# Facebook Automation

> Facebook Automation

- Skill: `lucadominguez/facebook-automation` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add lucadominguez/facebook-automation`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/lucadominguez/facebook-automation/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: lucadominguez (https://skillmd.com/u/lucadominguez)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/lucadominguez/facebook-automation

---

# Facebook Automation

Use when automating Facebook: Marketplace data extraction, account creation, or signup flows.

**Support files (shared with browser-automation):**
- `references/facebook-marketplace-graphql.md` — Facebook Marketplace scraping via direct GraphQL API (no browser), doc IDs, variable structure, response parsing
- `references/facebook-signup-2026.md` — Current Facebook signup form DOM: input selectors, birthday/gender comboboxes, dialog workarounds
- `templates/scraper.py` — Complete Facebook Marketplace scraper (copy, configure, run)
- `templates/extract_cookies.py` — Chrome/Edge cookie extraction helper (run from Windows, not WSL)
- `templates/create_account.py` — Facebook account creator: Playwright + temp email + 5sim/SMSPool auto-SMS verification

## Facebook Marketplace Scraping (GraphQL — No Browser)

Skip browser automation entirely and use direct GraphQL API requests.

- **Endpoint**: `POST https://www.facebook.com/api/graphql/` with url-encoded body
- **Query**: `MarketplaceFeedStoriesPaginationQuery` — requires `fb_dtsg` token (extracted from homepage HTML) + valid cookies (`c_user`, `xs`, `fr`)
- **Filters**: Encode price, recency, location, and category in the `params` JSON string inside variables
- **Pagination**: Use `end_cursor` from `page_info` as the next request's cursor
- **Doc IDs**: Rotate periodically — extract fresh ones from browser DevTools Network tab when auth errors appear

**Rate limiting defense**: Randomized 1-3s delays between requests, rotate `__req` counter, cap 5 pages per search query.

## Facebook Account Creation (SMS Auto-Verification)

Facebook signup automation requires handling their checkpoint/phone verification wall (~85-95% of new accounts).

Flow: signup form fill → email confirmation (mail.tm/GuerrillaMail) → checkpoint detection → auto-purchase phone number → enter number → poll for SMS code → enter code → account created.

**Key selectors for Facebook signup form (as of mid-2026):**
```
First name:     input[name="firstname"]
Last name:      input[name="lastname"]
Email:          input[name="reg_email__"]
Email confirm:  input[name="reg_email_confirmation__"] (sometimes appears)
Password:       input[name="reg_passwd__"]
Birthday:       select[name="birthday_month"], select[name="birthday_day"], select[name="birthday_year"]
Gender:         input[name="sex"][value="2"] (male), input[name="sex"][value="1"] (female)
Submit:         button[name="websubmit"]
```

**Phone verification detection**: Check for `"checkpoint"` in URL or keywords in page content.

## Pitfalls

- **Facebook scraping accounts need aging**: Newly created accounts used immediately for scraping get flagged quickly. Warm accounts for 1+ weeks with normal browsing before using for Marketplace scraping. The GraphQL API is authenticated — stale or flagged cookies result in empty responses, not clear error messages.
- **Facebook doc ID rotation**: The GraphQL `doc_id` parameter changes periodically. When requests return auth errors despite valid cookies, the doc ID is the first suspect — open Marketplace in a real browser, check the Network tab for current values.