Craigslist Data Extraction
Extract publicly available data from Craigslist at scale using AlterLab's API — JavaScript rendering, structured extraction, and automatic retries in one request.
Website Compatibility Notes
Craigslist uses minimal bot protections but employs IP-based rate limiting. Basic rendering works well for most listing pages. Craigslist serves mostly static HTML — JavaScript rendering is not required for most content. Geographic access is organized by subdomain (sfbay.craigslist.org, newyork.craigslist.org, etc.).
Technical Context
Craigslist uses a consistent URL pattern with city subdomains and category codes (e.g., sfbay.craigslist.org/search/apa for San Francisco Bay Area apartments). Search results include listing IDs in URLs. Pagination uses s=120 style offset parameters. The HTML structure is simple and consistent across all Craigslist sites — making parsing straightforward without JavaScript rendering.
Common Data Fields
Typical fields available when extracting data from Craigslist:
Responsible Use
AlterLab is designed for extracting publicly available data. Always review the terms of service for any website you access, respect robots.txt directives, and ensure your use case complies with applicable laws in your jurisdiction. Do not use this service to access non-public, authenticated, or personally identifiable data without appropriate authorization.
Quick Start — Extract from Craigslist
# Always verify the target site's robots.txt and terms of service before extracting data.
curl -X POST https://alterlab.io/api/v1/scrape \
-H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"url": "https://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/apa",
"advanced": { "render_js": true }
}'Need an API key? — no credit card required.
Python Example
import requests
# Always verify the target site's robots.txt and terms of service before extracting data.
response = requests.post(
"https://alterlab.io/api/v1/scrape",
headers={
"X-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY",
"Content-Type": "application/json",
},
json={
"url": "https://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/apa",
"advanced": {"render_js": True},
},
)
data = response.json()
print(data["content"][:500]) # First 500 chars of extracted contentFrequently Asked Questions
How do I extract Craigslist listings?
Send Craigslist search or listing URLs to AlterLab. The service returns listing titles, prices, locations, posting dates, and descriptions. No JavaScript rendering is needed for most pages.
Can I extract Craigslist apartment listings?
Yes. AlterLab handles Craigslist housing pages and returns rental prices, locations, bedrooms, square footage, and listing descriptions from public apartment listings.
Does AlterLab support multiple Craigslist cities?
Yes. Simply provide the city-specific Craigslist URL (e.g., sfbay.craigslist.org, newyork.craigslist.org) and AlterLab will extract listings from that region.
What Craigslist categories can I extract data from?
All Craigslist categories are accessible: housing (apa, roo, sub), jobs (web, sof, eng, etc.), for sale (fua, ele, bik, etc.), services, gigs, and community. Each category has a three-letter code in the URL.
How do Craigslist listing IDs work?
Each Craigslist listing has a unique numeric ID in its URL (e.g., craigslist.org/apa/d/listing-title/1234567890.html). This ID is stable for the lifetime of the posting and useful as a unique key when deduplicating listings collected at different times.
Can I get Craigslist listing photos?
Yes. Craigslist listing pages include image URLs in the photo section when the poster has added photos. AlterLab returns these image URLs in the rendered page content.
Related Use Cases
Business Data Guide
Developer Scraping Resources
How to Scrape Craigslist Data: Complete Guide
Step-by-step tutorial with Python and Node.js code examples, structured extraction, and cost breakdown for Craigslist scraping.
How to Handle Bot Protection Challenges
All 6 detection layers explained: TLS fingerprinting, JS challenges, Turnstile, and more.
JavaScript Rendering API
Full browser rendering for SPAs, React, and dynamic content.
Python Web Scraping API
pip install alterlab — async-ready Python SDK with 5,000 free scrapes.
Pricing
From $0.0002/request. No subscriptions. Balance never expires.
Your first scrape.
Sixty seconds.
$1 free credit — up to 5,000 scrapes. No credit card.
Just a POST request.
No credit card required · $1 free credit, up to 5,000 scrapes · Balance never expires