ek-scraper 0.2.4
Simple scraper for kleinanzeigen.de searches with notifications for new ads.
Requires Python: >=3.11
Keywords: kleinanzeigen.de, scraper

# ek-scraper

Simple scraper for kleinanzeigen.de searches with notifications for new ads.

## Installation

Install this package from PyPi in a separate virtual environment using [`uv`](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/).

``` sh
uv tool install ek-scraper
```

## Usage

> For the full usage check the `ek-scraper --help` command

Create a configuration file using

``` sh
ek-scraper create-config <path/to/config.json>
```

The example configuration file will look like this:

```json
{
  "filter": {
    "exclude_topads": true,
    "exclude_patterns": []
  },
  "notifications": {
    "pushover": {
        "token": "<your-app-api-token>",
        "user": "<your-user-api-token>",
        "device": []
    },
    "ntfy.sh": {
      "topic": "<your-private-topic>",
      "priority": 3
    },
  },
  "searches": [
    {
      "name": "Wohnungen in Hamburg Altona",
      "url": "https://www.kleinanzeigen.de/s-wohnung-mieten/altona/c203l9497",
      "recursive": true
    }
  ]
}
```

See [Configuration](#configuration) for details on all configuration options.

* Configure one or more searches in the `searches` section of the configuration,
  see [Searches](#searches) for more details
* Configure notifications in the `notifications` section of the configuration,
  see [Notifications](#notifications) for details on notification configuration
* (Optional) Configure filters in the `filter` section of the configuration,
  see [Filter](#filter) for more details

Run the following command to initialize the data store without sending any notifications:

``` sh
ek-scraper run --no-notifications path/to/config.json
```

Afterwards, run

```sh
ek-scraper run path/to/config.json
```

to receive notifications according to your `notifications` configuration.

## Development

Follow the steps below to set up a development environment for this project.

1. Clone this repository

   ``` sh
   git clone git@github.com:jonasehrlich/ek-scraper.git
   ```

2. Change directory into the repository

   ``` sh
   cd ek-scraper
   ```

3. Create a virtual environment using [poetry](https://python-poetry.org)

   ``` sh
   poetry install
   ```

4. (Optional) Install pre-commit environment

   ``` sh
   $ pre-commit
   [INFO] Installing environment for https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit-hooks.
   [INFO] Once installed this environment will be reused.
   [INFO] This may take a few minutes...
   [INFO] Installing environment for https://github.com/psf/black.
   [INFO] Once installed this environment will be reused.
   [INFO] This may take a few minutes...
   Check Yaml...........................................(no files to check)Skipped
   Fix End of Files.....................................(no files to check)Skipped
   Trim Trailing Whitespace.............................(no files to check)Skipped
   black................................................(no files to check)Skipped
   ```

## Configuration

### Searches

Searches can be configured in the `searches` array of the configuration file.
Each of the searches can be configured with the following parameters.

| Name        | Description                                                                        |
| ----------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `name`      | Name of the search, use a descriptive one (required)                               |
| `url`       | URL of the first page of your search (required)                                    |
| `recursive` | Whether to follow all pages of the search result <br/>(optional, defaults to true) |

### Filter

Filters can be configured in the `filter` section of the configuration file to exclude specific ads
from your scrape results on the client side. The following settings can be configured.

| Name | Description |
| ---- | ----------- |
| `exclude_topads` | Whether to exclude top ads from the results (optional, defaults to true) |
| `exclude_patterns` | Case-insensitive regular expression patterns used to exclude ads (optional) |

### Notifications

Notifications can be configured in the `notifications` section of the configuration file.

#### Push notifications using [Pushover](https://pushover.net/)

![Screenshot of a push notification using Pushover](assets/pushover-notification.jpeg)

`ek-scraper` supports push notifications to your devices using [Pushover](https://pushover.net/).
For further information on the service check their terms and conditions.

The implementation for _Pushover_ notifications will send a single notification per search, if new
ads are discovered.

To configure _Pushover_ for notifications from the scraper, first register at the service and create
an application (e.g. `ek-scraper`). To use the service in `ek-scraper`, add the `pushover` object
to the `notifications` object in your configuration file and fill the API tokens. Selection of the
devices which will receive the notifications, is supported using the `device` array.

| Name     | Description |
| -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `token`  | API token of the Pushover app (required) |
| `user`   | API token of the Pushover user (required) |
| `device` | List of device names to send the notifications to <br/> (optional, defaults to all devices) |

#### Push notifications using [ntfy.sh](https://ntfy.sh/)

![Screenshot of a push notification using ntfy.sh](assets/ntfy-sh-notification.jpeg)

`ek-scraper` supports push notifications to your devices using [ntfy.sh](https://ntfy.sh/).
For further information on the service check their terms and conditions.

The implementation for _ntfy.sh_ notifications will send a single notification per search, if new
ads are discovered.

To configure _ntfy.sh_ for notifications from the scraper, define a topic and subscribe to it in the
mobile app.

> Note that topic names are public, so it's wise to choose something that cannot be guessed easily.
> This can be done by including a UUID, e.g. by running the following command in your shell:
>
> ``` sh
> echo "ek-scraper-$(uuidgen)"
> ```

To use the service in `ek-scraper`, add the `ntfy.sh` object to the `notifications` object in your
configuration file and add the topic you previously subscribed to.

| Name       | Description                                                       |
| ---------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `topic`    | Topic to publish the notifications to                             |
| `priority` | Priority to send the notifications with (optional, defaults to 3) |

## Running `ek-scraper` regularly

> It should be avoided to run the tool too often to avoid getting your IP address blocked by
> [kleinanzeigen.de](kleinanzeigen.de)

In order to run `ek-scraper` regularly on a Unix-like system, configure it as a cronjob.

To configure a cronjob, run

``` sh
crontab -e
```

Edit the crontab table to run the command you want to run. A handy tool to check schedule
configurations for cronjobs is [crontab.guru](https://crontab.guru/).

For more information on configuring cronjobs use your favorite search engine.