Why Use AlterLab Instead of the HTTP Request Node?

The n8n HTTP Request node works for simple APIs but fails on real-world websites. It cannot bypass Cloudflare, DataDome, PerimeterX, or Akamai. It cannot render JavaScript. It cannot solve CAPTCHAs.

AlterLab replaces chains of Browserless, proxy rotators, and custom retry logic with one node:

| Capability | HTTP Request Node | AlterLab Node |
|—|—|—|
| Anti-bot bypass (Cloudflare, DataDome, Akamai) | No | Yes — automatic |
| JavaScript rendering (React, Angular, Vue SPAs) | No | Yes — full Chromium |
| Structured data extraction (JSON, Schema.org) | No | Yes — built-in profiles |
| Smart tier escalation (cheapest method first) | N/A | Yes — saves 60-80% vs browser-only |
| Residential proxy rotation | No | Yes — 195+ countries |
| Screenshot and PDF capture | No | Yes |
| OCR text extraction from images | No | Yes |

How Does AlterLab Web Scraping Work?

AlterLab uses a multi-tier scraping architecture that automatically selects the cheapest method capable of fetching each URL:

1. Curl ($0.0002/req) — Direct HTTP for static pages, RSS feeds, public APIs
2. HTTP ($0.0003/req) — TLS fingerprint rotation for moderately protected sites
3. Stealth ($0.0005/req) — Browser impersonation for Cloudflare/DataDome-protected sites
4. Light JS ($0.0007/req) — Lightweight JS extraction from server-rendered HTML
5. Browser ($0.001/req) — Full headless Chromium for JavaScript-heavy SPAs

Auto mode starts at Tier 1 and escalates only when blocked. Most websites resolve at Tiers 1-2, so $1 gets you 1,000 to 5,000 scrapes depending on the sites you target.

Installation

Install from n8n UI

In your n8n instance: Settings → Community Nodes → Install → n8n-nodes-alterlab

Install via CLI

npm install n8n-nodes-alterlab

Connect Your Account

Option A — One-click OAuth (recommended):
1. Add an AlterLab node to your workflow
2. Click the credential dropdown → Create New → AlterLab OAuth2 API
3. Click Connect → sign in → done. No API key copy-paste needed.

n8n Workflow Examples

Price Monitoring Automation

Schedule → AlterLab (Product profile) → Compare to Google Sheet → IF price dropped → Slack notification

Monitor competitor prices daily. AlterLab handles anti-bot protection on e-commerce sites. Compare extracted prices against stored values and alert your team when prices change.

AI-Powered Content Pipeline

Schedule → AlterLab (Article profile, Markdown output) → OpenAI Summarize → Notion Database

Scrape industry news sources, get clean markdown (not messy HTML), summarize with GPT-4, and store in your knowledge base. AlterLab’s markdown output is token-efficient for LLM processing.

Lead Generation from Job Boards

Schedule → AlterLab (Job Posting profile) → Filter by keywords → Airtable → Email notification

Monitor job boards for roles that match your product. Extract structured listings, filter for relevant titles, and push qualified leads to your CRM.

Competitor Intelligence Dashboard

Schedule → AlterLab (Custom schema) → Compare to previous scrape → Google Sheets → Looker Studio

Scrape competitor pages weekly. Define a custom schema for the data points you care about (pricing, features, team size). Track changes over time in a dashboard.

Real Estate Listing Monitor

Schedule → AlterLab (Custom schema) → IF new listing → Telegram notification

Monitor property listing sites for new entries matching your criteria. Extract price, location, square footage, and images. Get notified the moment a matching property appears.

Pricing — Pay-As-You-Go Web Scraping

No subscriptions. No monthly minimums. Add balance and use it whenever you need it.

