ZenRows
ZenRows is a web scraping API allowing developers to bypass CAPTCHAs and blocks, gather structured data from dynamic websites, and quickly integrate results into applications
Verdict
Common use cases
- Scrape competitor pricing pages weekly
- Extract real estate listings into spreadsheets
- Monitor product availability across retailers
- Archive news articles as PDFs
- Pull structured data from review sites
Integration
- Vendor
- ZenRows
- Category
- other
- Auth
- API_KEY
- Tools
- 16
- Composio slug
zenrows
Tools
- Get Concurrency Status
This tool retrieves the current concurrency status of your zenrows api usage. it reports the maximum number of concurrent requests allowed by your plan and the number of available concurrent request slots. it is useful for monitoring api us
- Get Detailed Concurrency Status
This tool provides detailed information about the current concurrency status and limits of your zenrows account by making a request to the api and analyzing the response headers. it is essential for monitoring real-time api usage, managing
- Get Original Status Code
This tool retrieves the original http status code returned by the target website, which is useful for debugging purposes. it returns the original status code in the response headers under 'x-zenrows-original-status'. it can also provide the
- Get PDF from URL
This tool generates a pdf version of the scraped content from a given url. it requires javascript rendering to be enabled and sets the response type to pdf, making it ideal for archiving web pages, creating documentation, generating reports
- Get Plaintext Response
This tool extracts plain text content from a webpage using the zenrows api. by using the response type=plaintext parameter, it strips html tags and formats the content into clean, plain text. it's useful for extracting readable content for
- Get Real Estate Property Data
A specialized tool for extracting structured data from real estate platforms like zillow and idealista. it leverages zenrows' real estate api to fetch comprehensive property information, including property details, location information, fea
- Get response headers
A tool to retrieve and parse response headers from zenrows api requests. it provides critical metadata such as concurrency limits, available request slots, request cost, unique request id, and final url after redirects, which is essential f
- Get Response with Compression
A tool to fetch content from a url using the zenrows api with compression enabled to optimize bandwidth usage and improve performance. it supports gzip, deflate, and br compression encodings, handles decompression automatically, and provide
- Get Session ID
This tool implements zenrows' session management functionality to maintain the same ip address across multiple requests for up to 10 minutes. it supports parameters like url, session id, and premium proxy, and is useful for maintaining cons
- Get Walmart Product Details
This tool allows users to extract detailed product information from walmart using zenrows' specialized e-commerce scraping api. it provides structured data for walmart products including product details, pricing, availability, and more.
- Get ZenRows API Usage Statistics
This tool retrieves the current api usage statistics and limits for your zenrows account. it is an independent action that requires no additional parameters besides authentication. it is useful for monitoring api usage and ensuring that the
- Scrape url
Scrape and extract data from a specified url. this action allows you to collect and process web data effortlessly using the zenrows api.
- Scrape url autoparse
The zenrows scrape url autoparse tool automatically parses and extracts structured data from any given url using intelligent parsing capabilities. it eliminates the need for manual css selectors by auto-identifying relevant content on web p
- Scrape URL HTML
This tool extracts raw html data from a given url using zenrows' universal scraper api. it focuses on retrieving the pure html content of the webpage without automatic parsing or data extraction. it supports parameters such as js render for
- Scrape URL with CSS Selectors
This tool allows users to scrape specific elements from a webpage using css selectors. it is particularly useful for targeted data extraction rather than retrieving the entire page content. the endpoint takes a url and a json object contain
- Screenshot URL
A tool to capture screenshots of web pages using zenrows api. this tool allows you to take screenshots of entire web pages or specific elements, with customizable options for format and quality.
Setup
Setup guide
- 11. Open your Switchy workspace and navigate to Settings → Integrations → Add MCP. 2. Select ZenRows from the catalog and choose API Key authentication. 3. Log into your ZenRows account at app.zenrows.com, go to API Keys, and copy your production key. 4. Paste the key into Switchy's credential field and click Connect. 5. Switchy will verify the key by checking your concurrency status; if it returns your plan limits, the connection works. 6. Open any Space and type '@ZenRows scrape https://example.com' to test — you should see extracted content or a confirmation that the request queued. 7. Check the response headers in the output to confirm request cost and concurrency slots used. 8. If you need JavaScript rendering or PDF output, include those parameters in your prompt (Switchy passes them to the API automatically).
What teammates see: by default, memories from ZenRows are scoped to the Space (PROJECT visibility) - you can mark any memory PRIVATE or share it ORG-wide.
Works well with
Top models
Compatibility data appears once enough Spaces have used this MCP together with a given model.
How Switchy teams use it
Starter prompts
Scrape Product Catalog
@ZenRows scrape the product catalog at https://example.com/shop/category and return structured data with prices and stock status. Enable JavaScript rendering.Open in a Space →
Check Concurrency Limits
@ZenRows get my current concurrency status and tell me how many requests I can run in parallel right now.Open in a Space →
Archive Page as PDF
@ZenRows fetch https://example.com/terms and generate a PDF version with full JavaScript rendering enabled.Open in a Space →
Extract Plaintext Content
@ZenRows scrape https://example.com/blog/post and return only the plaintext content without any HTML markup.Open in a Space →
Pull Real Estate Data
@ZenRows get property data from https://zillow.com/listing/12345 and return structured fields like price, bedrooms, and square footage.Open in a Space →
Example outputs
Illustrative - representative of the model's voice and quality, not literal recordings.
@ZenRows check my current concurrency status and tell me how many scraping requests I can run in parallel right now
Your ZenRows account currently allows 5 concurrent requests maximum. Right now, you have 3 available slots, meaning 2 requests are actively running. This is typical for a standard plan tier. If you need to scale up scraping jobs, you can either wait for active requests to complete or consider upgrading your plan for higher concurrency limits. The API reports these limits in real-time via response headers.
