Alterlab MCP server

AlterLab MCP Server

Give Claude, Cursor, and Windsurf the ability to scrape any website, extract structured data, and take screenshots — with automatic anti-bot bypass.

Get Started Free →   $1 free balance on signup — up to 5,000 scrapes.

One-Line Install

Claude Code

claude mcp add alterlab -- npx -y alterlab-mcp-server@latest

Then set your API key: export ALTERLABAPIKEY=sklive... or add it to .claude.json (see full setup below).

Cursor

# Add to .cursor/mcp.json — see full config below

Smithery

npx -y @smithery/cli install alterlab-mcp-server --client claude

Why AlterLab Instead of WebFetch or Browser MCP?

Claude's built-in WebFetch tool and open-source browser MCP servers fail on most real-world websites. They cannot bypass Cloudflare, render JavaScript SPAs, or extract structured data.

AlterLab replaces broken fetch tools with one MCP server that actually works:

How Does AlterLab Web Scraping Work?

AlterLab uses a multi-tier scraping architecture. It automatically selects the cheapest method capable of fetching each URL:

1. Curl ($0.0002/req) — Direct HTTP for static pages, RSS feeds, public APIs
2. HTTP ($0.0003/req) — TLS fingerprint rotation for moderately protected sites
3. Stealth ($0.0005/req) — Browser impersonation for Cloudflare/DataDome-protected sites
4. Light JS ($0.0007/req) — Lightweight JS extraction from server-rendered HTML
5. Browser ($0.001/req) — Full headless Chromium for JavaScript-heavy SPAs

Auto mode starts at Tier 1 and escalates only when blocked. Most websites resolve at Tiers 1-2, so $1 gets you 1,000 to 5,000 scrapes depending on the sites you target.

Installation

Install in Claude Desktop / Claude Code

Add to your Claude config file (~/.claude.json for Claude Code, or Settings for Claude Desktop):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "alterlab": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "alterlab-mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "ALTERLAB_API_KEY": "sk_live_your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Install in Cursor

Add to .cursor/mcp.json in your project root:

Shortened. The full README is on GitHub.