# HTML Selector Fixture Regression Report (`h_murdock/html-selector-fixture-audit`) Actor Replay CSS extraction rules on supplied baseline/current HTML. Flag missing nodes, extra matches and lost attributes with exact assertions, hashes, paired evidence, JSON, CSV and HTML. - **URL**: https://apify.com/h\_murdock/html-selector-fixture-audit.md - **Developed by:** [Gilad Ronen](https://apify.com/h_murdock) (community) - **Categories:** Developer tools, Automation - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing $0.25 / completed report This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes. 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. Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md. ## 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. Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run. For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below. Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`). # README ### What does HTML Selector Fixture Regression Report do? Replay **CSS extraction rules against saved HTML fixtures** before changing an extractor or delivering another scraping batch. The report shows selectors that lost nodes, matched extra occurrences, lost an attribute, or breached a literal value assertion. Baseline and current evidence sit together with source hashes and JSON pointers so a developer can reproduce each result. This Actor processes HTML that you supply. Its parser is [Cheerio](https://cheerio.js.org/docs/basics/selecting/). It does not fetch pages, execute JavaScript, render a browser, repair selectors, or determine whether a live website is correct. Natural text changes are informational unless a declared assertion fails. ### When is a selector fixture report useful? Use the same sanitized fixture pack after a CSS configuration change, before a scheduled customer delivery, or after a source page redesign. Scraping operators can keep known examples of product prices, titles, identifiers, and optional fields as a small regression corpus. An API call from GitHub Actions or n8n can produce a review packet whenever that corpus or extractor configuration changes. The sample contains four distinct cases: a renamed price class, a missing `data-price` attribute, duplicate price nodes, and a harmless title change. Three pairs fail declared checks; the title change remains a passing natural delta. Ordinary local tests can perform this job too; this Actor provides a hosted batch interface and consistent evidence downloads. ### How to run a CSS selector regression test 1. Save current HTML and, when available, a baseline for each fixture. Remove confidential content that is unnecessary for testing. 2. Give each fixture and rule a unique string `id`. Values such as `001` stay distinct from `1`. 3. Define a selector, extraction `mode`, explicit `whitespace` policy, and inclusive `minMatches` / `maxMatches`. 4. For `attribute` mode, give an exact lower-case HTML attribute name. A missing attribute is a failure, while a present empty attribute remains an empty value. 5. Optionally supply `expectedValues` or a literal `fixtureIds` applicability list. Omitting the list applies the rule to all supplied fixtures. 6. Run the Actor and inspect each pair's `outcome`, `delta`, baseline/current findings, and retained occurrence evidence. See the Input tab for the full configuration. Example: ```json { "fixtures": [{"id":"001", "baselineHtml":"

$10

", "currentHtml":"