This example shows how ZenRows tracks resource usage across your account. Concurrency limits are plan-dependent, so users on free or starter tiers will see lower maximums. Useful for orchestrating batch scraping jobs without hitting rate limits or triggering 429 errors.
@ZenRows scrape the pricing page at example-saas.com/pricing and return the content as clean plaintext, no HTML tags
Here's the plaintext extraction from example-saas.com/pricing: Pricing Plans Starter: $29/month - 10 users, 5GB storage Pro: $99/month - Unlimited users, 50GB storage, priority support Enterprise: Custom pricing - Dedicated infrastructure, SLA guarantees All plans include 14-day free trial. Annual billing saves 20%. This format strips all HTML markup, making it easy to parse or feed into downstream analysis without cleaning tags yourself.
Plaintext mode is ideal when you need content for LLM processing or text analysis without wrestling with HTML structure. ZenRows handles JavaScript rendering automatically, so dynamic pricing tables load correctly. Be aware this consumes API credits per request—check your plan's monthly allowance before bulk scraping.
@ZenRows generate a PDF snapshot of techcrunch.com/latest and summarize what topics are trending based on the headlines you extract
PDF generated successfully (stored as binary data). Extracting headlines from the rendered page: - "AI Startup Raises $200M Series C" - "New Privacy Regulations Impact Ad Tech" - "Quantum Computing Breakthrough Announced" - "Cybersecurity Threats Surge in Q1" Trending topics: AI funding rounds dominate, followed by regulatory changes in adtech and emerging hardware innovations. The cybersecurity angle suggests ongoing concern about infrastructure vulnerabilities. This snapshot captures the page as it appeared at request time, including dynamically loaded content.
PDF generation requires JavaScript rendering, which costs more credits than basic scraping. The PDF is useful for compliance archiving or visual records of time-sensitive pages. Note that ZenRows returns binary data—you'll need to handle file storage separately. This example pairs scraping with AI summarization to extract insights from captured content.
Use-case deep-dives
When ZenRows wins for weekly market-data pulls
A 3-person real estate brokerage pulls Zillow comps every Monday morning to prep client decks. ZenRows' real estate API tool extracts structured property data—price, beds, baths, listing date—without writing selectors or handling Zillow's anti-bot measures. The team shares one API key in Switchy, runs the scrape in a thread, and exports the JSON to Google Sheets. This works if you're pulling under 500 properties per week; beyond that, you'll hit concurrency limits on the starter plan and need to batch requests. If your workflow is daily or you're scraping 10+ sites, consider a headless-browser MCP instead. For weekly comp pulls from 2-3 platforms, ZenRows is the fastest path from URL to structured data.
ZenRows for one-off page-to-PDF workflows
A 5-person support team needs to archive customer-facing help articles as PDFs for compliance audits twice a year. ZenRows' PDF generation tool renders JavaScript-heavy pages and returns a clean PDF in one API call—no Puppeteer setup, no server maintenance. The team drops URLs into a Switchy thread, runs the tool, and downloads the batch. This is ideal if you're archiving under 200 pages per quarter and the pages don't require login. If you're archiving daily or scraping behind auth walls, you'll need a session-management MCP or a dedicated archiving service. For infrequent, public-page archiving, ZenRows eliminates the DevOps overhead and gets you compliant in an afternoon.
When ZenRows handles light competitor tracking
A 4-person DTC brand checks competitor pricing on Amazon and Shopify stores twice a week to adjust their own catalog. ZenRows' plaintext and compression tools strip HTML and return clean price data without maintaining scraper scripts or proxy pools. The team shares the API key in Switchy, runs the scrape in a scheduled thread, and pastes results into a pricing spreadsheet. This works if you're monitoring under 50 SKUs across 3-5 competitors. If you're tracking hundreds of products daily or need historical trend data, you'll outgrow ZenRows' concurrency limits and need a dedicated price-monitoring platform. For bi-weekly spot checks on a handful of competitors, ZenRows is the lowest-friction option.
Frequently asked
What does the ZenRows MCP do in Switchy?
It lets your team scrape web data without getting blocked. The MCP wraps ZenRows' API to handle rotating proxies, JavaScript rendering, and CAPTCHA solving. Your AI agents can extract structured data from real estate sites, e-commerce pages, or any public web content—then use that data in prompts or workflows. Think of it as a web scraping engine your team can query conversationally.
Do I need a ZenRows account to use this MCP?
Yes. You'll need an active ZenRows subscription and an API key. Paste the key into Switchy's MCP settings once, and all team members with access to that workspace can use the integration. ZenRows charges per request, so monitor your concurrency limits and plan usage through the MCP's status tools to avoid overages.
Can the ZenRows MCP scrape sites that require login?
No. The MCP handles public web pages only—sites that don't require authentication. If you need to scrape behind a login wall, you'll have to manage sessions and cookies yourself via ZenRows' API directly. For most use cases (product listings, real estate data, public directories), the MCP works out of the box.
How does this compare to writing Python scrapers?
It's faster and less brittle. You skip the infrastructure work—no proxy rotation, no headless browser setup, no CAPTCHA solvers. The trade-off is cost: ZenRows charges per request, while a DIY scraper only costs server time. Use the MCP when speed and reliability matter more than per-request economics, or when your team doesn't want to maintain scraping code.
Who on the team should connect the ZenRows MCP?
Whoever owns your ZenRows account and understands your plan limits. That person should paste the API key into Switchy once. After that, any workspace member can invoke the MCP's tools. Just make sure your team knows the concurrency cap—if five people scrape simultaneously and you're on a 10-request plan, you'll hit limits fast.