Scraper

A scraper is a tool or software that removes material from a surface or gathers data by automated extraction. The term originates from the action of scraping, which involves pulling or scraping off material. Physical scrapers include handheld tools such as paint scrapers, putty knives, and floor scrapers, as well as powered variants used in construction and manufacturing to remove coatings, adhesive residues, or thin layers of material from floors or walls.

In computing, a web scraper is a program or library that extracts data from websites by sending requests, parsing HTML, and organizing the collected information. Web scrapers are used for price monitoring, data migration, market analysis, and research. They may handle dynamic content via JavaScript rendering and can be configured to respect robots.txt and site terms, though enforcement varies. Common frameworks include libraries like Scrapy or BeautifulSoup, and headless browsers for complex pages.

Scraping can raise legal and ethical issues, including copyright, terms of service violations, privacy concerns, and anti-scraping measures. Responsible use involves adhering to robots.txt, limiting request rate, respecting data ownership, and obtaining permission when required. Physical scrapers also carry safety concerns, such as the risk of cuts, injuries, or damage to surfaces, and require appropriate PPE and tool selection.