Botasaurus Starter is an official boilerplate for the Botasaurus scraping framework, providing a ready-to-run Python 3 project structure with a UI dashboard for launching scrapers.
What is Botasaurus Starter?
Botasaurus Starter is the official starter template for the Botasaurus scraping framework, created and maintained by OmkarCloud (visible in the repository path github.com/omkarcloud/botasaurus-starter). It provides a pre-configured Python 3 project that includes dependencies for web scraping, with support for Selenium and BeautifulSoup as indicated by the repository's topic tags. The template takes a scraping goal and produces a runnable scraper that can be launched via CLI with python main.py or through an interactive UI dashboard with python run.py. It runs on any system with Python 3 and can also be opened directly in Gitpod for cloud-based development.
Key Features
- UI Dashboard — Launch and monitor scrapers through a web interface by running
python run.py; this dashboard is part of the Botasaurus framework. - Simple CLI entry point — Execute the scraper directly with
python main.pyafter installation; no extra configuration is needed for a basic run. - Automated installation —
python run.py installhandles framework setup on top ofpython -m pip install -r requirements.txt, streamlining dependency management. - Gitpod integration — A one-click "Open in Gitpod" button lets you run the template in a cloud IDE without local setup, ideal for quick starts.
- Headless browser support — The framework supports headless crawling, as shown by the
headlesstopic tag, enabling automated scraping without a visible browser window. - Built on Selenium and BeautifulSoup — The repo's topics include both libraries, confirming the template integrates these widely used scraping tools.
- Pre-configured for crawling — Topics such as
crawler,crawling-framework,web-crawler, andweb-scrapingverify the template is optimized for building crawlers in Python.
Who is it for?
- Python developers new to web scraping — they can clone the template and get a working scraper structure with minimal setup, then modify the scraping logic to fit their target site.
- Developers building production scrapers — the UI dashboard provides a way to run and manage scrapers beyond just script execution, useful for monitoring long-running jobs.
- Teams that need a shared starting point — the official starter ensures consistent setup across team members, with dependencies pinned in
requirements.txtand clear run commands.
What can you do with it?
- Prototype a scraper quickly — clone, install, and run
python main.pyto see a working example before writing custom extraction code. - Run scrapers via a dashboard — use
python run.pyto launch the UI, which is helpful for non-technical users to trigger scrapes without touching the command line. - Develop in the cloud — click the Gitpod button to open a pre-configured environment and start scraping without installing Python locally, which is ideal for onboarding.
How does it work?
- Clone the repository with
git clone https://github.com/omkarcloud/botasaurus-starter my-botasaurus-project. - Install dependencies with
python -m pip install -r requirements.txt, then runpython run.py installto finish framework setup. - Run the scraper with
python main.pyfor CLI execution, or usepython run.pyto start the UI dashboard and launch scrapers from there.
Alternatives
- Scrapy — a widely used Python scraping framework that focuses on extensibility but does not include a built-in UI dashboard.
FAQ
Does Botasaurus Starter require Python 3?
Yes, the template is written in Python 3. The installation commands use python, which should point to a Python 3 interpreter on your system for the project to work correctly.
What is the difference between python main.py and python run.py?
python main.py runs the scraper directly without a UI, showing output in the terminal. python run.py starts the Botasaurus UI dashboard, from which you can also launch and monitor scrapers interactively in a browser.
Can I use Botasaurus Starter without installing dependencies locally?
Yes, you can use the Gitpod integration. The "Open in Gitpod" button creates a cloud environment where the template is already set up, so you can run the scraper without a local Python installation or dependency management.
Does Botasaurus Starter include Selenium?
The repository's topic list includes selenium, and Botasaurus is built on Selenium for browser automation. The template comes pre-configured with Selenium as a dependency, allowing you to write browser-based scrapers that can interact with JavaScript-heavy pages.
Is Botasaurus Starter free to use?
The repository is publicly hosted on GitHub under the OmkarCloud account, but the specific license type is not displayed in the README. You should check the repository's LICENSE file for usage terms before incorporating it into a commercial project.
