible to the user.
Yes, you should be an active customer of either to use the Custom Browser Instructions feature.
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