ScrapeMaster — every question, answered
109 detailed answers covering auto-detection, pagination, detail pages, every export route, the legal boundaries of scraping, avoiding blocks, privacy and troubleshooting. Can't find your question? Email us.
1. Getting started & installation
What is ScrapeMaster?
A free Chrome extension that extracts structured data from web pages without code or CSS selectors. Click the icon, it detects the repeating pattern on the page in a couple of seconds, and you get an editable table you can export to CSV, XLSX, JSON or the clipboard.
How do I install it?
Install from the Chrome Web Store listing, then pin it to the toolbar via the puzzle-piece icon so it's one click away.
Is ScrapeMaster really free?
Yes. No paid tier, no row limits, no credit card. You can extract as much data as your machine can hold.
Do I need an account?
No. There is no account, no sign-in and no email required.
Do I need to know how to code?
No. ScrapeMaster auto-detects repeating patterns on most pages within two to four seconds and proposes named columns. You rename or remove columns and extract — no selectors, no scripts.
How do I open it?
Click the extension icon. ScrapeMaster opens in Chrome's side panel alongside the page, so you can see the page and the detected table at the same time.
What permissions does it need, and why?
Access to the active tab so it can read the page you're extracting from, storage so your extracted records and saved configurations persist locally, and downloads so exports can be saved.
How do I uninstall it?
Right-click the extension icon and choose "Remove from Chrome", or go to chrome://extensions and click Remove. Removing it also removes the locally stored extraction data.
2. Auto-detection
How does auto-detection work?
When you click the icon, the extension analyses the page's structure, finds the repeating pattern that represents a list of records, and infers sensible column names. An editable table appears in the side panel, typically within two to four seconds.
What kinds of pages does it work best on?
Anything with a repeating structure: search results, product listings, business directories, job boards, real-estate listings, tables, review lists, government registers.
Does it work on JavaScript-heavy sites?
Yes. Because the extension runs inside your browser, it sees the page after JavaScript has rendered it. React, Vue and Angular apps, single-page apps and dynamic components are all fine.
Why did it detect the wrong pattern?
Pages with several competing repeating structures — a sidebar of related items next to the main results, for instance — can confuse detection. Scroll so the main list dominates the view and re-run detection, or remove the unwanted columns manually.
Why did it find nothing at all?
There is probably no repeating structure on the page. A single article or product detail page has one of each field rather than a list. Extract from the listing page instead, and use "follow detail pages" to pull per-item detail in.
Can I extract from a page with only one record?
Auto-detection is built around repeating patterns, so a single-record page is a poor fit. The reliable route is to start from a listing page and follow detail links.
Does auto-detection send my page content anywhere?
It sends the page's HTML structure to our analysis API so the API can suggest selectors. Cookies, authentication tokens and session data are stripped by Chrome before the request. The data you then extract is never uploaded.
Can I use it without the auto-detect network request?
Auto-detection is what proposes the columns, so it is the step that needs the request. Once a configuration is saved for a domain, revisiting that site re-applies it.
How accurate is the column naming?
Usually close and occasionally wrong — it infers names from the page's markup and surrounding labels. Renaming columns before extracting takes seconds and saves cleaning the export afterwards.
Does it work on tables specifically?
Yes, HTML tables are one of the clearest repeating structures and detect reliably. Note that very large tables in modern apps are often virtualized, which is a different problem — see the troubleshooting section.
3. Columns and fields
How do I rename a column?
In the side panel, edit the column's name directly before extracting. The export uses your names, not the inferred ones.
How do I remove a column I don't need?
Remove it in the side panel before extracting. Fewer columns means a cleaner export, and it's also good data hygiene — don't collect what you have no use for.
Can I add a field that wasn't detected?
Detection works from the repeating structure on the page. If the field you want lives on each item's own detail page rather than the listing, enable "follow detail pages" to pull it in and merge it into the table.
Can I extract links and image URLs, not just text?
