Network Capture intercepts internal API calls made during webpage loading, giving you direct access to structured data in JSON format instead of parsing HTML.
Common uses:
Dynamic content : Capture lazy-loaded data and real-time updates.API access : Interact directly with backend APIs bypassing UI rendering.Performance : Reduce overhead by accessing machine-readable responses.Accuracy : Get reliable data directly from API endpoints.
Network Capture requires page rendering to be enabled (render: true). For XHR/AJAX calls that don’t need rendering, use the is_xhr parameter instead.
Parameters
Intercept and capture network requests made by the page. Perfect for accessing hidden APIs or getting data directly from backend calls instead of parsing HTML. Requirements: Only works when render: trueEach capture filter is an object with these options:
method - Filter by HTTP method (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, etc.)
Leave empty to capture any method
url.type - How to match URLs
exact - Match the complete URL exactlycontains - Match URLs containing a specific string
url.value - The URL or URL pattern to matchresource_type - Filter by request type (array)
Options: xhr, fetch, stylesheet, script, document, image
Example: ["xhr", "fetch"] to capture only AJAX/fetch requests
validation - Validate response content (default: false)
Ensures captured responses are valid
wait_for_requests_count - Wait for this many matching requests (default: 0)
Useful when you know how many API calls to expect
wait_for_requests_count_timeout - How long to wait in seconds (default: 10)
Timeout for waiting for the expected request count
Pro tip: Use contains with /api/ to capture all API calls, or be specific with exact URLs.Example (capture specific API): "network_capture" : [ { "method" : "GET" , "url" : { "type" : "contains" , "value" : "/api/products" }, "resource_type" : [ "xhr" , "fetch" ] } ]
Example (multiple captures): "network_capture" : [ { "url" : { "type" : "contains" , "value" : "/graphql" } }, { "url" : { "type" : "exact" , "value" : "https://api.example.com/data" }, "wait_for_requests_count" : 1 } ]
Usage Filter by exact URL match Capture a specific API endpoint by matching the complete URL.
from nimble_python import Nimble nimble = Nimble( api_key = "YOUR-API-KEY" ) result = nimble.extract( url = "https://www.example.com" , render = True , network_capture = [ { "method" : "GET" , "url" : { "type" : "exact" , "value" : "https://www.example.com/api/data" } } ] ) print (result)
Filter by URL pattern Use contains to capture requests with URLs matching a pattern. This is useful for capturing file types (like .css or .js), requests with dynamic URL components, or when you don’t know the exact URL.
from nimble_python import Nimble nimble = Nimble( api_key = "YOUR-API-KEY" ) result = nimble.extract( url = "https://www.example.com" , render = True , network_capture = [ { "url" : { "type" : "contains" , "value" : "/graphql" } } ] ) print (result)
Filter by resource type Capture specific types of resources like XHR, Fetch, or Script requests.
from nimble_python import Nimble nimble = Nimble( api_key = "YOUR-API-KEY" ) result = nimble.extract( url = "https://www.example.com" , render = True , network_capture = [ { "method" : "GET" , "resource_type" : [ "xhr" , "fetch" ] } ] ) print (result)
Multiple filters Combine multiple filters to capture different request types in one call.
from nimble_python import Nimble nimble = Nimble( api_key = "YOUR-API-KEY" ) result = nimble.extract( url = "https://www.example.com" , render = True , network_capture = [ { "method" : "GET" , "url" : { "type" : "exact" , "value" : "https://www.example.com/api/resource" } }, { "url" : { "type" : "contains" , "value" : ".css" } } ] ) print (result)
Wait for requests Use wait_for_requests_count to ensure you capture a minimum number of network requests. The request duration will be extended until the count is reached or the timeout expires.
from nimble_python import Nimble nimble = Nimble( api_key = "YOUR-API-KEY" ) result = nimble.extract( url = "https://www.example.com" , render = True , network_capture = [ { "method" : "GET" , "resource_type" : [ "xhr" , "script" ], "wait_for_requests_count" : 3 , "wait_for_requests_count_timeout" : 5 } ] ) print (result)
This configuration will wait up to 5 seconds to capture at least 3 network requests matching the filter criteria.
XHR without rendering For direct API endpoints that don’t require page rendering, use is_xhr for better performance.
from nimble_python import Nimble nimble = Nimble( api_key = "YOUR-API-KEY" ) result = nimble.extract( url = "https://api.example.com/endpoint" , is_xhr = True , ) print (result)
is_xhr only works when render is false. It sends XHR-specific headers and targets the API URL directly.
Example response When browser actions complete successfully, you’ll receive the final page state along with any data captured.
The response includes:
data : All related extacted data
data.html : Final DOM state after all actionsdata.network_capture : The network capture response by order
metadata : Execution details including task id, driver used, execution time and more
{ "url" : "https://www.example.com/" , "task_id" : "b1fa7943-cba5-4ec2-a88c-4d2d6799c794" , "status" : "success" , "data" : { "html" : "<!DOCTYPE html><html>...</html>" , "network_capture" :[ { "filter" : { "method" : "GET" , "resource_type" :[ "xhr" , "script" ] }, "result" : [ { "request" :{ "resource_type" : "script" , "method" : "GET" , "url" : "https://www.example.com/script/0001.js" , "headers" :{} }, "response" :{ "status" : 200 , "headers" :{}, "body" : "..." } }, { "request" :{ "resource_type" : "xhr" , "method" : "GET" , "url" : "https://www.example.com/script/0002.js" , "headers" :{} }, "response" :{ "status" : 200 , "headers" :{}, "body" : "..." } } ] } ] }, "metadata" : { "query_time" : "2026-02-08T22:00:36.132Z" , "query_duration" : 1877 , "response_parameters" : { "input_url" : "https://www.example.com/" }, "driver" : "vx6" }, "status_code" : 200 }
Best practices Use specific URL patterns Be specific with URL matching: # ✅ Specific pattern for API endpoints network_capture = [ { "url" : { "type" : "contains" , "value" : "/api/v1/products" } } ] # ❌ Too broad - captures everything network_capture = [ { "url" : { "type" : "contains" , "value" : "/" } } ]
Filter by resource type Narrow down to relevant resources: # ✅ Capture only XHR and Fetch requests network_capture = [ { "resource_type" : [ "xhr" , "fetch" ] } ] # ✅ Capture scripts and stylesheets network_capture = [ { "resource_type" : [ "script" , "stylesheet" ] } ]
Set appropriate wait counts Use wait_for_requests_count for dynamic content: # ✅ Wait for specific number of requests network_capture = [ { "method" : "GET" , "resource_type" : [ "xhr" ], "wait_for_requests_count" : 3 , "wait_for_requests_count_timeout" : 10 } ] # ❌ No wait - may miss delayed requests network_capture = [ { "method" : "GET" , "resource_type" : [ "xhr" ] } ]
Use XHR mode for direct API calls Skip rendering when accessing APIs directly: # ✅ Direct API access without rendering result = nimble.extract({ "url" : "https://api.example.com/data" , "is_xhr" : True }) # ❌ Unnecessary rendering for API endpoints result = nimble.extract({ "url" : "https://api.example.com/data" , "render" : True , "network_capture" : [ ... ] })