$10

"}], "rules": [{"id":"price", "selector":".price", "mode":"text", "whitespace":"trim", "minMatches":1, "maxMatches":1}], "maxRetainedValues":25 } ``` ### Exact extraction and comparison policies Values are individual matched nodes in **DOM order**. Duplicate values stay separate. Entity references are decoded by HTML parsing. `preserve` leaves decoded text untouched; `trim` removes edge JavaScript whitespace; `collapse` replaces JavaScript whitespace runs with one space and trims the edges. Expected literals use the same policy and must match the full list in DOM order, including its length. These assertions apply independently to every supplied snapshot, including the baseline. All matched nodes contribute to exact count, missing-attribute, and empty-value totals. Only the first `maxRetainedValues` occurrences are retained. An omitted or clipped value makes baseline value comparison incomplete; it never hides a count violation. Literal assertions compare complete normalized values rather than a retained prefix. An absent baseline is explicitly `unavailable`, with `delta: not_checked`. Supported selectors include tags, IDs, classes, attribute comparisons, group unions, descendant/child/sibling combinators, `:empty`, `:root`, first/last/only child and type pseudo-classes, and bounded `:nth-*` integer or `an+b` formulas. Nested or relational pseudo-classes such as `:has`, `:is`, `:not`, text filters such as `:contains`, jQuery positional extensions, namespaces, and pseudo-elements are unsupported. Invalid or unsupported syntax produces incomplete evidence instead of a clean result. ### Capacity limits One input may contain at most 50 fixtures and 50 rules, 1,000 applicable fixture/rule pairs, 4 MB JSON, and 3 MB combined baseline/current HTML. Each snapshot is at most 500,000 UTF-8 bytes. Weighted work sums each applicable rule's current/baseline HTML bytes and is limited to 30 MB. Parsed snapshots above 20,000 nodes or depth 100 are incomplete and have unknown match counts. Selectors are at most 300 characters, five groups, forty tokens, and eight combinators; nth formula numeric coefficients are at most 1,000. Retention defaults to 25 and may be 1–100 occurrences per rule/snapshot. Each displayed value retains at most 8,192 UTF-8 bytes, with a 2 MB total retained-value budget across the batch. Original byte lengths and omissions are reported. Split larger batches or narrow `fixtureIds`. Full JSON must be below 8 MB and every export below 9 MB before a report can be charged. ### Output and downloads | Field | Meaning | |---|---| | `summary` | Counts of assertion failures, incomplete pairs, natural deltas, and unavailable baselines | | `rows` | One paired evidence row per applicable fixture/rule tuple | | `current` / `baseline` | Exact match totals, retained values, assertion states, source pointers, hashes, and findings | | `outcome` | `failure`, `incomplete`, or `pass` for the pair | | `delta` | `changed`, `unchanged`, `not_checked`, or `incomplete` | The primary dataset contains one complete JSON report. Download `OUTPUT` for full JSON, `review.csv` for flat paired evidence, and `report.html` for a standalone readable report. The HTML download should be opened locally; it escapes all content and contains no scripts or external assets. CSV cells neutralize spreadsheet formula prefixes. Use the evidence view for pair rows and the summary view for the batch overview. ### Pricing and recovery A completed report costs **$0.25**, including platform usage, through one `report-completed` event. There is no startup or dataset-item fee. Malformed overall input and insufficient event budget produce no report event. A report with assertion failures or explicitly incomplete supported coverage is still a completed report. The dataset is the primary paid deliverable. Downloads are constructed and size-checked before publication or charging, then saved as convenience exports. If an export save is interrupted after the dataset charge, some downloads can remain absent until the same run is resurrected. Recovery checks the original input and saved report integrity, keeps one dataset item, and does not charge the report event again. A fresh run is a new billable report. Local tests simulate billing and do not establish platform billing configuration. ### Interpretation and support Static snapshots cannot prove live freshness, access success, pagination, JavaScript rendering, or source truth. Cheerio may recover malformed HTML; this is not an HTML conformance validator. Input and report hashes identify bytes and accidental changes, not signed evidence. Use authorized fixtures and supply the assertions that matter to your extraction contract. For reproducible questions, share a sanitized fixture/rule pair through the Issues tab. The API tab contains programmatic integration examples. # Actor input Schema ## `fixtures` (type: `array`): 1–50 unique fixtures; currentHtml required, baselineHtml optional. <=500 KB each snapshot and <=3 MB total HTML. ## `rules` (type: `array`): 1–50 named rules. <=1,000 applicable fixture/rule pairs and <=30 MB weighted snapshot bytes. ## `maxRetainedValues` (type: `integer`): First N occurrences per rule/snapshot. Full counts and attribute totals remain exact; omitted values make baseline comparison incomplete. ## Actor input object example ```json { "fixtures": [ { "id": "001-rename", "baselineHtml": "
$10
", "currentHtml": "
$10
" }, { "id": "002-attribute", "baselineHtml": "", "currentHtml": "$10" }, { "id": "003-duplicate", "baselineHtml": "$10", "currentHtml": "$10$10" }, { "id": "004-natural", "baselineHtml": "

Blue shoe

", "currentHtml": "

New blue shoe

" } ], "rules": [ { "id": "price-selector", "selector": ".price", "mode": "text", "whitespace": "trim", "minMatches": 1, "maxMatches": 1, "fixtureIds": [ "001-rename" ] }, { "id": "price-attribute", "selector": ".offer", "mode": "attribute", "attribute": "data-price", "whitespace": "preserve", "minMatches": 1, "maxMatches": 1, "fixtureIds": [ "002-attribute" ] }, { "id": "one-price", "selector": ".price", "mode": "text", "whitespace": "collapse", "minMatches": 1, "maxMatches": 1, "expectedValues": [ "$10" ], "fixtureIds": [ "003-duplicate" ] }, { "id": "title", "selector": "h1", "mode": "text", "whitespace": "collapse", "minMatches": 1, "maxMatches": 1, "fixtureIds": [ "004-natural" ] } ], "maxRetainedValues": 25 } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `dataset` (type: `string`): One primary dataset item with summary and all paired evidence rows. ## `json` (type: `string`): No description ## `csv` (type: `string`): No description ## `html` (type: `string`): Download and open locally. Same-run resurrection can recover partial convenience exports. # 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 = { "fixtures": [ { "id": "001-rename", "baselineHtml": "
$10
", "currentHtml": "
$10
" }, { "id": "002-attribute", "baselineHtml": "", "currentHtml": "$10" }, { "id": "003-duplicate", "baselineHtml": "$10", "currentHtml": "$10$10" }, { "id": "004-natural", "baselineHtml": "