Yes — link targets and image URLs are among the fields detection surfaces on listings that contain them.
Why should I set consistent column names?
If you're collecting from several sites into one dataset, a shared schema is what makes the results mergeable. Merging fifty CSVs with different headers afterwards is the tedious part, and it's entirely avoidable.
Can I reorder columns?
Adjust the column setup in the side panel before extracting. For heavier reshaping, it's usually quicker to export and rearrange in your spreadsheet.
Are empty cells a bug?
Usually not. Listings often omit a field for some items — no phone number on one business, no price on an out-of-stock product. Spot-check a few against the live page before assuming something is broken.
Should I record where each row came from?
Yes. Add source URL and capture date columns in your spreadsheet after export. Under GDPR you may need to say where data about a person came from, and it's also how you re-verify later without redoing the search.
4. Pagination and multi-page extraction
Can it extract across multiple pages?
Yes. It auto-detects next-page buttons, load-more buttons, numbered pagination and infinite scroll, then extracts page by page with live progress in the side panel.
Which pagination types are supported?
Next-page buttons, load-more buttons, numbered pagination and infinite-scroll patterns.
How do I turn pagination on?
Enable it in the side panel before extracting. Detection of the pattern itself is automatic.
Can I limit how many pages it goes through?
Decide your stopping point before you start, and watch the live progress. On a very large result set, applying filters on the site first is usually better than extracting everything and filtering afterwards.
Should I set a delay between pages?
Yes for anything long. A delay paces requests and reduces the chance of being challenged or blocked, and it's simple courtesy toward the site.
What happens if extraction is interrupted?
Records collected up to that point are already stored locally, so you keep what completed. Re-run to continue, and expect to deduplicate any overlap.
Why did it stop before the last page?
Common causes: the site changed its pagination markup partway through, a rate limit kicked in, or an infinite-scroll feed simply stopped loading more. Check the last captured page against the live site.
Does infinite scroll capture everything?
Only what actually loads. Infinite scroll appends as you go, so extraction covers what has been loaded — decide what "enough" means before you start.
Should I check the first page before running a hundred?
Always. A mis-mapped column across a long run means doing the whole thing again, and you'll have generated a lot of traffic for nothing.
5. Following detail pages
What does "follow detail pages" do?
It opens each item's link in a background tab, extracts the additional fields you've defined there, and merges them back into the main results table alongside the listing data.
Why would I use it?
Because that's usually where the value is. A listing gives you a name and a link; the detail page gives you the email, phone, full description and specifications.
Why is extraction so much slower with it on?
Because it loads one page per item rather than one page per listing. A hundred items means a hundred page loads, and adding a delay to stay polite makes it slower again.
Should I test it before a full run?
Yes. Run a short extraction and check the merged results first — a mis-mapped field across two hundred rows is a re-run.
Why are some detail fields empty?
Detail pages often differ in layout between item types, so a field that exists on one may be laid out differently on another. Spot-check a variety of items rather than just the first few.
Does it open visible tabs while it works?
Items are fetched in background tabs. Leave the browser alone while a long run completes rather than navigating away mid-extraction.
Can it follow links two levels deep?
Detail-following is one level from the listing. For deeper chains, extract the detail-page URLs first, then run a second pass from that set.
6. Exporting your data
What export formats are supported?
CSV, XLSX (Excel-compatible), JSON, and direct clipboard copy for pasting into Google Sheets, Excel or a CRM. Exports save locally to your downloads folder.
Should I use CSV or XLSX?
CSV if the data is going into another tool or a CRM import. XLSX if you're opening it directly in Excel — it avoids the encoding problems Excel's CSV import can cause with accented and non-Latin characters.
How do I get data into Google Sheets?
Use the copy-to-clipboard option, then paste into your sheet. Columns land in columns and rows in rows — no file, no import dialog, no upload.
Does it connect to Google Sheets automatically?
