painful-plum•2y ago
I'm looking for assistance in optimizing my actor
Hey there! What are the key considerations for creating my actor while keeping costs low
1 Reply
Depends on logic of Your actor. But just simply use common sense (like in every node.js app).
Though, here are some quick tips to optimize your scraper:
Minimize HTTP Requests: Reduce the number of HTTP requests by fetching multiple resources (e.g., images, CSS files) in a single request when possible. This can be achieved by utilizing techniques like caching. Cache scraped data to minimize the need for repeated scraping of the same pages.
Throttle Requests: Implement request throttling to control the rate at which requests are made to the target website. This prevents overwhelming the server and reduces the likelihood of being blocked.
Use Selectors Wisely: Optimize your CSS selectors to efficiently target the desired elements on the web page. Avoid using overly broad selectors that require extensive DOM traversal.
Handle Errors Gracefully: Implement robust error handling to gracefully handle exceptions, timeouts, and network errors. This includes implementing retry mechanisms for failed requests and handling rate limits imposed by the target website.
Optimize Memory Usage: Be mindful of memory usage, especially when scraping large websites or processing large datasets. Avoid storing unnecessary data in memory.
Respect Robots.txt: Adhere to the guidelines specified in the target website's robots.txt file to avoid unnecessary strain on their servers and potential legal issues.
Use Headless Browsers for more complex scraping tasks that involve JavaScript-rendered content. Headless browsers can accurately render dynamic pages and execute JavaScript, enabling you to scrape data that is not accessible through traditional HTTP requests.
Monitor Performance: Continuously monitor the performance of your web scraper and identify bottlenecks or areas for improvement. Use profiling tools to analyze CPU usage, memory consumption, and network activity.
Also, you can check / take inspiration from our tutorials here:
https://docs.apify.com/academy/node-js