anycrawl-mcp-server by any4ai - MCP Server

AnyCrawl MCP Server

🚀 AnyCrawl MCP Server — Powerful web scraping and crawling for Cursor, Claude, and other LLM clients via the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

Features

Web Scraping: Extract content from single URLs with multiple output formats
Website Crawling: Crawl entire websites with configurable depth and limits
Search Engine Integration: Search the web and optionally scrape results
Multiple Engines: Support for Playwright, Cheerio, and Puppeteer
Flexible Output: Markdown, HTML, text, screenshots, and structured JSON
Async Operations: Non-blocking crawl jobs with status monitoring
Error Handling: Robust error handling and logging
Multiple Modes: STDIO (default), MCP(HTTP), SSE; cloud-ready with Nginx proxy

Installation

Running with npx

ANYCRAWL_API_KEY=YOUR-API-KEY npx -y anycrawl-mcp

Manual installation

npm install -g anycrawl-mcp-server

ANYCRAWL_API_KEY=YOUR-API-KEY anycrawl-mcp

Configuration

Set the required environment variable:

export ANYCRAWL_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"

Optionally set a custom base URL:

export ANYCRAWL_BASE_URL="https://api.anycrawl.dev"  # Default

Get your API key

Visit the AnyCrawl website and sign up or log in: AnyCrawl
🎉 Sign up for free to receive 1,500 credits — enough to crawl nearly 1,500 pages.
Open the dashboard → API Keys → Copy your key.
Copy the key and set it as the ANYCRAWL_API_KEY environment variable (see above).

Usage

Available Modes

AnyCrawl MCP Server supports the following deployment modes:

Default mode is STDIO (no env needed). Set ANYCRAWL_MODE to switch.

Mode	Description	Best For	Transport
`STDIO`	Standard MCP over stdio (default)	Command-type MCP clients, local tooling	stdio
`MCP`	Streamable HTTP (JSON, stateful)	Cursor (streamable_http), API integration	HTTP + JSON
`SSE`	Server-Sent Events	Web apps, browser integrations	HTTP + SSE

Quick Start Commands

# Development (local)
npm run dev            # STDIO (default)
npm run dev:mcp          # MCP mode (JSON /mcp)
npm run dev:sse          # SSE mode (/sse)

# Production (built output)
npm start              # STDIO (default)
npm run start:mcp
npm run start:sse

# Env examples
ANYCRAWL_MODE=MCP ANYCRAWL_API_KEY=YOUR-KEY npm run dev:mcp
ANYCRAWL_MODE=SSE ANYCRAWL_API_KEY=YOUR-KEY npm run dev:sse

Docker Compose (MCP + SSE with Nginx)

This repo ships a production-ready image that runs MCP (JSON) on port 3000 and SSE on port 3001 in the same container, fronted by Nginx. Nginx also supports API-key-prefixed paths /{API_KEY}/mcp and /{API_KEY}/sse and forwards the key via x-anycrawl-api-key header.

docker compose build
docker compose up -d

Environment variables used in Docker image:

ANYCRAWL_MODE: MCP_AND_SSE (default in compose), or MCP, SSE
ANYCRAWL_MCP_PORT: default 3000
ANYCRAWL_SSE_PORT: default 3001
CLOUD_SERVICE: true to extract API key from /{API_KEY}/... or headers
ANYCRAWL_BASE_URL: default https://api.anycrawl.dev

Running on Cursor

Configuring Cursor. Note: Requires Cursor v0.45.6+.

For Cursor v0.48.6 and newer, add this to your MCP Servers settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "anycrawl-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "anycrawl-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "ANYCRAWL_API_KEY": "YOUR-API-KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

For Cursor v0.45.6:

Open Cursor Settings → Features → MCP Servers → "+ Add New MCP Server"
Name: "anycrawl-mcp" (or your preferred name)
Type: "command"
Command:

env ANYCRAWL_API_KEY=YOUR-API-KEY npx -y anycrawl-mcp

On Windows, if you encounter issues:

cmd /c "set ANYCRAWL_API_KEY=YOUR-API-KEY && npx -y anycrawl-mcp"

Running on VS Code

For manual installation, add this JSON to your User Settings (JSON) in VS Code (Command Palette → Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON)):

