What Outputs Can Hyperbrowser's Web API Return?

Updated

Hyperbrowser's Web API can return page content as Markdown, HTML, screenshots, links, or JSON that matches a schema you define. You choose the formats per request, and the same set applies whether you fetch a single page, crawl a site, or search the web. This makes it usable both for agents that read prose (Markdown) and for pipelines that need typed fields (schema-matched JSON).

The three extraction actions

The Web API covers three task types, and each accepts the same output options:

  • Fetch — retrieve one page and return it in your chosen formats.
  • Crawl — walk a site and collect pages, returning the same formats per page.
  • Search — run a web search and return results in those formats.

Because the output contract is shared, you can switch from a single fetch to a crawl without rewriting your parsing logic.

Output formats and when to use each

Format What you get Good for
Markdown Readable page text with structure preserved LLM context, summarization, RAG chunks
HTML Raw page markup Custom parsing, preserving exact layout
Screenshot Rendered page image Visual checks, UI state capture
Links Extracted URLs from the page Crawl seeding, navigation maps
JSON (schema) Structured data matching your schema Typed fields for agents and databases

The schema-matched JSON is the key option for agents: instead of handing a model a wall of Markdown and hoping it extracts the right fields, you declare the shape you want and get data back in that shape.

Requesting outputs in the SDK

You pass the desired formats in the outputs object of web.fetch. The example from Hyperbrowser's site requests Markdown and links from a single page:

await client.web.fetch({
  url: "https://example.com",
  outputs: {
    formats: ["markdown", "links"]
  }
});

The expected result is the page rendered as Markdown plus a list of its links. To get structured data instead, request a JSON format with your schema; to capture visual state, add a screenshot format. The same formats pattern applies to crawl and search calls.

Practical notes

  • Pick formats deliberately. Each requested format adds processing; ask for Markdown and links when you only need text and navigation, and reserve screenshots for cases where rendering matters.
  • Schema JSON is the bridge to agents. Define fields your agent or downstream system expects, then let the API do the extraction rather than parsing HTML yourself.
  • Combine formats in one call. A fetch returning Markdown, links, and a screenshot gives an agent both readable content and navigational context without a second request.
  • Crawls multiply output. Since formats apply per page, a crawl with screenshots enabled returns an image for every page — size your request to the job.

Hyperbrowser also offers a free starting tier with 5,000 credits, so you can test which format combination fits your extraction task before committing to a plan.