Get it running
Paste this into the AI that runs on your computer. It does the install, checks it works, and tells you what to type first. If anything fails, paste the error back to it.
Install crawl4ai (https://github.com/unclecode/crawl4ai) on this computer and get it working for me. I am not a developer; explain each step in one line as you go and never skip one. You are Claude Code, running on my machine. 1. Check what this machine already has (git, Python or Node as the project needs, Docker if the README says so). Tell me anything missing and install it, asking me before anything that needs my password. 2. Install it with `pip install -U crawl4ai`, then run `crawl4ai-setup` once — there is no repo to clone. 3. Configure it. If it needs an API key or a login, stop and ask me for it; never guess one and never store it anywhere except where the README says. Tool-specific notes: Install with `pip install -U crawl4ai`, then run `crawl4ai-setup` once so it can fetch its browser, and `crawl4ai-doctor` to confirm it works. If the browser step fails, run `python -m playwright install --with-deps chromium` directly. Smoke-test with `crwl https://www.nbcnews.com/business -o markdown` and check real article text comes back, not an error. For a persistent local server instead of the command line, run `docker run -d -p 11235:11235 --shm-size=1g unclecode/crawl4ai:latest` and call it at localhost:11235. Past v0.9.0 the Docker API needs its own token if you expose it beyond localhost — keep it local unless you've set that up. 4. Run the smallest test the README gives, and show me the output. 5. When it works, tell me what to type first, in one line, for this job: Turn one page into text. If anything fails, show me the exact error and fix it before going on.
Install crawl4ai (https://github.com/unclecode/crawl4ai) on this computer and get it working for me. I am not a developer; explain each step in one line as you go and never skip one. You are Kimi, running on my machine. 1. Check what this machine already has (git, Python or Node as the project needs, Docker if the README says so). Tell me anything missing and install it, asking me before anything that needs my password. 2. Install it with `pip install -U crawl4ai`, then run `crawl4ai-setup` once — there is no repo to clone. 3. Configure it. If it needs an API key or a login, stop and ask me for it; never guess one and never store it anywhere except where the README says. Tool-specific notes: Install with `pip install -U crawl4ai`, then run `crawl4ai-setup` once so it can fetch its browser, and `crawl4ai-doctor` to confirm it works. If the browser step fails, run `python -m playwright install --with-deps chromium` directly. Smoke-test with `crwl https://www.nbcnews.com/business -o markdown` and check real article text comes back, not an error. For a persistent local server instead of the command line, run `docker run -d -p 11235:11235 --shm-size=1g unclecode/crawl4ai:latest` and call it at localhost:11235. Past v0.9.0 the Docker API needs its own token if you expose it beyond localhost — keep it local unless you've set that up. 4. Run the smallest test the README gives, and show me the output. 5. When it works, tell me what to type first, in one line, for this job: Turn one page into text. If anything fails, show me the exact error and fix it before going on.
Install crawl4ai (https://github.com/unclecode/crawl4ai) on this computer and get it working for me. I am not a developer; explain each step in one line as you go and never skip one. You are Gemini CLI, running on my machine. 1. Check what this machine already has (git, Python or Node as the project needs, Docker if the README says so). Tell me anything missing and install it, asking me before anything that needs my password. 2. Install it with `pip install -U crawl4ai`, then run `crawl4ai-setup` once — there is no repo to clone. 3. Configure it. If it needs an API key or a login, stop and ask me for it; never guess one and never store it anywhere except where the README says. Tool-specific notes: Install with `pip install -U crawl4ai`, then run `crawl4ai-setup` once so it can fetch its browser, and `crawl4ai-doctor` to confirm it works. If the browser step fails, run `python -m playwright install --with-deps chromium` directly. Smoke-test with `crwl https://www.nbcnews.com/business -o markdown` and check real article text comes back, not an error. For a persistent local server instead of the command line, run `docker run -d -p 11235:11235 --shm-size=1g unclecode/crawl4ai:latest` and call it at localhost:11235. Past v0.9.0 the Docker API needs its own token if you expose it beyond localhost — keep it local unless you've set that up. 4. Run the smallest test the README gives, and show me the output. 5. When it works, tell me what to type first, in one line, for this job: Turn one page into text. If anything fails, show me the exact error and fix it before going on.
Install crawl4ai (https://github.com/unclecode/crawl4ai) on this computer and get it working for me. I am not a developer; explain each step in one line as you go and never skip one. You are Codex, running on my machine. 1. Check what this machine already has (git, Python or Node as the project needs, Docker if the README says so). Tell me anything missing and install it, asking me before anything that needs my password. 2. Install it with `pip install -U crawl4ai`, then run `crawl4ai-setup` once — there is no repo to clone. 3. Configure it. If it needs an API key or a login, stop and ask me for it; never guess one and never store it anywhere except where the README says. Tool-specific notes: Install with `pip install -U crawl4ai`, then run `crawl4ai-setup` once so it can fetch its browser, and `crawl4ai-doctor` to confirm it works. If the browser step fails, run `python -m playwright install --with-deps chromium` directly. Smoke-test with `crwl https://www.nbcnews.com/business -o markdown` and check real article text comes back, not an error. For a persistent local server instead of the command line, run `docker run -d -p 11235:11235 --shm-size=1g unclecode/crawl4ai:latest` and call it at localhost:11235. Past v0.9.0 the Docker API needs its own token if you expose it beyond localhost — keep it local unless you've set that up. 4. Run the smallest test the README gives, and show me the output. 5. When it works, tell me what to type first, in one line, for this job: Turn one page into text. If anything fails, show me the exact error and fix it before going on.
What to point it at first
Turn one page into text
Run it against a page you'd normally copy-paste from and check the markdown it hands back reads like the article — not the site's nav bar, ads and cookie banner mixed in.
Crawl a small site, capped
Set a page limit on a docs site or blog and check it stopped exactly where you told it to, not further.
Check what didn't make it
Open the source page for anything behind a login or a paywall and confirm the tool simply skipped it rather than guessing at content it couldn't see.
What it must never do unattended
- Never publish what it found without opening the sources yourself.
- Never point it past a login or a CAPTCHA. Public pages only, and it respects robots.txt.
Who made it
unclecode/crawl4ai on GitHub, under the Apache-2.0 licence. 82,000 stars, checked 9 September 2026. Last change 31 August 2026. We did not write it; we checked it, and wrote this page so you can use it.
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