# Toolstation Product Scraper (`automation-lab/toolstation-product-scraper`) Actor Scrape Toolstation UK products, prices, brands, reviews, images and specifications for ecommerce monitoring, procurement and catalog analytics. - **URL**: https://apify.com/automation-lab/toolstation-product-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Stas Persiianenko](https://apify.com/automation-lab) (community) - **Categories:** E-commerce - **Stats:** 3 total users, 1 monthly users, 92.2% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing Pay per event This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Actors are written with capital "A". ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## Toolstation Product Scraper Scrape Toolstation UK product catalog data for prices, brands, reviews, images, specifications, and monitoring workflows. ### What does Toolstation Product Scraper do? Toolstation Product Scraper extracts public Toolstation UK product catalog data from search results and product pages. It is designed for price monitoring, assortment tracking, supplier research, and ecommerce analytics. The actor runs HTTP-first and does not require a Toolstation account. - Source: Toolstation UK public catalog - Output: structured Apify dataset - Best for: repeatable ecommerce monitoring ### Who is it for? 🛒 Ecommerce analysts can monitor prices and promotions across Toolstation categories. 🏗️ Procurement teams can compare trade product availability and brands. 📊 Market researchers can build repeatable Toolstation product datasets. 🔔 Price-monitoring teams can schedule the actor to detect catalog changes. - Source: Toolstation UK public catalog - Output: structured Apify dataset - Best for: repeatable ecommerce monitoring ### Why use this Toolstation scraper? Toolstation pages are convenient for humans but not structured for repeated analysis. This actor turns search results and product pages into clean dataset rows. You get product IDs, titles, prices, brands, reviews, image URLs, and optional specifications. - Source: Toolstation UK public catalog - Output: structured Apify dataset - Best for: repeatable ecommerce monitoring ### Data fields The output includes productId, sku, title, brand, productUrl, imageUrl, currentPrice, wasPrice, netPrice, currency, priceText, rating, reviewCount, availability, fastTrackAvailable, description, breadcrumbs, specifications, source, rank, and scrapedAt. Search mode gives fast catalog coverage. Detail mode adds richer product-page fields. - Source: Toolstation UK public catalog - Output: structured Apify dataset - Best for: repeatable ecommerce monitoring ### How much does it cost to scrape Toolstation products? The actor uses pay-per-event pricing with a small start event and a per-product result event. Use low maxItems values for tests, then increase the limit for production monitoring. Final tiered pricing is calculated from cloud run costs before QA handoff. - Source: Toolstation UK public catalog - Output: structured Apify dataset - Best for: repeatable ecommerce monitoring ### How to scrape Toolstation search results 1. Add one or more search phrases to searchQueries. 2. Set maxItems to the total number of product records you need. 3. Keep includeDetails off for the fastest search run. 4. Run the actor and export JSON, CSV, Excel, or API data from the dataset. - Source: Toolstation UK public catalog - Output: structured Apify dataset - Best for: repeatable ecommerce monitoring ### How to scrape Toolstation product pages 1. Add Toolstation product URLs to startUrls. 2. Enable includeDetails. 3. The actor reads the page SSR data and extracts descriptions and specs. 4. Combine direct product URLs with search queries when needed. - Source: Toolstation UK public catalog - Output: structured Apify dataset - Best for: repeatable ecommerce monitoring ### Input options searchQueries accepts terms such as drill, copper pipe, paint roller, work trousers, or pressure washer. startUrls accepts Toolstation search URLs and product URLs. maxItems controls spend and runtime. includeDetails fetches product pages for richer data. includeUnavailable controls whether products with no catalog availability or fast-track signal are kept. Leave it enabled for full catalog monitoring; disable it when you only want rows with an availability signal. - Source: Toolstation UK public catalog - Output: structured Apify dataset - Best for: repeatable ecommerce monitoring ### Output example A typical row contains sku AI893, title, Ryobi brand, product URL, image URL, £67.98 current price, £84.98 was price, review count, rating, and scrape timestamp. Detail rows may include specifications such as voltage, battery type, manufacturer