No. It copies the table to your clipboard in a format spreadsheets understand, and you paste it. There is no account connection, no scheduled sync and no live link back to the source.
Is there a row limit on exports?
No. There is no paid tier and no row cap — you can extract as much as your machine can hold.
Are numbers exported as numbers?
Values export as strings, exactly as they appeared on the page. Prices, counts and dates need parsing and normalising in whatever consumes the file.
Why does my CSV look wrong in Excel?
Excel's CSV import guesses at encoding and separators, which mangles accented and non-Latin text. Export XLSX instead, or use Excel's Data → From Text/CSV import and set UTF-8 explicitly.
When should I use JSON?
When the data is going somewhere programmatic rather than into a spreadsheet — a script, an API, or an application that consumes structured input. Your column names become the object keys, so set them before extracting.
Where do exports save?
To your browser's normal downloads folder. The export is generated locally from records already in your browser — nothing is uploaded to produce it.
Can I export only some of the rows?
Filter on the site before extracting, which is more efficient than extracting everything and discarding most of it. Otherwise export the full set and filter in your spreadsheet.
7. Saved configurations
Can I save an extraction setup and reuse it?
Yes. ScrapeMaster saves your column setup, pagination rules and detail-follow configuration per domain. Returning to the same site re-applies the saved configuration automatically.
Are configurations saved per URL or per site?
Per domain, so a saved setup applies across that site's pages rather than one specific URL.
What happens when a site redesigns?
A redesign changes the page structure, so a saved configuration may no longer fit. Check the detected table before extracting rather than assuming the old setup still works.
Can I schedule extractions to run automatically?
No. ScrapeMaster runs when you run it — saved configurations remove the setup work, not the need to be there. For scheduled unattended collection, a hosted scraping platform is the right category of tool.
Where are saved configurations stored?
Locally in your browser, alongside your extracted records. They are not synced to a server or shared between machines.
How do I clear a saved configuration?
Reconfigure the columns and settings on that domain and extract again, which replaces the stored setup. Removing the extension clears everything.
8. Logged-in and private pages
Can it extract from pages I'm signed into?
Yes. It works on the page already rendered in your browser using your normal session, so your own dashboard, an internal tool or a members-only directory all extract normally.
Can it bypass paywalls or login walls?
No. ScrapeMaster extracts data from pages you can already see. It does not bypass paywalls, defeat login requirements or solve CAPTCHAs. If you can see it logged in, it can extract it.
Does being logged in change whether extraction is allowed?
Substantially. Creating an account almost always means accepting terms via clickwrap, which courts routinely enforce, and those terms commonly restrict automated extraction. It also means the data isn't public, so public-data reasoning doesn't apply. Check the terms first.
Is my session or cookie data sent anywhere?
No. Cookies, authentication tokens and session data are stripped by Chrome before the auto-detect request, and the extracted data is never uploaded at all.
Should I be more careful on an authenticated site?
Yes. Activity is tied to your account rather than just an IP, so a block affects your account. Set a conservative delay and take less per session.
Does it work on internal or intranet sites?
Yes, because it runs in your browser on a page you've already loaded. A hosted scraping service cannot reach an intranet at all.
Can it solve a CAPTCHA?
No, and it will not attempt to. If a site challenges you, that is the site asking for a human — treat it as a signal to slow down or stop.
9. Legal boundaries
Is web scraping legal?
Scraping publicly displayed data is legal in the US, EU, UK and most other jurisdictions. It becomes legally risky when you bypass authentication, scrape personal data without a lawful basis, breach terms you explicitly accepted, or send enough traffic to disrupt a site. This is general information, not legal advice.
Are web crawlers legal?
Crawling publicly accessible pages is generally lawful — it's how search engines and archives work. The risk is about volume and disregard: crawling hard enough to degrade a site can support trespass-style claims, and ignoring an explicit robots.txt disallow is evidence you were on notice.
What's the legal difference between crawling and scraping?
