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Scroll

Scroll page content vertically or horizontally to trigger lazy loading, reveal hidden elements, or navigate through content.

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Basic Scroll

{
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "actions": [
    {
      "type": "scroll",
      "direction": "down",
      "pixels": 1000
    }
  ]
}

​
Parameters

ParameterTypeRequiredDescription
typestringYesMust be "scroll"
directionstringYesScroll direction: down, up, left, right
pixelsintegerNoPixels to scroll (default: 500)
elementstringNoCSS selector of element to scroll
smoothbooleanNoSmooth scrolling animation (default: false)

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Scroll Directions

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Vertical Scrolling

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Scroll Down

{
  "type": "scroll",
  "direction": "down",
  "pixels": 800
}

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Scroll Up

{
  "type": "scroll", 
  "direction": "up",
  "pixels": 500
}

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Horizontal Scrolling

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Scroll Right

{
  "type": "scroll",
  "direction": "right", 
  "pixels": 300
}

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Scroll Left

{
  "type": "scroll",
  "direction": "left",
  "pixels": 200
}

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Element-Specific Scrolling

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Scroll Within Container

{
  "type": "scroll",
  "element": ".scrollable-container",
  "direction": "down",
  "pixels": 400
}

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Scroll Modal Content

{
  "type": "scroll",
  "element": ".modal-body",
  "direction": "down", 
  "pixels": 600
}

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Use Cases

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Lazy Loading Content

Trigger lazy-loaded images and content: 
{
  "url": "https://image-gallery.com",
  "actions": [
    {
      "type": "scroll",
      "direction": "down",
      "pixels": 1000
    },
    {
      "type": "wait",
      "duration": 2000
    },
    {
      "type": "scroll", 
      "direction": "down",
      "pixels": 1000
    }
  ]
}

​
Social Media Feeds

Load more posts in social media feeds: 
{
  "url": "https://social-site.com/feed",
  "actions": [
    {
      "type": "scroll",
      "direction": "down",
      "pixels": 2000
    },
    {
      "type": "wait_for_selector",
      "selector": ".loading-spinner",
      "hidden": true
    }
  ]
}

​
Product Catalogs

Navigate through product listings: 
{
  "url": "https://ecommerce.com/products",
  "actions": [
    {
      "type": "scroll",
      "direction": "down", 
      "pixels": 1500
    },
    {
      "type": "wait_for_selector",
      "selector": ".product-item:nth-child(20)"
    }
  ]
}

​
News Articles

Scroll through long-form content: 
{
  "url": "https://news-site.com/article",
  "actions": [
    {
      "type": "scroll",
      "direction": "down",
      "pixels": 3000,
      "smooth": true
    }
  ]
}

​
Advanced Scrolling Patterns

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Progressive Scrolling

Scroll in increments to mimic human behavior: 
{
  "url": "https://content-heavy-site.com",
  "actions": [
    {
      "type": "scroll",
      "direction": "down",
      "pixels": 500
    },
    {
      "type": "wait",
      "duration": 1000
    },
    {
      "type": "scroll",
      "direction": "down", 
      "pixels": 500
    },
    {
      "type": "wait",
      "duration": 1500
    },
    {
      "type": "scroll",
      "direction": "down",
      "pixels": 500
    }
  ]
}

​
Scroll and Extract

Scroll to reveal content, then extract data: 
{
  "url": "https://data-site.com",
  "actions": [
    {
      "type": "scroll",
      "direction": "down",
      "pixels": 2000
    },
    {
      "type": "wait_for_selector",
      "selector": ".additional-data"
    }
  ],
  "extract": {
    "all_items": ".data-item",
    "total_count": ".result-count"
  }
}
Navigate through image carousels or sliders: 
{
  "url": "https://gallery-site.com",
  "actions": [
    {
      "type": "scroll",
      "element": ".image-carousel",
      "direction": "right",
      "pixels": 800
    },
    {
      "type": "wait",
      "duration": 1000
    }
  ]
}

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Smooth Scrolling

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Natural Scrolling Animation

{
  "type": "scroll",
  "direction": "down",
  "pixels": 1200,
  "smooth": true
}

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Benefits of Smooth Scrolling

  • More human-like behavior
  • Triggers animations that depend on scroll events
  • Better for sites with scroll-based interactions
  • Mimics real user scrolling patterns

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Performance Considerations

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Optimal Scroll Distances

// Small increments for precise control
{
  "type": "scroll",
  "direction": "down",
  "pixels": 300
}

// Larger jumps for faster navigation
{
  "type": "scroll",
  "direction": "down", 
  "pixels": 1500
}

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Wait After Scrolling

Always add delays after scrolling to allow content to load: 
{
  "url": "https://dynamic-site.com",
  "actions": [
    {
      "type": "scroll",
      "direction": "down",
      "pixels": 1000
    },
    {
      "type": "wait",
      "duration": 2000
    }
  ]
}

​
Error Handling

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Element Not Scrollable

{
  "status": "error",
  "error": "ELEMENT_NOT_SCROLLABLE", 
  "message": "Element '.fixed-container' cannot be scrolled",
  "element": ".fixed-container"
}

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Invalid Direction

{
  "status": "error",
  "error": "INVALID_PARAMETER",
  "message": "Invalid scroll direction 'diagonal'. Use: up, down, left, right"
}

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Combining with Other Actions

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Scroll + Click Pattern

{
  "url": "https://long-page.com",
  "actions": [
    {
      "type": "scroll",
      "direction": "down",
      "pixels": 2000
    },
    {
      "type": "wait_and_click",
      "selector": ".load-more-btn"
    }
  ]
}

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Multiple Scroll Points

{
  "url": "https://multi-section-site.com",
  "actions": [
    // Scroll to section 1
    {
      "type": "scroll",
      "direction": "down", 
      "pixels": 800
    },
    {
      "type": "wait",
      "duration": 1000
    },
    // Scroll to section 2
    {
      "type": "scroll",
      "direction": "down",
      "pixels": 1200
    },
    {
      "type": "wait",
      "duration": 1000
    }
  ]
}

​
Best Practices

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Realistic Scrolling

  • Use human-like distances (300-1500 pixels)
  • Add delays between scrolls (1-3 seconds)
  • Vary scroll distances for natural patterns
  • Use smooth scrolling when appropriate

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Content Loading

  • Wait for content to load after scrolling
  • Check for loading indicators before proceeding
  • Allow time for lazy loading to trigger
  • Verify new content appeared before continuing

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Performance

  • Minimize excessive scrolling to reduce request time
  • Use efficient scroll distances to reach target content
  • Combine with other actions for complex workflows
  • Monitor total request timeout with multiple scrolls

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SDK Examples

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Node.js

const result = await client.scrape({
  url: 'https://example.com',
  actions: [
    {
      type: 'scroll',
      direction: 'down',
      pixels: 1000,
      smooth: true
    },
    {
      type: 'wait',
      duration: 2000
    }
  ]
});

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Python

result = client.scrape({
    'url': 'https://example.com',
    'actions': [
        {
            'type': 'scroll',
            'direction': 'down', 
            'pixels': 1000,
            'smooth': True
        },
        {
            'type': 'wait',
            'duration': 2000
        }
    ]
})