Blue shoe

", "currentHtml": "

New blue shoe

" } ], "rules": [ { "id": "price-selector", "selector": ".price", "mode": "text", "whitespace": "trim", "minMatches": 1, "maxMatches": 1, "fixtureIds": [ "001-rename" ] }, { "id": "price-attribute", "selector": ".offer", "mode": "attribute", "attribute": "data-price", "whitespace": "preserve", "minMatches": 1, "maxMatches": 1, "fixtureIds": [ "002-attribute" ] }, { "id": "one-price", "selector": ".price", "mode": "text", "whitespace": "collapse", "minMatches": 1, "maxMatches": 1, "expectedValues": [ "$10" ], "fixtureIds": [ "003-duplicate" ] }, { "id": "title", "selector": "h1", "mode": "text", "whitespace": "collapse", "minMatches": 1, "maxMatches": 1, "fixtureIds": [ "004-natural" ] } ] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("h_murdock/html-selector-fixture-audit").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${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 = { "fixtures": [ { "id": "001-rename", "baselineHtml": "
$10
", "currentHtml": "
$10
", }, { "id": "002-attribute", "baselineHtml": "", "currentHtml": "$10", }, { "id": "003-duplicate", "baselineHtml": "$10", "currentHtml": "$10$10", }, { "id": "004-natural", "baselineHtml": "

Blue shoe

", "currentHtml": "

New blue shoe

", }, ], "rules": [ { "id": "price-selector", "selector": ".price", "mode": "text", "whitespace": "trim", "minMatches": 1, "maxMatches": 1, "fixtureIds": ["001-rename"], }, { "id": "price-attribute", "selector": ".offer", "mode": "attribute", "attribute": "data-price", "whitespace": "preserve", "minMatches": 1, "maxMatches": 1, "fixtureIds": ["002-attribute"], }, { "id": "one-price", "selector": ".price", "mode": "text", "whitespace": "collapse", "minMatches": 1, "maxMatches": 1, "expectedValues": ["$10"], "fixtureIds": ["003-duplicate"], }, { "id": "title", "selector": "h1", "mode": "text", "whitespace": "collapse", "minMatches": 1, "maxMatches": 1, "fixtureIds": ["004-natural"], }, ], } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("h_murdock/html-selector-fixture-audit").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}") for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "fixtures": [ { "id": "001-rename", "baselineHtml": "
$10
", "currentHtml": "
$10
" }, { "id": "002-attribute", "baselineHtml": "", "currentHtml": "$10" }, { "id": "003-duplicate", "baselineHtml": "$10", "currentHtml": "$10$10" }, { "id": "004-natural", "baselineHtml": "

Blue shoe

", "currentHtml": "

New blue shoe

" } ], "rules": [ { "id": "price-selector", "selector": ".price", "mode": "text", "whitespace": "trim", "minMatches": 1, "maxMatches": 1, "fixtureIds": [ "001-rename" ] }, { "id": "price-attribute", "selector": ".offer", "mode": "attribute", "attribute": "data-price", "whitespace": "preserve", "minMatches": 1, "maxMatches": 1, "fixtureIds": [ "002-attribute" ] }, { "id": "one-price", "selector": ".price", "mode": "text", "whitespace": "collapse", "minMatches": 1, "maxMatches": 1, "expectedValues": [ "$10" ], "fixtureIds": [ "003-duplicate" ] }, { "id": "title", "selector": "h1", "mode": "text", "whitespace": "collapse", "minMatches": 1, "maxMatches": 1, "fixtureIds": [ "004-natural" ] } ] }' | apify call h_murdock/html-selector-fixture-audit --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "type": "http", "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,h_murdock/html-selector-fixture-audit" } } } ``` The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer ` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations). ## OpenAPI specification Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/ZZBMHZ0rhqpanLR0y/builds/MFP9T0F8aRGpyV1cj/openapi.json