Crawling discovers pages by following links; scraping extracts specific content. Crawling risk centres on server load and robots.txt. Scraping risk centres on what you take — copyright in expressive content, database rights in the EU and UK, data protection where individuals are identified, and contract terms if you were logged in.
Does the CFAA make scraping a crime?
Not for public data. The Supreme Court's Van Buren decision (2021) narrowed "exceeds authorized access" to a gates-up-or-down question, and the hiQ v. LinkedIn line of cases established that scraping data with no login and no technical barrier doesn't violate the CFAA. Defeating an access control is a very different matter.
Is ignoring robots.txt illegal?
Not on its own in most jurisdictions — it's a voluntary convention, not a technical access control. But it matters: it's evidence you had notice, many terms of service incorporate it by reference (making it contractual), and courts have grown more receptive to treating it as meaningful.
Can I scrape data that includes people's names?
Public availability doesn't exempt personal data from GDPR or UK GDPR. You need a lawful basis (usually legitimate interests for B2B), you must provide privacy information including the source, and you must honour objections.
What's the difference between business contact data and personal data?
A generic info@ address and a switchboard number are organisational data with low risk. A named individual's work email and direct line still identify a person and are personal data under GDPR and UK GDPR. The higher-risk activity is assembling multiple public facts into a personal profile.
What are database rights and do they apply to me?
A protection in the EU and UK for substantial investment in compiling, verifying or presenting a collection, with no US equivalent. It can protect a directory of purely factual listings even though no single listing is copyrightable, so extracting a substantial part may infringe independently of copyright.
Can I scrape article text or product descriptions?
Facts aren't copyrightable; expression is. Prices, model numbers and addresses are facts. Article text, photographs and written product descriptions are expression, and republishing them is a copyright question regardless of how you obtained them.
Does a site's Terms of Service bind me if I never clicked anything?
Browsewrap terms linked in a footer that you never accepted are inconsistently enforced, and courts often find no assent. Clickwrap terms you actively accepted, typically at account creation, are routinely enforced — which is why logging in changes the analysis.
Am I a "data broker" if I collect contact data?
Possibly, if you sell or share personal data you didn't collect directly from the individuals. Several US states now impose registration duties, and California's deletion platform for registered data brokers went live on 1 August 2026. Building a list for your own outreach is a different activity from selling one — but it's a question worth putting to counsel.
Is ScrapeMaster responsible for how I use it?
ScrapeMaster is a neutral tool; how you use it is your responsibility. It's designed to sit at the low-risk end — it doesn't bypass access controls, rotate proxies or fingerprints, or run unattended — but that doesn't make a given use lawful. Terms, copyright, database rights and data protection apply to you regardless of which tool you used.
10. Blocking, rate limits and anti-bot
Will it get me blocked from sites?
It can. ScrapeMaster uses your normal browser session and paces requests naturally, and you can configure extraction delays, but heavy or rapid extraction on aggressive anti-bot sites can still trigger blocks.
Does it rotate proxies or fingerprints?
No, deliberately. Evading a block is a materially worse fact than being blocked, both practically and legally, so the option isn't offered.
How do I avoid being blocked?
Set an extraction delay, take less per session, avoid peak hours, don't run detail-following across thousands of items in one go, and stop when a site starts challenging you.
What should I do if I get blocked?
Stop. Wait — many blocks are temporary. Then come back slower, or reconsider whether the site is one you should be extracting from at that volume. Don't reach for evasion.
Why do Cloudflare-protected sites cause problems?
Bot-detection layers watch request patterns and challenge anything that looks automated. Because the extension runs in your real browser session, it looks far more human than a headless script — but sustained rapid extraction still stands out.
Does a delay actually help?
Yes, more than anything else you can change. Most rate limiting keys on request frequency, so pacing is the single most effective mitigation available.
Can I extract from a site that requires a CAPTCHA on every page?
Not practically, and the extension won't solve them. That site is explicitly asking for a human on each request.
