crawl4ai/docs/md_v2/basic/docker-deploymeny.md

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Docker Deployment

Crawl4AI provides official Docker images for easy deployment and scalability. This guide covers installation, configuration, and usage of Crawl4AI in Docker environments.

Quick Start 🚀

Pull and run the basic version:

# Basic run without security
docker pull unclecode/crawl4ai:basic
docker run -p 11235:11235 unclecode/crawl4ai:basic

# Run with API security enabled
docker run -p 11235:11235 -e CRAWL4AI_API_TOKEN=your_secret_token unclecode/crawl4ai:basic

API Security 🔒

Understanding CRAWL4AI_API_TOKEN

The CRAWL4AI_API_TOKEN provides optional security for your Crawl4AI instance:

  • If CRAWL4AI_API_TOKEN is set: All API endpoints (except /health) require authentication
  • If CRAWL4AI_API_TOKEN is not set: The API is publicly accessible
# Secured Instance
docker run -p 11235:11235 -e CRAWL4AI_API_TOKEN=your_secret_token unclecode/crawl4ai:all

# Unsecured Instance
docker run -p 11235:11235 unclecode/crawl4ai:all

Making API Calls

For secured instances, include the token in all requests:

import requests

# Setup headers if token is being used
api_token = "your_secret_token"  # Same token set in CRAWL4AI_API_TOKEN
headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {api_token}"} if api_token else {}

# Making authenticated requests
response = requests.post(
    "http://localhost:11235/crawl",
    headers=headers,
    json={
        "urls": "https://example.com",
        "priority": 10
    }
)

# Checking task status
task_id = response.json()["task_id"]
status = requests.get(
    f"http://localhost:11235/task/{task_id}",
    headers=headers
)

Using with Docker Compose

In your docker-compose.yml:

services:
  crawl4ai:
    image: unclecode/crawl4ai:all
    environment:
      - CRAWL4AI_API_TOKEN=${CRAWL4AI_API_TOKEN:-}  # Optional
    # ... other configuration

Then either:

  1. Set in .env file:
CRAWL4AI_API_TOKEN=your_secret_token
  1. Or set via command line:
CRAWL4AI_API_TOKEN=your_secret_token docker-compose up

Security Note: If you enable the API token, make sure to keep it secure and never commit it to version control. The token will be required for all API endpoints except the health check endpoint (/health).

Configuration Options 🔧

Environment Variables

You can configure the service using environment variables:

# Basic configuration
docker run -p 11235:11235 \
    -e MAX_CONCURRENT_TASKS=5 \
    unclecode/crawl4ai:all

# With security and LLM support
docker run -p 11235:11235 \
    -e CRAWL4AI_API_TOKEN=your_secret_token \
    -e OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-... \
    -e ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-... \
    unclecode/crawl4ai:all

Create a docker-compose.yml:

version: '3.8'

services:
  crawl4ai:
    image: unclecode/crawl4ai:all
    ports:
      - "11235:11235"
    environment:
      - CRAWL4AI_API_TOKEN=${CRAWL4AI_API_TOKEN:-}  # Optional API security
      - MAX_CONCURRENT_TASKS=5
      # LLM Provider Keys
      - OPENAI_API_KEY=${OPENAI_API_KEY:-}
      - ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY:-}
    volumes:
      - /dev/shm:/dev/shm
    deploy:
      resources:
        limits:
          memory: 4G
        reservations:
          memory: 1G

You can run it in two ways:

  1. Using environment variables directly:
CRAWL4AI_API_TOKEN=secret123 OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-... docker-compose up
  1. Using a .env file (recommended): Create a .env file in the same directory:
# API Security (optional)
CRAWL4AI_API_TOKEN=your_secret_token

# LLM Provider Keys
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...

# Other Configuration
MAX_CONCURRENT_TASKS=5

Then simply run:

docker-compose up

Testing the Deployment 🧪

import requests

# For unsecured instances
def test_unsecured():
    # Health check
    health = requests.get("http://localhost:11235/health")
    print("Health check:", health.json())

    # Basic crawl
    response = requests.post(
        "http://localhost:11235/crawl",
        json={
            "urls": "https://www.nbcnews.com/business",
            "priority": 10
        }
    )
    task_id = response.json()["task_id"]
    print("Task ID:", task_id)

# For secured instances
def test_secured(api_token):
    headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {api_token}"}
    
    # Basic crawl with authentication
    response = requests.post(
        "http://localhost:11235/crawl",
        headers=headers,
        json={
            "urls": "https://www.nbcnews.com/business",
            "priority": 10
        }
    )
    task_id = response.json()["task_id"]
    print("Task ID:", task_id)

LLM Extraction Example 🤖

When you've configured your LLM provider keys (via environment variables or .env), you can use LLM extraction:

request = {
    "urls": "https://example.com",
    "extraction_config": {
        "type": "llm",
        "params": {
            "provider": "openai/gpt-4",
            "instruction": "Extract main topics from the page"
        }
    }
}

# Make the request (add headers if using API security)
response = requests.post("http://localhost:11235/crawl", json=request)

Note

: Remember to add .env to your .gitignore to keep your API keys secure!

