How to scrape a website without writing a single XPath
XPath was state-of-the-art in 2010. Today it is a liability. Every CSS class rename breaks your selectors. Here is what replaces XPath for modern scraping.
Why XPath breaks every week
XPath and CSS selectors lock onto structural positions in the DOM: `div > div > ul > li:nth-child(3) > span`. The moment a developer adds a wrapper div, rearranges the menu, or ships an A/B test, your selector returns nothing.
For a tool like Amazon, that happens every 2-3 weeks. For LinkedIn, every week. For modern React stores, almost every deploy.
Pattern inference via LLM
Stekpad replaces XPath with pattern inference. When you click an element, Stekpad sends the DOM context around your click to a Gemma-3 model. Gemma returns a structural description — "the price label inside every product card in the grid" — not a brittle CSS selector.
At run time, Stekpad resolves the pattern against the current DOM. Class renames and wrapper additions do not break the match because the pattern describes intent, not position.
Self-healing recipes
When a pattern stops matching (the page has changed enough that the description no longer applies), Stekpad re-asks Gemma on the new DOM. Most of the time, the new description works and your recipe keeps running without you ever noticing.
When the site has changed fundamentally, Stekpad tells you and offers to re-teach the recipe with one click. No XPath to rewrite, no CSS to debug.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Covers the top 15–20 questions users ask before and after installing Stekpad. Key topics: Is Stekpad free? What browsers does it support? Is web scraping legal? Does Stekpad work on LinkedIn, Gmail, Salesforce? How is data stored? Does data leave my browser? What happens if a site changes its layout? Can I use Stekpad without a login? Emit FAQ schema (JSON-LD) on the page for rich results.
Install Stekpad
Step-by-step install guide for the Stekpad Chrome extension. Covers Chrome Web Store install, pinning the side-panel, granting required permissions, and opening the panel on any page. Includes a screenshot at each step. Ends with a "next step" link to the quickstart guide.
Point-and-Click Selector: Build a Schema Without Writing Code
Explains how Stekpad's click-to-select interface works: click an element, Stekpad highlights matched siblings, you confirm the field, and it builds a stable selector under the hood. Covers multi-element selection, nested fields, and what happens when a site's DOM changes. No XPath knowledge required at any step.
Quickstart: Your First Scrape in 2 Minutes
End-to-end walkthrough: open the side panel, navigate to a target page, click fields to build a schema, run a single scrape, and export to a destination. Each step has a screenshot. Minimal prose, maximum showing. Ends with links to Recipes for common patterns and the Integrations docs.
Try Stekpad free
Install the Chrome extension. Free forever. €99 lifetime for Pro.