Crawlee-Python is a sophisticated web scraping and browser automation library designed to facilitate reliable data extraction from websites. Managed by Apify, this project leverages Python and integrates with tools like BeautifulSoup and Playwright, supporting both headful and headless operations. It is characterized by its strong community engagement, evidenced by its active issue tracking and pull requests, which focus on continuous enhancements and robust error handling mechanisms.
Developer | Avatar | Branches | PRs | Commits | Files | Changes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jindřich Bär | 2 | 2/2/0 | 3 | 11 | 17025 | |
Vlada Dusek | 1 | 13/14/0 | 14 | 84 | 3348 | |
Martin Adámek | 1 | 2/2/0 | 37 | 35 | 1629 | |
renovate[bot] | 1 | 12/6/6 | 6 | 3 | 951 | |
Jan Buchar | 2 | 2/2/1 | 4 | 14 | 253 | |
Sid | 1 | 1/1/0 | 1 | 2 | 14 | |
Ikko Eltociear Ashimine | 1 | 1/1/0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
Shixian Sheng | 1 | 1/1/0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
PRs: created by that dev and opened/merged/closed-unmerged during the period
Recent activity in the apify/crawlee-python
repository shows a flurry of issue creations, primarily by Vlada Dusek (vdusek), focusing on enhancements and documentation of the Crawlee-Python library. The issues address various aspects from improving logging details to enhancing API documentation and adding new features like SQLite support for storage.
Logging and Documentation Enhancements: Issues like #306 and #304 emphasize improving the format of logging and enhancing API documentation, respectively. These improvements are crucial for user experience and usability, ensuring that developers can easily integrate and debug applications using Crawlee-Python.
Feature Requests and Enhancements: Several issues propose new features or enhancements to existing functionalities. For example, #307 suggests adding SQLite support as an alternative storage option, which could significantly benefit users looking for lightweight, file-based database solutions.
Error Handling and Debugging: Issue #296 highlights problems with error handling in the Playwright integration, which is critical for building reliable crawlers. Addressing such issues is essential for maintaining the robustness of the library.
Community Engagement and Feedback: Issue #269 discusses a giveaway for early adopters who provide feedback or contribute to the project, indicating an active approach to community engagement and user involvement in the development process.
#307: Add support for SQLite as underlying storage
#306: Better format statistics logging
#305: Document how to use POST requests
#296: Error handler does not work
#295: HTTP API for Spider
#292: Curl Cffi Client
These issues reflect ongoing efforts to refine the library’s functionality and usability while actively engaging with the community to address their needs and feedback.
apify/crawlee-python
Repository Pull RequestsPR #245: fix: byte size serialization in MemoryInfo
MemoryInfo
utility. The changes are confined to a single file with a modest line change, suggesting a targeted fix.src/crawlee/_utils/system.py
PR #210: fix: request order on resumed crawl
src/crawlee/storages/request_queue.py
PR #167: ci: Use a local httpbin instance for tests
httpbin
instance for running tests, reducing dependency on external services..github/workflows/_unit_tests.yaml
PR #308: doc: improve installation section
PR #299: docs: fix link in readme
PR #297: chore(deps): update dependency eslint-plugin-react to v7.34.4
This analysis highlights a healthy, active project with ongoing efforts to improve functionality and maintain robustness, albeit with some areas needing careful monitoring such as dependency updates.
src/crawlee/basic_crawler/basic_crawler.py
Code Organization: The file is well-organized with clear separation of class definitions, method implementations, and utility functions. It uses Python type hints extensively for better readability and maintainability.
Class Design: The BasicCrawler
class is designed to be generic with the use of type variables, allowing for flexibility and reuse. It includes comprehensive initialization parameters that cover various aspects of crawler configuration.
Error Handling: The code includes robust error handling with custom exceptions tailored for different failure scenarios within the crawling process.
Concurrency Management: Utilizes asyncio
for asynchronous operations, enhancing the efficiency of web crawling tasks. The integration with AutoscaledPool
for managing concurrency is a notable feature.