Usage Examples 📝

Basic Crawling

request = {
    "urls": "https://www.nbcnews.com/business",
    "priority": 10
}

response = requests.post("http://localhost:11235/crawl", json=request)
task_id = response.json()["task_id"]

# Get results
result = requests.get(f"http://localhost:11235/task/{task_id}")

Structured Data Extraction

schema = {
    "name": "Crypto Prices",
    "baseSelector": ".cds-tableRow-t45thuk",
    "fields": [
        {
            "name": "crypto",
            "selector": "td:nth-child(1) h2",
            "type": "text",
        },
        {
            "name": "price",
            "selector": "td:nth-child(2)",
            "type": "text",
        }
    ],
}

request = {
    "urls": "https://www.coinbase.com/explore",
    "extraction_config": {
        "type": "json_css",
        "params": {"schema": schema}
    }
}

Dynamic Content Handling

request = {
    "urls": "https://www.nbcnews.com/business",
    "js_code": [
        "const loadMoreButton = Array.from(document.querySelectorAll('button')).find(button => button.textContent.includes('Load More')); loadMoreButton && loadMoreButton.click();"
    ],
    "wait_for": "article.tease-card:nth-child(10)"
}

AI-Powered Extraction (Full Version)

request = {
    "urls": "https://www.nbcnews.com/business",
    "extraction_config": {
        "type": "cosine",
        "params": {
            "semantic_filter": "business finance economy",
            "word_count_threshold": 10,
            "max_dist": 0.2,
            "top_k": 3
        }
    }
}

Platform-Specific Instructions 💻

macOS

docker pull unclecode/crawl4ai:basic
docker run -p 11235:11235 unclecode/crawl4ai:basic

Ubuntu

# Basic version
docker pull unclecode/crawl4ai:basic
docker run -p 11235:11235 unclecode/crawl4ai:basic

# With GPU support
docker pull unclecode/crawl4ai:gpu
docker run --gpus all -p 11235:11235 unclecode/crawl4ai:gpu

Windows (PowerShell)

docker pull unclecode/crawl4ai:basic
docker run -p 11235:11235 unclecode/crawl4ai:basic

Testing 🧪

Save this as test_docker.py:

import requests
import json
import time
import sys

class Crawl4AiTester:
    def __init__(self, base_url: str = "http://localhost:11235"):
        self.base_url = base_url
        
    def submit_and_wait(self, request_data: dict, timeout: int = 300) -> dict:
        # Submit crawl job
        response = requests.post(f"{self.base_url}/crawl", json=request_data)
        task_id = response.json()["task_id"]
        print(f"Task ID: {task_id}")
        
        # Poll for result
        start_time = time.time()
        while True:
            if time.time() - start_time > timeout:
                raise TimeoutError(f"Task {task_id} timeout")
                
            result = requests.get(f"{self.base_url}/task/{task_id}")
            status = result.json()
            
            if status["status"] == "completed":
                return status
                
            time.sleep(2)

def test_deployment():
    tester = Crawl4AiTester()
    
    # Test basic crawl
    request = {
        "urls": "https://www.nbcnews.com/business",
        "priority": 10
    }
    
    result = tester.submit_and_wait(request)
    print("Basic crawl successful!")
    print(f"Content length: {len(result['result']['markdown'])}")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    test_deployment()

Advanced Configuration ⚙️

Crawler Parameters

The crawler_params field allows you to configure the browser instance and crawling behavior. Here are key parameters you can use:

request = {
    "urls": "https://example.com",
    "crawler_params": {
        # Browser Configuration
        "headless": True,                    # Run in headless mode
        "browser_type": "chromium",          # chromium/firefox/webkit
        "user_agent": "custom-agent",        # Custom user agent
        "proxy": "http://proxy:8080",        # Proxy configuration
        
        # Performance & Behavior
        "page_timeout": 30000,               # Page load timeout (ms)
        "verbose": True,                     # Enable detailed logging
        "semaphore_count": 5,               # Concurrent request limit
        
