How to Replace Browser Automation with Structured API

import os, requests

API_KEY = os.environ['SCAVIO_API_KEY']
SH = {'x-api-key': API_KEY, 'Content-Type': 'application/json'}

# CAN REPLACE with API:
replaceable = {
    'Google search scraping': 'Scavio search API (google platform)',
    'Amazon product scraping': 'Scavio search API (amazon platform)',
    'Reddit thread scraping': 'Scavio search API (reddit platform)',
    'YouTube search scraping': 'Scavio search API (youtube platform)',
    'Walmart product scraping': 'Scavio search API (walmart platform)',
    'TikTok profile scraping': 'Scavio TikTok API (profile endpoint)',
    'TikTok video data': 'Scavio TikTok API (user/posts endpoint)',
    'Google Maps data': 'Scavio search API (local_results field)',
}

# STILL NEED BROWSER:
need_browser = {
    'Custom web apps': 'No structured API for proprietary sites',
    'Login-required pages': 'API cannot authenticate to private accounts',
    'Interactive forms': 'Form submissions need browser context',
    'Screenshot capture': 'Visual rendering requires a browser',
    'Cookie-dependent flows': 'Session state needs browser persistence',
}

print('Replaceable with API:')
for task, api in replaceable.items():
    print(f'  {task:35} -> {api}')
print(f'\nStill needs browser ({len(need_browser)} cases):')
for task, reason in need_browser.items():
    print(f'  {task:35} | {reason}')

# BEFORE: Playwright Google scraping (~20 lines, 3-5 seconds)
# from playwright.async_api import async_playwright
# async def scrape_google(query):
#     async with async_playwright() as p:
#         browser = await p.chromium.launch(headless=True)
#         page = await browser.new_page()
#         await page.goto(f'https://www.google.com/search?q={query}')
#         await page.wait_for_selector('div.g')
#         results = await page.query_selector_all('div.g')
#         data = []
#         for r in results[:10]:
#             title = await r.query_selector('h3')
#             link = await r.query_selector('a')
#             data.append({'title': await title.inner_text() if title else '',
#                          'link': await link.get_attribute('href') if link else ''})
#         await browser.close()
#         return data  # Takes 3-5 seconds, breaks on layout changes

# AFTER: API call (~3 lines, <1 second)
def search_google(query):
    data = requests.post('https://api.scavio.dev/api/v1/search',
        headers=SH, json={'query': query, 'country_code': 'us'}).json()
    return data.get('organic_results', [])

import time
start = time.time()
results = search_google('python web framework 2026')
elapsed = time.time() - start
print(f'API: {len(results)} results in {elapsed:.2f}s')
print(f'vs Playwright: ~3-5 seconds + browser memory + proxy cost')

def migrate_pipeline():
    """Migrate a typical multi-page scraping pipeline to API."""
    # Step 1: Replace search scraping
    google_results = requests.post('https://api.scavio.dev/api/v1/search',
        headers=SH, json={'query': 'wireless earbuds', 'country_code': 'us'}).json()
    print(f'Google: {len(google_results.get("organic_results", []))} results')

    # Step 2: Replace Amazon scraping
    amazon_results = requests.post('https://api.scavio.dev/api/v1/search',
        headers=SH, json={'query': 'wireless earbuds', 'platform': 'amazon', 'country_code': 'us'}).json()
    print(f'Amazon: {len(amazon_results.get("organic_results", []))} products')

    # Step 3: Replace Reddit scraping
    reddit_results = requests.post('https://api.scavio.dev/api/v1/search',
        headers=SH, json={'query': 'wireless earbuds review', 'platform': 'reddit', 'country_code': 'us'}).json()
    print(f'Reddit: {len(reddit_results.get("organic_results", []))} discussions')

    # Step 4: Replace page content extraction
    if google_results.get('organic_results'):
        url = google_results['organic_results'][0].get('link', '')
        if url:
            extract = requests.post('https://api.scavio.dev/api/v1/extract',
                headers=SH, json={'url': url}).json()
            print(f'Extract: {len(str(extract.get("content", "")))} chars from {url[:40]}')

    print(f'\nTotal cost: $0.020 (4 API calls)')
    print(f'Total time: <2 seconds')
    print(f'Browser instances: 0')
    print(f'Proxy cost: $0')
    print(f'CAPTCHA blocks: 0')

migrate_pipeline()

def tco_comparison(monthly_pages):
    print(f'\n=== Total Cost of Ownership ({monthly_pages:,} pages/month) ===')
    # Playwright/Puppeteer costs
    browser_server = 50  # Cloud server for browsers
    proxy = 30  # Proxy service
    captcha = monthly_pages * 0.05 * 0.002  # 5% CAPTCHA rate, $0.002/solve
    maintenance = 8 * 50  # 8 hours/month @ $50/hr fixing selectors
    browser_total = browser_server + proxy + captcha + maintenance
    print(f'\n  BROWSER AUTOMATION:')
    print(f'    Server (headless Chrome): ${browser_server}/mo')
    print(f'    Proxy service: ${proxy}/mo')
    print(f'    CAPTCHA solving (~5%): ${captcha:.2f}/mo')
    print(f'    Maintenance (selector fixes): ${maintenance}/mo')
    print(f'    Total: ${browser_total:.2f}/mo')
    # API costs
    api_cost = monthly_pages * 0.005
    print(f'\n  STRUCTURED API:')
    print(f'    Scavio API: ${api_cost:.2f}/mo ({monthly_pages:,} x $0.005)')
    print(f'    Server: $0 (runs anywhere)')
    print(f'    Proxy: $0 (not needed)')
    print(f'    CAPTCHA: $0 (not needed)')
    print(f'    Maintenance: ~$0 (stable JSON)')
    print(f'    Total: ${api_cost:.2f}/mo')
    savings = browser_total - api_cost
    print(f'\n  SAVINGS: ${savings:.2f}/mo ({savings/browser_total*100:.0f}%)')
    print(f'  SPEED: ~0.5s/request (API) vs ~3-5s/page (browser)')
    print(f'  RELIABILITY: 99%+ (API) vs 85-95% (browser)')

tco_comparison(5000)
tco_comparison(20000)