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Figranium tasks run in one of two main modes. Agent mode is the primary and default method: it drives a real Playwright Chromium browser through a sequence of action blocks you define. Scrape mode is a lightweight alternative that fetches a page over HTTP and parses the HTML without launching a browser. This page compares the two so you can pick the right mode for each task.

Agent (default)

A full browser runner built on Playwright. It executes your action blocks step by step, including clicks, typing, navigation, JavaScript, and control flow such as If, While, and Loop.

Scrape

A lightweight, browserless runner for fast single-page data extraction. It fetches HTML with got-scraping (with proxy and user-agent rotation) and parses it with Cheerio.
Agent mode is not autonomous AI decision making. Every step and branch is defined by you and replays the same way on every run.

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Feature comparison

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When to use Agent

Agent is the default for new tasks and the right choice for most workflows. Use it when the page needs a real browser or the workflow involves interaction.
  • The content is loaded by client-side JavaScript or AJAX after the initial response.
  • You need to log in, fill forms, paginate, or follow a multi-step flow.
  • You need branching, loops, or error handling between steps.
  • The site uses bot detection, cookie banners, or CAPTCHAs.
  • You want to run custom JavaScript inside the page.

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When to use Scrape

Switch to Scrape mode when the data you need is already present in the page’s initial HTML response.
  • You are extracting content from a single, server-rendered page.
  • You want the lowest resource usage and fastest runs, since no browser process starts.
  • You do not need to click, type, scroll, or wait for elements to appear.
  • The target site does not require CAPTCHA solving or browser fingerprint evasion.
If a Scrape task returns empty fields because the content is rendered client-side, switch it back to Agent mode and add a Wait for Selector block before extraction.

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Switching modes

In the task editor, use the Mode Selector to switch between Agent and Scraper. Tasks created through the REST API set the mode with the mode field, which accepts agent, scrape, or headful. To run a one-off job without saving a task, call the direct execution endpoints:
See ExecutionResource for the full SDK reference.

Action Blocks

The building blocks available in Agent mode.

Architecture

How the Agent and Scrape runners fit into Figranium.