        # Anti-Detection Features
        "simulate_user": True,               # Simulate human behavior
        "magic": True,                       # Advanced anti-detection
        "override_navigator": True,          # Override navigator properties
        
        # Session Management
        "user_data_dir": "./browser-data",   # Browser profile location
        "use_managed_browser": True,         # Use persistent browser
    }
}

Extra Parameters

The extra field allows passing additional parameters directly to the crawler's arun function:

request = {
    "urls": "https://example.com",
    "extra": {
        "word_count_threshold": 10,          # Min words per block
        "only_text": True,                   # Extract only text
        "bypass_cache": True,                # Force fresh crawl
        "process_iframes": True,             # Include iframe content
    }
}

Complete Examples

  1. Advanced News Crawling
request = {
    "urls": "https://www.nbcnews.com/business",
    "crawler_params": {
        "headless": True,
        "page_timeout": 30000,
        "remove_overlay_elements": True      # Remove popups
    },
    "extra": {
        "word_count_threshold": 50,          # Longer content blocks
        "bypass_cache": True                 # Fresh content
    },
    "css_selector": ".article-body"
}
  1. Anti-Detection Configuration
request = {
    "urls": "https://example.com",
    "crawler_params": {
        "simulate_user": True,
        "magic": True,
        "override_navigator": True,
        "user_agent": "Mozilla/5.0 ...",
        "headers": {
            "Accept-Language": "en-US,en;q=0.9"
        }
    }
}
  1. LLM Extraction with Custom Parameters
request = {
    "urls": "https://openai.com/pricing",
    "extraction_config": {
        "type": "llm",
        "params": {
            "provider": "openai/gpt-4",
            "schema": pricing_schema
        }
    },
    "crawler_params": {
        "verbose": True,
        "page_timeout": 60000
    },
    "extra": {
        "word_count_threshold": 1,
        "only_text": True
    }
}
  1. Session-Based Dynamic Content
request = {
    "urls": "https://example.com",
    "crawler_params": {
        "session_id": "dynamic_session",
        "headless": False,
        "page_timeout": 60000
    },
    "js_code": ["window.scrollTo(0, document.body.scrollHeight);"],
    "wait_for": "js:() => document.querySelectorAll('.item').length > 10",
    "extra": {
        "delay_before_return_html": 2.0
    }
}
  1. Screenshot with Custom Timing
request = {
    "urls": "https://example.com",
    "screenshot": True,
    "crawler_params": {
        "headless": True,
        "screenshot_wait_for": ".main-content"
    },
    "extra": {
        "delay_before_return_html": 3.0
    }
}

Parameter Reference Table

Category Parameter Type Description
Browser headless bool Run browser in headless mode
Browser browser_type str Browser engine selection
Browser user_agent str Custom user agent string
Network proxy str Proxy server URL
Network headers dict Custom HTTP headers
Timing page_timeout int Page load timeout (ms)
Timing delay_before_return_html float Wait before capture
Anti-Detection simulate_user bool Human behavior simulation
Anti-Detection magic bool Advanced protection
Session session_id str Browser session ID
Session user_data_dir str Profile directory
Content word_count_threshold int Minimum words per block
Content only_text bool Text-only extraction
Content process_iframes bool Include iframe content
Debug verbose bool Detailed logging
Debug log_console bool Browser console logs

Troubleshooting 🔍

Common Issues

  1. Connection Refused

    Error: Connection refused at localhost:11235
    

    Solution: Ensure the container is running and ports are properly mapped.

  2. Resource Limits

    Error: No available slots
    

    Solution: Increase MAX_CONCURRENT_TASKS or container resources.

  3. GPU Access

    Error: GPU not found
    

    Solution: Ensure proper NVIDIA drivers and use --gpus all flag.

Debug Mode

Access container for debugging:

docker run -it --entrypoint /bin/bash unclecode/crawl4ai:all

View container logs:

docker logs [container_id]

Best Practices 🌟

  1. Resource Management

    • Set appropriate memory and CPU limits
    • Monitor resource usage via health endpoint
    • Use basic version for simple crawling tasks
  2. Scaling

    • Use multiple containers for high load
    • Implement proper load balancing
    • Monitor performance metrics
  3. Security

    • Use environment variables for sensitive data
    • Implement proper network isolation
    • Regular security updates

API Reference 📚

Health Check

GET /health

Submit Crawl Task

POST /crawl
Content-Type: application/json

{
    "urls": "string or array",
    "extraction_config": {
        "type": "basic|llm|cosine|json_css",
        "params": {}
    },
    "priority": 1-10,
    "ttl": 3600
}

Get Task Status

GET /task/{task_id}

For more details, visit the official documentation.