Is there a limit on how much I can extract in one session?
Nothing imposed by the extension. The practical limits are your machine's memory and the target site's tolerance.
11. Privacy & security
Does my extracted data leave the browser?
No. Extracted records are stored locally in your browser's IndexedDB. They are never transmitted to our servers or any third party, and they reach your device as a file only when you click Download.
What exactly does the auto-detect request send?
The HTML markup of the page you're viewing, so the analysis API can suggest selectors. It does not include cookies, authentication tokens or session data — Chrome strips those before the request.
Is my IP address logged?
Not for any purpose beyond transient request handling.
Does it collect analytics or track my browsing?
No. The data you extract, your browsing history, and your account information are never collected.
Where is my extracted data stored, and how do I delete it?
In your browser's local IndexedDB. Removing the extension clears it, as does clearing site data for the extension in Chrome's settings.
Is it safe to use on a work machine?
Extracted data never leaves the device, so there's no upload for a DLP tool to flag. Whether extracting from a given site is permitted by your employer's policy is a separate question worth answering first.
Does it work in Incognito?
Yes, if you enable it for Incognito in chrome://extensions. Bear in mind Incognito ends with the session, so plan your exports accordingly.
Can other extensions see my extracted data?
No. Extension storage is isolated per extension by the browser.
12. Compatibility
Which browsers does it work on?
Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc and any Chromium-based browser. The extension uses Chrome's Side Panel API, which is not available in Firefox or Safari.
Does it work on Mac, Windows and Linux?
Yes, on all three — it's a browser extension, so the operating system doesn't matter as long as you're on a Chromium browser.
Does it work on a Chromebook?
Yes. ChromeOS runs Chrome, and extraction still happens locally on the device.
Does it work on mobile?
No. Chrome on Android and iOS doesn't support extensions.
Will there be a Firefox version?
Not currently planned. The side panel interface depends on a Chromium API that Firefox doesn't provide.
Will it conflict with other extensions?
Rarely. Aggressive content blockers can hide elements before detection runs, which changes what's found — if a detection result looks wrong, test with blockers disabled.
13. Troubleshooting
The side panel won't open. What do I do?
Confirm you're on a Chromium browser recent enough to support the Side Panel API, reload the page, and if it persists reload the extension at chrome://extensions.
Auto-detect returns nothing on a page that clearly has a list.
The list may be rendered inside an iframe, or built with markup that has no repeating structure. Try scrolling so the list fills the viewport and re-running detection.
I only get about 30 rows from a table with thousands.
The table is virtualized — it renders only the rows near the viewport and destroys the rest, so they don't exist in the page at the same time. Look for a print view, an export button, or a per-page setting that turns virtualization off.
How do I tell if a list is virtualized?
Scroll far down, then scroll back up. If content near the top briefly blanks and re-renders, it's virtualized. You can confirm with the browser's own find (Ctrl/Cmd+F) — it won't locate text that isn't in the document.
Extraction is very slow.
Detail-following is the usual cause, since it loads a page per item. Extraction delays also slow things by design. Both are trade-offs against being blocked.
The columns shifted partway through a multi-page run.
Some sites change markup between page one and later pages, or between item types. Check the affected rows against the live site, and consider extracting the differing section separately.
My export is empty.
Confirm the extraction actually completed — records are only exported once collected. If the table in the side panel is empty, the problem is at detection rather than export.
Text has odd spacing or line breaks.
The page's own markup often includes whitespace and hidden elements inside a field. Clean it in your spreadsheet with a trim, or narrow the field to a more specific element.
Extraction stopped working after a Chrome update.
Reload the extension at chrome://extensions, or remove and reinstall it. If it persists, report it — Chrome occasionally changes an API in a way that needs a fix on our side.
How do I report a bug or request a feature?
Use the in-app feedback form or email feedback@actuallyusefulextensions.com. Including the URL you were extracting from, where it's public, makes it far quicker to reproduce.