Base Scraping Costs

| Tier | Cost per Request | Use Case |
|—|—|—|
| Curl | $0.0002 | Static pages, RSS feeds, public APIs |
| HTTP | $0.0003 | Sites with basic TLS fingerprinting |
| Stealth | $0.0005 | Cloudflare, DataDome, PerimeterX protected sites |
| Light JS | $0.0007 | Server-rendered pages needing JSON extraction |
| Browser | $0.001 | Full JavaScript SPAs (React, Angular, Vue) |

Optional Add-Ons

| Add-On | Extra Cost per Request | Description |
|—|—|—|
| JavaScript Rendering | +$0.0006 | Headless Chromium for dynamic content |
| Screenshot Capture | +$0.0002 | Full-page PNG screenshot |
| PDF Export | +$0.0004 | Rendered page as downloadable PDF |
| OCR Text Extraction | +$0.001 | Extract text from images on the page |
| Premium Residential Proxy | +$0.0002 | Geo-targeted proxy (US, DE, GB, JP, and 190+ more) |

Node Reference

Input Parameters

| Parameter | Required | Default | Description |
|—|—|—|—|
| URL | Yes | — | The webpage URL to scrape |
| Mode | No | auto | Scraping mode: auto, html, js, pdf, ocr |

Advanced Options

| Option | Description |
|—|—|
| Extraction Profile | Pre-built schemas: Product, Article, Job Posting, FAQ, Recipe, Event |
| Extraction Prompt | Natural language instructions for custom data extraction |
| Extraction Schema | JSON Schema definition for structured output |
| Render JavaScript | Enable full Chromium rendering for SPAs and dynamic content |
| Screenshot | Capture a full-page PNG screenshot |
| PDF Export | Generate a PDF of the rendered page |
| OCR | Extract text from images on the page |
| Proxy | Route through residential proxies with country targeting |
| Cache | Cache responses from 60 seconds to 24 hours |
| Cost Controls | Set maximum spend per request, force specific tiers, prefer cost or speed |

Frequently Asked Questions

How does AlterLab bypass anti-bot protection like Cloudflare?

AlterLab uses a multi-tier system that automatically escalates scraping methods. It starts with a simple HTTP request. If the site blocks it, AlterLab retries with TLS fingerprint rotation, then browser impersonation, then a full headless Chromium browser — all transparently. You send a URL and get content back. The anti-bot bypass is fully automatic.

Can AlterLab scrape JavaScript-heavy websites (React, Angular, Vue)?

Yes. Set the mode to js or enable “Render JavaScript” in the Advanced Options. AlterLab spins up a full headless Chromium browser, renders the page including all JavaScript, waits for dynamic content to load, then extracts content from the fully rendered DOM.

How is AlterLab different from Apify, Browserless, or ScrapingBee?

AlterLab starts at $0.0002 per request — 20x cheaper than most scraping APIs — because it only uses expensive browser rendering when a site actually requires it. Most scraping APIs charge browser-tier prices for every request. AlterLab’s smart tier escalation means you only pay for what each site requires. No subscriptions, no monthly minimums.

Can I scrape Amazon, Walmart, and other e-commerce sites?

Yes. AlterLab handles all major e-commerce anti-bot protection including Cloudflare, DataDome, PerimeterX, and Akamai. The Product extraction profile returns structured JSON with product name, price, rating, availability, and images — ready for price monitoring or catalog building.

Does AlterLab work with n8n Cloud and self-hosted n8n?

Yes, both. Install via Settings → Community Nodes on n8n Cloud, or npm install n8n-nodes-alterlab for self-hosted. OAuth2 authentication works on both — click Connect, sign in, done.

Is there rate limiting?

Free-tier accounts have rate limits. Adding any balance to your account removes rate limits. Concurrent request limits scale with your balance.

What output format is best for AI and LLM workflows?

Use markdown format (the default). It preserves document structure — headings, tables, lists, links — while being token-efficient. GPT-4, Claude, and other LLMs process markdown significantly better than raw HTML. AlterLab’s markdown output is optimized for AI agent context windows.

Can I use AlterLab for large-scale scraping (thousands of URLs)?

Yes. The n8n node processes input items in a loop, so you can feed it thousands of URLs from a spreadsheet, database query, or upstream node. Enable caching and cost controls to manage spend at scale. Async job polling handles long-running scrapes automatically.

Contributing

git clone https://github.com/RapierCraft/n8n-nodes-alterlab.git
cd n8n-nodes-alterlab
npm install
npm run build
npm run lint

CI/CD

This project uses GitHub Actions for automation: