Summary
Connects Claude and other MCP clients to ZenRows' scraping infrastructure to fetch content from any website without hitting bot detection. You get two tool families: a single `scrape` call that returns Markdown, HTML, JSON, or screenshots via the Universal Scraper API, and 30+ `browser_*` tools for full automation like clicking, form filling, and session management through their Scraping Browser. Works as either a remote HTTPS server or local stdio process. Useful when you need an AI to pull live data from sites that would normally block automated requests, or when you want to hand off the proxy rotation and anti-bot headaches to managed infrastructure instead of wrestling with Playwright or Puppeteer yourself.
Keep your Mac awake while Claude Code and 40+ AI agents run. Sleeps when they're idle.
One time payment $9 →
Integrate web data into your AI product. One API to scrape website & brand data.
Get API Key Now →
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Tools
Public tool metadata for what this MCP can expose to an agent.
1 tools
scrapeScrape any webpage and return its content using ZenRows. Use this tool to fetch webpage content for analysis. By default it returns clean markdown, which is ideal for LLM processing. When to enable options: - js_render: page uses React/Vue/Angular, loads content dynamically, o...14 params
Scrape any webpage and return its content using ZenRows. Use this tool to fetch webpage content for analysis. By default it returns clean markdown, which is ideal for LLM processing. When to enable options: - js_render: page uses React/Vue/Angular, loads content dynamically, o...
Parameters* required
urlstringThe webpage URL to scrape
waitintegerMilliseconds to wait after page load before capturing content. Max 30000 (30s). Requires js_render=true.
outputsstringComma-separated list of data types to extract as structured JSON. Available: emails, headings, links, menus, images, videos, audios. Use '*' for all types. Returns JSON instead of full page content.
wait_forstringCSS selector to wait for before capturing. Use when key content loads after the initial page render. Requires js_render=true.
autoparsebooleanAutomatically extract structured data from the page into JSON. Best for product pages, articles, and listings.
js_renderbooleanEnable JavaScript rendering via headless browser. Required for SPAs (React, Vue, Angular) and pages that load content dynamically.default: false
screenshotbooleanCapture an above-the-fold screenshot of the page. Returns an image instead of text content. Useful for visual verification or debugging.
css_extractorstringExtract specific elements using CSS selectors. JSON object mapping names to selectors, e.g. '{"title":"h1","price":".price-tag"}'. Returns JSON instead of full page content.
premium_proxybooleanUse premium residential proxies to bypass anti-bot protection. Required for heavily protected sites. Implies higher credit cost.default: false
proxy_countrystringCountry for geo-targeted scraping. ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code (e.g. 'US', 'GB', 'DE'). Requires premium_proxy=true.
response_typestringOutput format. 'markdown' (default) preserves structure and is ideal for LLMs. 'plaintext' strips all formatting for pure text extraction. 'pdf' returns a PDF of the page. 'html' returns the raw HTML source (omits the response_type param; ZenRows default). Ignored when autoparse, css_extractor, outputs, or screenshot params are set.one of
markdown · plaintext · pdf · htmldefault: markdownjs_instructionsstringJSON array of browser interactions to run before scraping. Requires js_render=true. Example: [{"click":"#load-more"},{"wait":1000},{"wait_for":".results"}]
screenshot_fullpagebooleanCapture a full-page screenshot including content below the fold. Returns an image instead of text content.
screenshot_selectorstringCapture a screenshot of a specific element using a CSS selector. Example: ".product-card". Returns an image instead of text content.
ZenRows MCP Server
The ZenRows MCP (Model Context Protocol) server is the standard way AI systems use ZenRows. A single connection gives your AI assistant, agent, or application real-time access to any website.
📚 Full documentation: docs.zenrows.com/integrations/mcp/mcp-overview
Why ZenRows MCP
- Reach sites that normally block bots. Get access to any website at scale without getting blocked by anti-bot systems.
- Managed scraping infrastructure. Proxy rotation, headless browser orchestration, anti-bot evasion, and session management run on ZenRows infrastructure.
- Plug into any AI you already use. Works with any MCP client, including AI assistants, agent frameworks, AI SDKs, IDE plugins, and custom applications.
- Plain English, no scraping code. Describe the task naturally and the AI picks the right tool. No selectors, no proxy management, no anti-bot tuning.
Quick start
ZenRows MCP supports two transport options. Both expose the same set of tools and capabilities. Pick the one that fits your client.
Remote MCP server
Use the hosted ZenRows MCP server when your AI application calls an LLM API directly. The server runs on ZenRows infrastructure, so there is nothing to install, configure, or update.
Server URL:
https://mcp.zenrows.com/mcp
Transport: Streamable HTTP
Authentication: OAuth-based. Pass your ZenRows API key as a Bearer token in the Authorization header on every request.
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ZENROWS_API_KEY
Most MCP clients accept this through an authorization shorthand field on the tool config and forward it as the Bearer token automatically. Some clients use a free-form headers field instead. Either approach works.
Example: OpenAI Responses API
import os
from openai import OpenAI
ZENROWS_API_KEY = os.environ["ZENROWS_API_KEY"]
client = OpenAI(api_key=os.environ["OPENAI_API_KEY"])
response = client.responses.create(
model="gpt-5",
tools=[
{
"type": "mcp",
"server_label": "zenrows",
"server_description": "Web scraping MCP server for accessing live web content.",
"server_url": "https://mcp.zenrows.com/mcp",
"authorization": ZENROWS_API_KEY,
"require_approval": "never",
}
],
input="Visit https://news.ycombinator.com/ and summarize the three most recent posts.",
)
print(response.output_text)
For the full walkthrough with framework-specific examples, see the Remote MCP server docs.
Local MCP server
Use the local stdio configuration when your MCP client runs the server as a local subprocess instead of calling a remote URL. This is the standard setup for desktop AI tools and IDE plugins, including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code, Zed, and JetBrains IDEs.
Package: @zenrows/mcp on npm
Authentication: API key via the ZENROWS_API_KEY environment variable.
Requirements: Node.js installed (for npx to work).
Configuration:
{
"mcpServers": {
"zenrows": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@zenrows/mcp"],
"env": {
"ZENROWS_API_KEY": "YOUR_ZENROWS_API_KEY"
}
}
}
}
The exact location of this config varies by client. See the per-client setup guides for the file path for your client.
Tools
The ZenRows MCP exposes two families of tools:
scrape: single-request fetch returning Markdown, plain text, HTML, JSON, PDF, or screenshot. Backed by the Universal Scraper API.browser_*: 30+ tools for full browser automation including navigation, clicks, form fills, JavaScript execution, cookies, tabs, and persistent sessions. Backed by the Scraping Browser.
The AI selects the right tool from your prompt. You don't call tools directly in code.
See the full tool reference for every tool, parameter, and return value.
Development
git clone https://github.com/ZenRows/zenrows-mcp
cd zenrows-mcp
npm install
cp .env.example .env # Add your API key
npm run dev # Run with .env loaded (requires Node.js 20.6+)
npm run build # Compile to dist/
npm run inspect # Open the MCP inspector UI
Pull requests and issues are welcome.
Resources
- Full ZenRows MCP documentation
- ZenRows Universal Scraper API
- ZenRows Scraping Browser
- npm package
- Get your API key
License
Featured
Keep your Mac awake while Claude Code and 40+ AI agents run. Sleeps when they're idle.
One time payment $9 →Integrate web data into your AI product. One API to scrape website & brand data.
Get API Key Now →Agent, run crypto. Access onchain data & trade routes via 1inch.
Install now →On Capafy, your Skill runs online 24/7 as an agent product, and you get paid every time someone uses it.
Start earning →Configuration
ZENROWS_API_KEY*secretYour ZenRows API key from https://app.zenrows.com/account/settings