{
  "mcp": {
    "inputs": [
      {
        "type": "promptString",
        "id": "apiKey",
        "description": "AnyCrawl API Key",
        "password": true
      }
    ],
    "servers": {
      "anycrawl": {
        "command": "npx",
        "args": ["-y", "anycrawl-mcp"],
        "env": {
          "ANYCRAWL_API_KEY": "${input:apiKey}"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Optionally, place the following in .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace to share config:

{
  "inputs": [
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "apiKey",
      "description": "AnyCrawl API Key",
      "password": true
    }
  ],
  "servers": {
    "anycrawl": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "anycrawl-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "ANYCRAWL_API_KEY": "${input:apiKey}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Running on Windsurf

Add this to ./codeium/windsurf/model_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-server-anycrawl": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "anycrawl-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "ANYCRAWL_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Running with SSE Server Mode

The SSE (Server-Sent Events) mode provides a web-based interface for MCP communication, ideal for web applications, testing, and integration with web-based LLM clients.

Quick Start

# Development mode
ANYCRAWL_API_KEY=YOUR-API-KEY npx -y anycrawl-mcp

# Or using npm scripts
ANYCRAWL_API_KEY=YOUR-API-KEY npm run dev:sse

Server Configuration

Optional server settings (defaults shown):

export ANYCRAWL_PORT=3000
export ANYCRAWL_HOST=0.0.0.0

Health Check

curl -s http://localhost:${ANYCRAWL_PORT:-3000}/health
# Response: ok

Generic MCP/SSE Client Configuration

For other MCP/SSE clients that support SSE transport, use this configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "anycrawl": {
      "type": "sse",
      "url": "https://mcp.anycrawl.dev/{API_KEY}/sse",
      "name": "AnyCrawl MCP Server",
      "description": "Web scraping and crawling tools"
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "AnyCrawl": {
      "type": "streamable_http",
      "url": "https://mcp.anycrawl.dev/{API_KEY}/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Environment Setup:

# Start SSE server with API key
ANYCRAWL_API_KEY=your-api-key-here npm run dev:sse

Cursor configuration for HTTP modes (streamable_http)

Configure Cursor to connect to your HTTP MCP server.

Local HTTP Streamable Server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "anycrawl-http-local": {
      "type": "streamable_http",
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:3000/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Cloud HTTP Streamable Server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "anycrawl-http-cloud": {
      "type": "streamable_http",
      "url": "https://mcp.anycrawl.dev/{API_KEY}/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Note: For HTTP modes, set ANYCRAWL_API_KEY (and optional host/port) in the server process environment or in the URL. Cursor does not need your API key when using streamable_http.

Available Tools

1. Scrape Tool (`anycrawl_scrape`)

Scrape a single URL and extract content in various formats.

Best for:

Extracting content from a single page
Quick data extraction
Testing specific URLs

Parameters:

url (required): The URL to scrape
engine (required): Scraping engine (playwright, cheerio, puppeteer)
formats (optional): Output formats (markdown, html, text, screenshot, screenshot@fullPage, rawHtml, json)
proxy (optional): Proxy URL
timeout (optional): Timeout in milliseconds (default: 300000)
retry (optional): Whether to retry on failure (default: false)
wait_for (optional): Wait time for page to load
include_tags (optional): HTML tags to include
exclude_tags (optional): HTML tags to exclude
json_options (optional): Options for JSON extraction

Example:

{
  "name": "anycrawl_scrape",
  "arguments": {
    "url": "https://example.com",
    "engine": "cheerio",
    "formats": ["markdown", "html"],
    "timeout": 30000
  }
}

2. Crawl Tool (`anycrawl_crawl`)

Start a crawl job to scrape multiple pages from a website. By default this waits for completion and returns aggregated results using the SDK's client.crawl (defaults: poll every 3 seconds, timeout after 60 seconds).

Best for:

Extracting content from multiple related pages
Comprehensive website analysis
Bulk data collection

Parameters:

url (required): The base URL to crawl
engine (required): Scraping engine
max_depth (optional): Maximum crawl depth (default: 10)
limit (optional): Maximum number of pages (default: 100)
strategy (optional): Crawling strategy (all, same-domain, same-hostname, same-origin)
exclude_paths (optional): URL patterns to exclude
include_paths (optional): URL patterns to include
scrape_options (optional): Options for individual page scraping
poll_seconds (optional): Poll interval seconds for waiting (default: 3)
timeout_ms (optional): Overall timeout milliseconds for waiting (default: 60000)

Example:

{
  "name": "anycrawl_crawl",
  "arguments": {
    "url": "https://example.com/blog",
    "engine": "playwright",
    "max_depth": 2,
    "limit": 50,
    "strategy": "same-domain",
    "poll_seconds": 3,
    "timeout_ms": 60000
  }
}

Returns: { "job_id": "...", "status": "completed", "total": N, "completed": N, "creditsUsed": N, "data": [...] }.

