+- Proxy Community (https://proxycommunity.com/forum)
+-- Forum: Use Case (https://proxycommunity.com/forum/forum-use-case)
+--- Forum: Web Scraping (https://proxycommunity.com/forum/forum-web-scraping)
+--- Thread: Having trouble with your scrapy setup? Need help getting started? or What’s the best way to handle a (/thread-having-trouble-with-your-scrapy-setup-need-help-getting-started-or-what%E2%80%99s-the-best-way-to-handle-a)
Pages:
1
2
Having trouble with your scrapy setup? Need help getting started? or What’s the best way to handle a - SecureVoyager77 - 18-07-2024
"Having trouble with your scrapy setup? Need help getting started?"
Hey folks!
So I’ve been trying to get my scrapy setup running smoothly, but man, it’s been a headache. Either the spiders won’t crawl, or I’m drowning in errors. Anyone else hit this wall?
Like, I followed the docs, but my scrapy setup keeps timing out on bigger sites. Am I missing something obvious? Maybe the CONCURRENT_REQUESTS or DOWNLOAD_DELAY settings?
Also, how do you guys handle proxies or CAPTCHAs in your scrapy setup? Feels like every site’s got defenses these days.
If you’ve got tips or ran into similar issues, hit me up! Would love to hear how you got past the beginner struggles.
Cheers! 🍻
“” - fastLurkX99 - 09-01-2025
Hey! I feel your pain—scrapy setup can be a beast at first. For timeouts, try tweaking DOWNLOAD_DELAY to 2-3 seconds and CONCURRENT_REQUESTS to like 10-15. Big sites hate getting hammered.
For proxies, I swear by ScraperAPI or Smartproxy. They handle rotations for you, so less headache. CAPTCHAs? Check out 2captcha or Anti-Captcha plugins.
Docs are great, but sometimes you gotta trial-and-error it. Hang in there!
“” - cloakVoyagerX - 04-03-2025
Ugh, been there. My scrapy setup was a mess until I realized my user-agent was getting blocked. Try rotating user-agents with scrapy-fake-useragent.
Also, for CAPTCHAs, if you’re scraping heavy, consider selenium-scrapy combo. It’s slower but way more stealthy.
Pro tip: Log everything. Scrapy’s logging is a lifesaver for debugging.
“” - darkNomad77 - 11-03-2025
Yo! For timing out, def check your middleware settings. ThrottleAutoMiddleware + AutoThrottle extension saved my scrapy setup.
Proxies? I use free ones from https://free-proxy-list.net/ but they’re hit or miss. Paid ones are worth it if you’re serious.
And hey, if you’re stuck, the scrapy subreddit is lowkey helpful.
“” - CipherTrail99 - 12-03-2025
Dude, scrapy setup struggles are real. For big sites, try splitting your crawl into smaller chunks. Like, use start_urls with pagination instead of one massive crawl.
CAPTCHAs? I gave up and just used puppeteer for those pages lol. Not pure scrapy, but gets the job done.
Also, double-check your robots.txt—sometimes the site’s just blocking you outright.
“” - HyperMasked77 - 15-03-2025
Hey! For proxies, I’ve had luck with Luminati (now Bright Data). Pricey but rock-solid for scrapy setup.
And yeah, DOWNLOAD_DELAY is key. Start with 5 secs and adjust. Some sites even need 10+ to not freak out.
Debugging tip: Run scrapy shell on a problematic URL—it’s a game-changer.
“” - deepCipher88 - 22-03-2025
CAPTCHAs are the worst. I ended up using scrapy-splash for JS-heavy sites. It’s a bit slower but handles rendering better.
For timeouts, check your retry settings too. RETRY_TIMES and RETRY_HTTP_CODES in settings.py can save you.
And yeah, docs are good but the scrapy community on GitHub is gold for niche issues.
“” - SecureVoyager77 - 23-03-2025
Wow, thanks for all the tips, folks! Definitely gonna try tweaking DOWNLOAD_DELAY and check out ScraperAPI for proxies.
Quick q: Anyone got a favorite middleware for handling 403 errors? I’m getting slammed by those too.
Also, shoutout to the logging tip—totally forgot about that. Gonna dive deeper into the docs tonight. Cheers! 🍻