# Scraping Guide

This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know about scraping Facebook Marketplace listings with HiveFB.

### You’ll learn

* How to start and stop scrapes safely.
* When to use Standard vs Endless mode.
* How to tune speed vs reliability.
* What “Phase 1” and “Phase 2” output looks like.

## Starting a Scrape

### Basic Scraping

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Click "🚀 Start Scraping"

* Located in the sidebar navigation
* Opens the scraping configuration modal

{% hint style="info" %}
**Screenshot placeholder:** Sidebar with “Start Scraping” plus the configuration modal opened.
{% endhint %}
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Select Mode

* **Vehicle Mode**: For cars, trucks, motorcycles, RVs, boats, etc.
* **Item Mode**: For general marketplace items
  {% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Configure Settings

* **Search Term**: What to search for (e.g., "honda civic", "truck", "suv")
* **Max Listings**: Maximum number of listings to collect (default: 500)
* **Scroll Speed**: Delay between scrolls in milliseconds (default: 2000ms)
* **Page Load Wait**: Time to wait for pages to load (default: 10000ms)
  {% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Start the Scrape

* Click "Start Scraping"
* Monitor progress in the Console tab
* Watch the Browser tab to see automation in action

{% hint style="info" %}
**Screenshot placeholder:** Console tab during Phase 1 and during Phase 2.
{% endhint %}
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

## Scraping Modes

### Standard Mode

**How it works:**

* Scrapes listings based on your search term
* Stops when max listings reached or no more results found
* Single search execution

**Best for:**

* One-time searches
* Specific vehicle searches
* Quick data collection

Example:

* Search: "honda civic"
* Max: 200 listings
* Result: 200 Honda Civic listings collected

### Endless Mode

**How it works:**

* Continuously cycles through multiple catalogues
* Never stops automatically (until you manually stop it)
* Perfect for ongoing deal hunting

**Best for:**

* Ongoing deal hunting
* Multiple search terms
* Continuous monitoring

Setup:

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Create multiple catalogues

{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Click "Start Endless Mode"

{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Select catalogues to cycle through

{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Configure cycle settings

{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

Example:

* Catalogue 1: "honda civic"
* Catalogue 2: "toyota camry"
* Catalogue 3: "ford f150"
* Result: Continuously cycles through all three

### Update Database Mode

**How it works:**

* Re-scrapes existing listings to refresh data
* Updates prices, descriptions, and availability
* Compares new data with existing records

**Best for:**

* Keeping your database current
* Checking price changes
* Updating listing status

Setup:

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Click "🔄 Update Database" (if available)

{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Select listings to update

{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Starts re-scraping process

{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

## Monitoring Progress

### Console Tab

The Console tab shows real-time information:

**Phase information:**

* Current phase (Phase 1 or Phase 2)
* Phase progress percentage
* Estimated time remaining

**Listing counts:**

* Unique listings discovered
* Listings processed
* Listings remaining

**Status messages:**

* Current operation description
* Errors or warnings
* Completion status

Example Console Output:

```
✅ Phase 1 Complete: 147 unique listings discovered
🔄 Starting Phase 2: Deep inspection
📊 Processing listing 1 of 147...
✅ Extracted: 2018 Honda Civic LX
```

### Browser Tab

The Browser tab shows:

* Live view of the automation browser
* See exactly what HiveFB is doing
* Watch pages load and scroll
* Useful for debugging issues

**What you'll see:**

* Facebook Marketplace pages
* Listing detail pages
* Navigation between pages
* Scroll actions

{% hint style="info" %}
**Screenshot placeholder:** Browser tab mid-scrape while scrolling a results page.
{% endhint %}

## Scraping Parameters

### Search Term

Tips for Best Results:

* Be Specific: "honda civic 2018" vs "civic"
* Use Variations: Try "truck" and "pickup" separately
* Location Matters: Facebook uses your location for results
* Avoid Special Characters: Keep it simple

Examples:

* ✅ Good: "honda civic", "ford f150", "toyota camry"
* ❌ Avoid: "honda\*civic", "civic!!!", "best deal ever"

### Max Listings

Recommendations:

* 100-200: Quick searches, specific vehicles
* 500: Standard searches (default)
* 1000+: Comprehensive data collection

Considerations:

* More listings = longer scraping time
* Facebook may limit results
* Quality over quantity

### Scroll Speed

Settings:

* 1000-2000ms: Fast (may trigger rate limiting)
* 2000-3000ms: Balanced (recommended)
* 3000-5000ms: Slow (safer, takes longer)

Factors:

* Faster = quicker but riskier
* Slower = safer but takes longer
* Adjust based on your needs

### Page Load Wait

Settings:

* 5000-10000ms: Standard pages
* 10000-15000ms: Slow connections
* 15000+ms: Very slow connections

Purpose:

* Ensures pages fully load before scraping
* Prevents missing data
* Adjust if you see incomplete data

## Stopping a Scrape

### Manual Stop

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Click Stop Button

* The "✕" button appears when scraping is active
* Located in the scraping interface
* Immediately stops all operations

{% hint style="info" %}
**Screenshot placeholder:** Stop (“✕”) button visible while a scrape is running.
{% endhint %}
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### What Happens

* Current operation completes safely
* All collected data is saved
* No data loss
  {% endstep %}
  {% endstepper %}

### Automatic Stop

Scraping stops automatically when:

* Maximum listings reached
* No more results found
* Error occurs (with option to retry)

### Data Preservation

Always Saved:

* All listings collected up to stop point
* Phase 1 discoveries
* Phase 2 inspections completed
* Progress information

Not Lost:

* Partial data is preserved
* Can resume with new scrape
* Database updated incrementally

## Best Practices

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Start Small

* Begin with 50-100 listings
* Test your search terms
* Verify results quality
* Scale up once comfortable
  {% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Use Appropriate Delays

* Don't set scroll speed too fast
* Allow pages to load completely
* Mimic human behavior
* Prevents rate limiting
  {% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Monitor Progress

* Check Console tab regularly
* Watch for errors
* Verify data quality
* Adjust settings if needed
  {% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Use Catalogues

* Save common searches
* Reuse configurations
* Organize your searches
* Enable endless mode for multiple searches
  {% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Take Breaks

* Configure break settings
* Prevents account issues
* More natural pattern
* Reduces detection risk
  {% endstep %}
  {% endstepper %}

## Common Scenarios

### Scenario: Finding a Specific Vehicle

**Goal**: Find a 2018 Honda Civic

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Search term

"honda civic 2018"
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Max listings

100
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Mode

Standard mode
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Review results

Review results in dashboard and filter by price/condition
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

### Scenario: Broad Market Research

**Goal**: Understand truck market in your area

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Create catalogue

"trucks"
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Search term

"truck"
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Max listings

500
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Run catalogue

Run catalogue and analyze in Analytics page
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

### Scenario: Continuous Monitoring

**Goal**: Never miss a deal on multiple vehicle types

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Create multiple catalogues

{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Enable endless mode

{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Select all catalogues

{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Let it run continuously

Check hot deals regularly
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

***

### Next pages

* Save searches: [Catalogue Management](/core-workflow/catalogue-management.md)
* Monitor deals: [Hot Deals](/core-workflow/hot-deals.md)


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