3. Crawl Status Tool (`anycrawl_crawl_status`)

Check the status of a crawl job.

Parameters:

job_id (required): The crawl job ID

Example:

{
  "name": "anycrawl_crawl_status",
  "arguments": {
    "job_id": "7a2e165d-8f81-4be6-9ef7-23222330a396"
  }
}

4. Crawl Results Tool (`anycrawl_crawl_results`)

Get results from a crawl job.

Parameters:

job_id (required): The crawl job ID
skip (optional): Number of results to skip (for pagination)

Example:

{
  "name": "anycrawl_crawl_results",
  "arguments": {
    "job_id": "7a2e165d-8f81-4be6-9ef7-23222330a396",
    "skip": 0
  }
}

5. Cancel Crawl Tool (`anycrawl_cancel_crawl`)

Cancel a pending crawl job.

Parameters:

job_id (required): The crawl job ID to cancel

Example:

{
  "name": "anycrawl_cancel_crawl",
  "arguments": {
    "job_id": "7a2e165d-8f81-4be6-9ef7-23222330a396"
  }
}

6. Search Tool (`anycrawl_search`)

Search the web using AnyCrawl search engine.

Best for:

Finding specific information across multiple websites
Research and discovery
When you don't know which website has the information

Parameters:

query (required): Search query
engine (optional): Search engine (google)
limit (optional): Maximum number of results (default: 10)
offset (optional): Number of results to skip (default: 0)
pages (optional): Number of pages to search
lang (optional): Language code
country (optional): Country code
scrape_options (required): Options for scraping search results
safeSearch (optional): Safe search level (0=off, 1=moderate, 2=strict)

Example:

{
  "name": "anycrawl_search",
  "arguments": {
    "query": "latest AI research papers 2024",
    "engine": "google",
    "limit": 5,
    "scrape_options": {
      "engine": "cheerio",
      "formats": ["markdown"]
    }
  }
}

Output Formats

Markdown

Clean, structured markdown content perfect for LLM consumption.

HTML

Raw HTML content with all formatting preserved.

Text

Plain text content with minimal formatting.

Screenshot

Visual screenshot of the page.

Screenshot@fullPage

Full-page screenshot including content below the fold.

Raw HTML

Unprocessed HTML content.

JSON

Structured data extraction using custom schemas.

Engines

Cheerio

Fast and lightweight
Good for static content
Server-side rendering

Playwright

Full browser automation
JavaScript rendering
Best for dynamic content

Puppeteer

Chrome/Chromium automation
Good balance of features and performance

Error Handling

The server provides comprehensive error handling:

Validation Errors: Invalid parameters or missing required fields
API Errors: AnyCrawl API errors with detailed messages
Network Errors: Connection and timeout issues
Rate Limiting: Automatic retry with backoff

Logging

The server includes detailed logging:

Debug: Detailed operation information
Info: General operation status
Warn: Non-critical issues
Error: Critical errors and failures

Set log level with environment variable:

export LOG_LEVEL=debug  # debug, info, warn, error

Development

Prerequisites

Node.js 18+
npm

Setup

git clone <repository>
cd anycrawl-mcp
npm ci

Build

npm run build

Test

npm test

Lint

npm run lint

Format

npm run format

Contributing

Fork the repository
Create your feature branch
Run tests: npm test
Submit a pull request

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

Support

GitHub Issues: Report bugs or request features
Documentation: AnyCrawl API Docs
Email: help@anycrawl.dev

About AnyCrawl

AnyCrawl is a powerful Node.js/TypeScript crawler that turns websites into LLM-ready data and extracts structured SERP results from Google/Bing/Baidu/etc. It features native multi-threading for bulk processing and supports multiple output formats.

Website: https://anycrawl.dev
GitHub: https://github.com/any4ai/anycrawl
API: https://api.anycrawl.dev

any4ai/anycrawl-mcp-server