# CRW — open-source web scraper & crawler (Firecrawl-compatible)

> Docs at `docs.fastcrw.com`. Hosted API at `https://api.fastcrw.com`. Self-hosted at `http://localhost:3000`. Five endpoints: `/v1/search`, `/v1/scrape`, `/v1/crawl`, `/v1/map`, `/v1/extract`.

## Quick: copy this and run

Auth (hosted only): `Authorization: Bearer $CRW_API_KEY`. Self-hosted (`http://localhost:3000`) needs no header.

Body: `{ "query": string, "limit": number (default 5, max 20), "lang"?: "en", "tbs"?: "qdr:d|w|m|y", "sources"?: ["web"|"news"|"images"] }`

### Python (stdlib only — defaults to hosted, fails loudly if key is missing)

    #!/usr/bin/env python3
    """Search CRW and print top results as JSON."""
    import json, os, sys, urllib.request

    API_KEY = os.environ.get("CRW_API_KEY")
    # Default to the hosted API. Self-hosting? Set CRW_API_URL=http://localhost:3000
    BASE = os.environ.get("CRW_API_URL", "https://api.fastcrw.com")
    URL = f"{BASE}/v1/search"

    headers = {"Content-Type": "application/json"}
    if API_KEY:
        headers["Authorization"] = f"Bearer {API_KEY}"
    elif BASE.startswith("https://api.fastcrw.com"):
        sys.exit("error: CRW_API_KEY is required for the hosted API. "
                 "Get one at https://fastcrw.com (500 free credits) "
                 "or set CRW_API_URL=http://localhost:3000 to self-host.")

    req = urllib.request.Request(
        URL,
        data=json.dumps({"query": "renewable energy trends 2024", "limit": 3}).encode(),
        headers=headers,
        method="POST",
    )
    with urllib.request.urlopen(req) as r:
        body = json.loads(r.read())  # body == {"success": true, "data": [...]}

    # Results live under body["data"]. Each row has `title`, `url`, `snippet`,
    # `description`, `position`, `score`, `category` — print the LLM-ready subset.
    print(json.dumps(
        [{"title": x["title"], "url": x["url"], "snippet": x["snippet"]}
         for x in body["data"]],
        indent=2,
    ))
    # Run with: python3 search.py  (file is python3-only — no `python` alias needed)

### cURL

    curl -X POST https://api.fastcrw.com/v1/search \
      -H "Authorization: Bearer $CRW_API_KEY" \
      -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
      -d '{"query":"renewable energy trends 2024","limit":3}'

### CLI (one-shot LLM-ready output)

The `crw` CLI projects directly to the title/url/snippet schema with `--json --fields` — no `jq` reshape needed:

    # Install: brew install us/crw/crw  (or: cargo install crw-cli)
    crw search "renewable energy trends 2024" --json --fields title,url,snippet --limit 3

    # Available fields: title, url, description, snippet, position, score, category
    # --json is shorthand for --format json (also accepts --format text|markdown)
    # Self-hosted: no auth. Hosted: export CRW_API_KEY=crw_live_...

### Response shape

    {
      "success": true,
      "data": [
        {"url": "https://...", "title": "...",
         "description": "...", "snippet": "...",
         "position": 1, "score": 9.5}
      ]
    }

## Other endpoints

- `POST /v1/scrape` `{"url":"...","formats":["markdown"]}` — one URL → markdown
- `POST /v1/map` `{"url":"...","limit":50}` — discover URLs
- `POST /v1/crawl` `{"url":"...","maxPages":5}` — async multi-page; poll `GET /v1/crawl/{id}`
- `POST /v1/scrape` with `formats:["json"]` + `jsonOptions.schema` — structured extract

## Install (local setup only)

`pip install crw` · `npx crw-mcp` · `brew install us/crw/crw` · `curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/us/crw/main/install.sh | sh` · `docker run -p 3000:3000 ghcr.io/us/crw:latest`

## Resources

- OpenAPI spec
- llms.txt
- Context7
- MCP Server (npm)
- Typed Python SDK
- Agent Skills (SKILL.md)
- CLI (Homebrew tap)
- GitHub

# Authentication

CRW keeps auth simple: use a Bearer token on the hosted API, and enable the same pattern on self-hosted deployments only when you need it.

## Hosted API

Every authenticated request to the hosted API uses:

    Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY

Example:

    curl -X POST https://fastcrw.com/api/v1/scrape \
      -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
      -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
      -d '{"url":"https://example.com","formats":["markdown"]}'

## Self-Hosted API

Self-hosted CRW does not require auth unless you configure API keys.

Set one or more keys in config:

    [auth]
    api_keys = ["fc-key-1234", "fc-key-5678"]

Once keys are configured, every route under `/v1/*` and `/mcp` requires the same Bearer header.

## Behavior

- No keys configured: self-hosted API routes are open
- Keys configured: `/v1/*` and `/mcp` require `Authorization: Bearer ...`
- `/health` always stays public

## Error Cases

    {
      "success": false,
      "error": "Missing Authorization header"
    }

    {
      "success": false,
      "error": "Invalid API key"
    }

## Common Mistakes

- Forgetting the `Bearer` prefix
- Mixing a hosted key with a self-hosted deployment
- Turning on auth locally and forgetting that MCP over HTTP will also need the header

## What To Read Next

- Quick Start for the first authenticated request
- API Playground for interactive testing
- Self-Hosting for private deployments

`esc`