Octoparse CLI

Use Octoparse CLI to run and manage Octoparse tasks from your terminal.

Octoparse CLI is a command-line tool for running, managing, and exporting Octoparse tasks from a terminal.

Unlike the desktop app, Octoparse CLI is designed for scripted workflows, CI/CD pipelines, server environments, and automated data pipelines.

What Octoparse CLI does

Find and inspect tasks

List cloud tasks, search by keyword, and inspect task details by task ID.

Run tasks locally

Run Octoparse tasks with the embedded local engine and independent Chrome.

Control task runs

Start or stop cloud extraction, and pause, resume, stop, or clean up local runs.

Export data

Export local or cloud task data as XLSX, CSV, HTML, JSON, or XML.

How it works

Octoparse CLI runs the embedded Octoparse engine directly for local extraction. It uses independent Chrome and does not require the Electron desktop client.

Cloud extraction is controlled through backend APIs. Local extraction is controlled by the local engine.

Local run status is tracked by this CLI and is not synchronized with the Octoparse desktop client status.

Requirements

Before using Octoparse CLI, make sure you have:

• Node.js 20 or newer
• npm 8 or newer
• A valid Octoparse API key
• Access to the tasks you want to run or export

See Installation for detailed version requirements and setup steps.

Functional commands require an API key, including local --task-file and .otd runs. Setup and diagnostic commands such as --help, --version, doctor, browser doctor, capabilities, and auth can run without it.

Common workflow

1. Install Octoparse CLI

   Install the CLI globally with npm.

2. Authenticate

   Log in with an Octoparse API key or provide it through an environment variable.

   Do not commit API keys to Git, scripts, docs, screenshots, shared logs, or CI output.

3. Find a task

   Use octoparse task list to find the task ID.

4. Run or control the task

   Run the task locally, start or stop a cloud run, or check run status.

5. Export data

   Export collected data from local or cloud results.

Quick command examples

Replace <taskId> with your actual task ID. Run octoparse task list first if you need to find task IDs.

octoparse --help
octoparse doctor
octoparse auth login
octoparse task list
octoparse task inspect <taskId>
octoparse run <taskId>
octoparse cloud start <taskId>
octoparse local status <taskId>
octoparse data export <taskId> --source local --format xlsx

Current limitations

Octoparse CLI v1 does not support kernel browser or legacy workflow.

Kernel browser refers to the browser mode used by older Octoparse runtime workflows. Legacy workflow refers to tasks created with older Octoparse task definitions that are not supported by the current CLI runtime.

If a task is not supported, rebuild or update the task in the current Octoparse desktop app, then run it again with the CLI.

Next steps

Continue with these pages:

Install Octoparse CLI

Set up Node.js, install the CLI with npm, and verify the local runtime.

Browse all commands

Review task, local run, cloud run, authentication, and export commands.