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Installation

To install the Firecrawl Python SDK, you can use pip:
Python
# pip install firecrawl-py

from firecrawl import Firecrawl

firecrawl = Firecrawl(api_key="fc-YOUR-API-KEY")

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Usage

  1. Get an API key from firecrawl.dev
  2. Set the API key as an environment variable named FIRECRAWL_API_KEY or pass it as a parameter to the Firecrawl class.
Here’s an example of how to use the SDK:
Python
from firecrawl import Firecrawl

firecrawl = Firecrawl(api_key="fc-YOUR_API_KEY")

# Scrape a website:
scrape_status = firecrawl.scrape(
  'https://firecrawl.dev', 
  formats=['markdown', 'html']
)
print(scrape_status)

# Crawl a website:
crawl_status = firecrawl.crawl(
  'https://firecrawl.dev', 
  limit=100, 
  scrape_options={
    'formats': ['markdown', 'html']
  }
)
print(crawl_status)

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Scraping a URL

To scrape a single URL, use the scrape method. It takes the URL as a parameter and returns the scraped document.
Python
# Scrape a website:
scrape_result = firecrawl.scrape('firecrawl.dev', formats=['markdown', 'html'])
print(scrape_result)

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Crawl a Website

To crawl a website, use the crawl method. It takes the starting URL and optional options as arguments. The options allow you to specify additional settings for the crawl job, such as the maximum number of pages to crawl, allowed domains, and the output format. See Pagination for auto/manual pagination and limiting.
Python
job = firecrawl.crawl(url="https://docs.firecrawl.dev", limit=5, poll_interval=1, timeout=120)
print(job)

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Start a Crawl

Prefer non-blocking? Check out the Async Class section below.
Start a job without waiting using start_crawl. It returns a job ID you can use to check status. Use crawl when you want a waiter that blocks until completion. See Pagination for paging behavior and limits.
Python
job = firecrawl.start_crawl(url="https://docs.firecrawl.dev", limit=10)
print(job)

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Checking Crawl Status

To check the status of a crawl job, use the get_crawl_status method. It takes the job ID as a parameter and returns the current status of the crawl job.
Python
status = firecrawl.get_crawl_status("<crawl-id>")
print(status)

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Cancelling a Crawl

To cancel an crawl job, use the cancel_crawl method. It takes the job ID of the start_crawl as a parameter and returns the cancellation status.
Python
ok = firecrawl.cancel_crawl("<crawl-id>")
print("Cancelled:", ok)

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Map a Website

Use map to generate a list of URLs from a website. The options let you customize the mapping process, including excluding subdomains or utilizing the sitemap.
Python
res = firecrawl.map(url="https://firecrawl.dev", limit=10)
print(res)

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Crawling a Website with WebSockets

To crawl a website with WebSockets, start the job with start_crawl and subscribe using the watcher helper. Create a watcher with the job ID and attach handlers (e.g., for page, completed, failed) before calling start().
Python
import asyncio
from firecrawl import AsyncFirecrawl

async def main():
    firecrawl = AsyncFirecrawl(api_key="fc-YOUR-API-KEY")

    # Start a crawl first
    started = await firecrawl.start_crawl("https://firecrawl.dev", limit=5)

    # Watch updates (snapshots) until terminal status
    async for snapshot in firecrawl.watcher(started.id, kind="crawl", poll_interval=2, timeout=120):
        if snapshot.status == "completed":
            print("DONE", snapshot.status)
            for doc in snapshot.data:
                print("DOC", doc.metadata.source_url if doc.metadata else None)
        elif snapshot.status == "failed":
            print("ERR", snapshot.status)
        else:
            print("STATUS", snapshot.status, snapshot.completed, "/", snapshot.total)

asyncio.run(main())

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Pagination

Firecrawl endpoints for crawl and batch return a next URL when more data is available. The Python SDK auto-paginates by default and aggregates all documents; in that case next will be None. You can disable auto-pagination or set limits.

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Crawl

Use the waiter method crawl for the simplest experience, or start a job and page manually.
Simple crawl (auto-pagination, default)
Manual crawl with pagination control (single page)
  • Start a job, then fetch one page at a time with auto_paginate=False.
Python
crawl_job = client.start_crawl("https://example.com", limit=100)

status = client.get_crawl_status(crawl_job.id, pagination_config=PaginationConfig(auto_paginate=False))
print("crawl single page:", status.status, "docs:", len(status.data), "next:", status.next)
Manual crawl with limits (auto-pagination + early stop)
  • Keep auto-pagination on but stop early with max_pages, max_results, or max_wait_time.
Python
status = client.get_crawl_status(
    crawl_job.id,
    pagination_config=PaginationConfig(max_pages=2, max_results=50, max_wait_time=15),
)
print("crawl limited:", status.status, "docs:", len(status.data), "next:", status.next)

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Batch Scrape

Use the waiter method batch_scrape, or start a job and page manually.
Simple batch scrape (auto-pagination, default)
Manual batch scrape with pagination control (single page)
  • Start a job, then fetch one page at a time with auto_paginate=False.
Python
batch_job = client.start_batch_scrape(urls)
status = client.get_batch_scrape_status(batch_job.id, pagination_config=PaginationConfig(auto_paginate=False))
print("batch single page:", status.status, "docs:", len(status.data), "next:", status.next)
Manual batch scrape with limits (auto-pagination + early stop)
  • Keep auto-pagination on but stop early with max_pages, max_results, or max_wait_time.
Python
status = client.get_batch_scrape_status(
    batch_job.id,
    pagination_config=PaginationConfig(max_pages=2, max_results=100, max_wait_time=20),
)
print("batch limited:", status.status, "docs:", len(status.data), "next:", status.next)

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Error Handling

The SDK handles errors returned by the Firecrawl API and raises appropriate exceptions. If an error occurs during a request, an exception will be raised with a descriptive error message.

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Async Class

For async operations, use the AsyncFirecrawl class. Its methods mirror Firecrawl, but they don’t block the main thread.
Python
import asyncio
from firecrawl import AsyncFirecrawl

async def main():
    firecrawl = AsyncFirecrawl(api_key="fc-YOUR-API-KEY")

    # Scrape
    doc = await firecrawl.scrape("https://firecrawl.dev", formats=["markdown"])  # type: ignore[arg-type]
    print(doc.get("markdown"))

    # Search
    results = await firecrawl.search("firecrawl", limit=2)
    print(results.get("web", []))

    # Crawl (start + status)
    started = await firecrawl.start_crawl("https://docs.firecrawl.dev", limit=3)
    status = await firecrawl.get_crawl_status(started.id)
    print(status.status)

    # Batch scrape (wait)
    job = await firecrawl.batch_scrape([
        "https://firecrawl.dev",
        "https://docs.firecrawl.dev",
    ], formats=["markdown"], poll_interval=1, timeout=60)
    print(job.status, job.completed, job.total)

asyncio.run(main())