ID, and manuals. - Source: Toolstation UK public catalog - Output: structured Apify dataset - Best for: repeatable ecommerce monitoring ### Tips for reliable monitoring Use stable search phrases that match your buying categories. Schedule daily or weekly runs for price history. Keep includeDetails disabled for broad catalog scans. Enable includeDetails for small SKU watchlists. - Source: Toolstation UK public catalog - Output: structured Apify dataset - Best for: repeatable ecommerce monitoring ### Integrations Connect datasets to Google Sheets for procurement dashboards. Export CSV files into BI tools for price index reports. Use Apify webhooks to alert when scheduled runs finish. Call the actor from a pricing pipeline that compares Toolstation against other UK retailers. - Source: Toolstation UK public catalog - Output: structured Apify dataset - Best for: repeatable ecommerce monitoring ### API usage Node.js: use apify-client to call automation-lab/toolstation-product-scraper with searchQueries and maxItems. Python: use ApifyClient and pass the same JSON input. cURL: POST to the Apify actor run endpoint with your token and JSON body. #### Node.js API example ```js import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN }); const run = await client.actor('automation-lab/toolstation-product-scraper').call({ searchQueries: ['drill'], maxItems: 20, includeDetails: false, }); console.log(run.defaultDatasetId); ```` #### Python API example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient import os client = ApifyClient(os.environ['APIFY_TOKEN']) run = client.actor('automation-lab/toolstation-product-scraper').call(run_input={ 'searchQueries': ['drill'], 'maxItems': 20, 'includeDetails': False, }) print(run['defaultDatasetId']) ``` #### cURL API example ```bash curl -X POST 'https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/automation-lab~toolstation-product-scraper/runs?token=$APIFY_TOKEN' \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -d '{"searchQueries":["drill"],"maxItems":20,"includeDetails":false}' ``` - Source: Toolstation UK public catalog - Output: structured Apify dataset - Best for: repeatable ecommerce monitoring ### MCP usage Use the Apify MCP server URL with ?tools=automation-lab/toolstation-product-scraper. Claude Desktop or Claude Code can then run Toolstation extraction as a tool. Example prompt: scrape Toolstation drills and summarize brands under £100. #### Claude Code MCP setup ```bash claude mcp add apify https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=automation-lab/toolstation-product-scraper ``` #### Claude Desktop MCP JSON ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=automation-lab/toolstation-product-scraper" } } } ``` Example MCP prompts: - Scrape Toolstation drills and return the cheapest products under £100. - Monitor Toolstation copper pipe prices and summarize brand coverage. - Extract this Toolstation product URL with specifications. - Source: Toolstation UK public catalog - Output: structured Apify dataset - Best for: repeatable ecommerce monitoring ### Legality and responsible use The actor extracts publicly available product catalog information. Respect Toolstation terms, avoid excessive run frequency, and do not use scraped data for prohibited purposes. Personal account data is not required or collected. - Source: Toolstation UK public catalog - Output: structured Apify dataset - Best for: repeatable ecommerce monitoring ### Related scrapers Related automation-lab actors include ecommerce product scrapers, price monitors, and retailer catalog extractors. Use this actor when the source is specifically Toolstation UK. - Source: Toolstation UK public catalog - Output: structured Apify dataset - Best for: repeatable ecommerce monitoring ### FAQ Q: Do I need a Toolstation login? A: No, the actor uses public catalog pages and public search data. Q: Can it scrape local branch stock? A: Branch stock is postcode-specific; this MVP captures catalog availability and fast-track signals only. Q: Why is includeDetails slower? A: It fetches each product page to extract richer SSR product data. Q: Can I monitor prices over time? A: Yes, schedule repeated runs and compare datasets. - Source: Toolstation UK public catalog - Output: structured Apify dataset - Best for: repeatable ecommerce monitoring ### Troubleshooting If a search produces no results, test the same phrase on Toolstation manually and reduce filters. If detail extraction is slow, lower maxItems or disable includeDetails. If you need a new output field, check whether it appears in product-page specifications. - Source: Toolstation UK public catalog - Output: structured Apify dataset - Best for: repeatable ecommerce monitoring # Actor input Schema ## `searchQueries` (type: `array`): Toolstation search phrases to scrape, such as drill, copper pipe, or work trousers. ## `startUrls` (type: `array`): Optional Toolstation search URLs or product URLs. Product URLs are scraped directly; search URLs use their q= query. ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Maximum product records to save across all queries and URLs. ## `includeDetails` (type: `boolean`): Fetch product pages for long descriptions, breadcrumbs, specifications, manuals, and richer image data. Slower but more complete. ## `includeUnavailable` (type: `boolean`): Toolstation stock is branch-specific. Keep this enabled to include all catalog matches even when no local stock lookup is available. ## Actor input object example ```json { "searchQueries": [ "drill" ], "startUrls": [ { "url": "https://www.toolstation.com/search?q=drill" }, { "url": "https://www.toolstation.com/ryobi-18v-one-r18pd3-2c20s-cordless-combi-drill/pAI893" } ], "maxItems": 20, "includeDetails": false, "includeUnavailable": true } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `overview` (type: `string`): No description # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "searchQueries": [ "drill" ], "startUrls": [ { "url": "https://www.toolstation.com/search?q=drill" }, { "url": "https://www.toolstation.com/ryobi-18v-one-r18pd3-2c20s-cordless-combi-drill/pAI893" } ], "maxItems": 20, "includeDetails": false, "includeUnavailable": true }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("automation-lab/toolstation-product-scraper").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "searchQueries": ["drill"], "startUrls": [ { "url": "https://www.toolstation.com/search?q=drill" }, { "url": "https://www.toolstation.com/ryobi-18v-one-r18pd3-2c20s-cordless-combi-drill/pAI893" }, ], "maxItems": 20, "includeDetails": False, "includeUnavailable": True, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("automation-lab/toolstation-product-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "searchQueries": [ "drill" ], "startUrls": [ { "url": "https://www.toolstation.com/search?q=drill" }, { "url": "https://www.toolstation.com/ryobi-18v-one-r18pd3-2c20s-cordless-combi-drill/pAI893" } ], "maxItems": 20, "includeDetails": false, "includeUnavailable": true }' | apify call automation-lab/toolstation-product-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=automation-lab/toolstation-product-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Toolstation Product Scraper", "description": "Scrape Toolstation UK products, prices, brands, reviews, images and specifications for ecommerce monitoring, procurement and catalog analytics.", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "GfbNXCmFQXd5dKE5T" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/automation-lab~toolstation-product-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-automation-lab-toolstation-product-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/automation-lab~toolstation-product-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-automation-lab-toolstation-product-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/automation-lab~toolstation-product-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-automation-lab-toolstation-product-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "searchQueries": { "title": "Search queries", "type": "array", "description": "Toolstation search phrases to scrape, such as drill, copper pipe, or work trousers.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "startUrls": { "title": "Toolstation URLs", "type": "array", "description": "Optional Toolstation search URLs or product URLs. Product URLs are scraped directly; search URLs use their q= query.", "items": { "type": "object", "required": [ "url" ], "properties": { "url": { "type": "string", "title": "URL of a web page", "format": "uri" } } } }, "maxItems": { "title": "Maximum products", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 10000, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum product records to save across all queries and URLs.", "default": 20 }, "includeDetails": { "title": "Include product page details", "type": "boolean", "description": "Fetch product pages for long descriptions, breadcrumbs, specifications, manuals, and richer image data. Slower but more complete.", "default": false }, "includeUnavailable": { "title": "Keep products without branch stock data", "type": "boolean", "description": "Toolstation stock is branch-specific. Keep this enabled to include all catalog matches even when no local stock lookup is available.", "default": true } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```