Logging and Progress Tracking: Implements detailed logging and progress tracking which is crucial for debugging and monitoring the crawler's performance.
Extensibility: Through the use of a router and context pipeline, the crawler can be extended and customized easily without modifying the core logic.
Documentation: Inline comments are used effectively to explain complex logic. However, more comprehensive method docstrings could be beneficial for better understanding the purpose and usage of each method.
src/crawlee/playwright_crawler/playwright_crawler.py
Inheritance: Inherits from BasicCrawler
, demonstrating good use of object-oriented principles to extend functionality.
Browser Automation: Specifically tailored to integrate with Playwright for browser-based crawling, handling nuances of browser management such as page navigation and session handling.
Configuration Flexibility: Allows configuration of browser type and headless mode directly or through a browser pool, providing flexibility in how browser instances are managed.
Error Handling: While it handles basic setup errors (e.g., conflicting parameters), error handling within the browser interaction could be expanded to cover more scenarios like timeouts or navigation errors.
Method Design: Methods like _page_goto
are designed to perform specific tasks (e.g., navigating pages), which keeps the code modular and maintainable.
docs/guides/proxy_management.mdx
Documentation Clarity: Provides a clear explanation of how proxy management works within Crawlee, using examples and code snippets to illustrate usage.
Structure: Well-structured with sections covering different aspects of proxy management such as configuration, integration with crawlers, session management, and proxy inspection.
Example Code: Includes practical examples showing how to implement proxy management in different scenarios. This is beneficial for users to quickly understand and apply the concepts in their projects.
src/crawlee/cli.py
CLI Framework Usage: Utilizes Typer for CLI interactions, which is a modern, expressive framework for building command-line interfaces in Python.
Functionality: Supports creating new projects from templates via interactive prompts or command-line arguments, enhancing user experience.
Error Handling: Includes error handling for network requests (fetching templates) and user input validation which is crucial for CLI tools.
Progress Indication: Uses rich progress bars to provide visual feedback during project creation, improving user interaction.
website/docusaurus.config.js
Configuration Options: Extensively configured with options for plugins, themes, SEO, navigation bars, etc., demonstrating a deep integration of Docusaurus features.
Modularity: Uses plugins effectively to extend functionality such as Google Tag Manager integration and API documentation generation.
Customization: Includes custom components and styling adjustments which are essential for maintaining brand consistency across the documentation site.
The provided source files demonstrate high-quality software engineering practices including modularity, extensive use of modern Python features (like type hints and async), robust error handling, and comprehensive documentation. The project structure facilitates scalability and maintainability. However, certain areas such as error handling in browser interactions (Playwright crawler) and more detailed method documentation could be further improved.
Vlada Dusek (vdusek)
renovate[bot]
on dependency updates.Martin Adámek (B4nan)
Shixian Sheng (KPCOFGS)
Ikko Eltociear Ashimine (eltociear)
renovate[bot]
Sid (siddiqkaithodu)
Jan Buchar (janbuchar)
Documentation Focus: A significant portion of recent activity revolves around improving documentation, both in terms of content and accessibility. This suggests a push towards making the project more user-friendly and accessible to new users or contributors.
Dependency Management: Regular updates and maintenance of dependencies indicate a strong emphasis on keeping the project up-to-date and secure, which is crucial for maintaining software reliability and performance.
Collaborative Efforts: The presence of automated bots like renovate[bot]
alongside human contributors like Vlada Dusek shows a blend of automation and manual oversight in maintaining the project's ecosystem.
Minor Enhancements: Many recent commits involve minor tweaks such as typo fixes and link corrections, reflecting an attention to detail and a commitment to quality in project documentation and setup instructions.
Tooling and Workflow Improvements: Updates to scripts that check changelog entries or manage version conflicts suggest ongoing efforts to streamline developer workflows, potentially making it easier to manage releases and integrate changes.
Overall, the recent activities highlight a development team focused on maintaining a robust, user-friendly, and up-to-date codebase, with particular attention to documentation and dependency management.