Firecrawl Agent Skill
This skill enables autonomous deep web research using Firecrawl's /agent endpoint. The agent can search, navigate, and extract structured data from websites without requiring URLs upfront.
When to Use This Skill
Use this skill when you need to:
- Research companies - Find founders, funding, employee counts, tech stacks
- Gather competitive intelligence - Compare products, pricing, features
- Extract structured data - Get specific information in a defined schema
- Answer questions requiring web research - When information isn't in your knowledge base
Quick Start
Run a simple research query:
cd firecrawl-agent/scripts
python firecrawl_agent.py "Find the founders and founding year of Anthropic"
Prerequisites
Install dependencies:
pip install -r scripts/requirements.txtSet API key:
export FIRECRAWL_API_KEY=your_api_key_hereGet your API key at: https://www.firecrawl.dev/
Usage
Basic Research (No Schema)
python scripts/firecrawl_agent.py "What are the main features of Notion?"
Research with Structured Output
For predictable, structured responses, provide a JSON schema:
python scripts/firecrawl_agent.py \
"Find information about Stripe" \
--schema '{"company_name": "string", "founded_year": "number", "founders": ["string"], "headquarters": "string"}'
Command Line Options
| Option | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
prompt |
Your research query (required) | - |
--schema |
JSON schema for structured output | None |
--model |
Model to use: spark-1-mini or spark-1-pro |
spark-1-mini |
--urls |
Comma-separated starting URLs | None |
--max-credits |
Maximum credits to spend | 50 |
Model Selection
spark-1-mini(default): Faster, cheaper, good for straightforward queriesspark-1-pro: More capable, better for complex research requiring deeper navigation
# Use pro model for complex research
python scripts/firecrawl_agent.py \
"Compare the pricing tiers of Notion, Coda, and Obsidian" \
--model spark-1-pro
Providing Starting URLs
If you know relevant URLs, provide them to focus the search:
python scripts/firecrawl_agent.py \
"Extract the pricing information" \
--urls "https://stripe.com/pricing,https://stripe.com/enterprise"
Common Use Cases
Company Research
python scripts/firecrawl_agent.py \
"Research Anthropic: founders, funding rounds, key products, and employee count" \
--schema '{"name": "string", "founders": ["string"], "funding_total": "string", "products": ["string"], "employee_count": "string"}'
Product Comparison
python scripts/firecrawl_agent.py \
"Compare Vercel and Netlify deployment platforms" \
--model spark-1-pro
Contact Information
python scripts/firecrawl_agent.py \
"Find contact information for Acme Corp" \
--schema '{"email": "string", "phone": "string", "address": "string", "social_links": ["string"]}'
Output Format
The script outputs JSON with the following structure:
{
"success": true,
"status": "completed",
"data": {
// Your extracted data here
},
"sources": [
"https://example.com/page1",
"https://example.com/page2"
],
"credits_used": 12
}
Error Handling
Common errors and solutions:
| Error | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
FIRECRAWL_API_KEY not set |
Missing API key | Export the environment variable |
Rate limit exceeded |
Too many requests | Wait and retry, or upgrade plan |
Credit limit reached |
maxCredits exceeded |
Increase --max-credits or simplify query |
Invalid schema |
Malformed JSON schema | Validate your JSON syntax |
Cost Management
- The agent uses credits based on complexity and pages visited
- Free tier: 5 runs per day
- Set
--max-creditsto cap spending:python scripts/firecrawl_agent.py "Research topic" --max-credits 25
Reference Documentation
- See
references/REFERENCE.mdfor complete API parameter documentation - See
references/SCHEMAS.mdfor common schema patterns - See
assets/example_schemas/for ready-to-use Pydantic models
Notes
- Firecrawl agent is in "research preview" - pricing is dynamic
- Results are available for 24 hours after completion
- Complex queries may take 30-60 seconds to complete