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Scrapy with Proxies and VPN

Web scraping is a powerful technique to extract data from websites. But sometimes, you may face problems with the website blocking your IP address if you send too many requests. This is where proxies and VPNs come into play. They help you avoid IP blocking by routing your traffic through different servers. In this tutorial, we are going to learn how to use Scrapy with proxies and VPNs.

What are Proxies and VPNs?​

Proxies and VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) are tools that change your IP address, making your online activity virtually untraceable. They provide a way to access the internet from a different IP address than the one given by your ISP (Internet Service Provider).

Setting Up Proxies in Scrapy​

Scrapy doesn't support proxies out of the box, but it allows the use of middleware to add such functionality.

Step 1: Install HTTP Proxy middleware​

First, you need to install the scrapy_proxies middleware. You can do this using pip:

pip install scrapy-proxies

Step 2: Add middleware to settings.py​

Next, you need to add the middleware to your settings.py file:

DOWNLOADER_MIDDLEWARES = {
    'scrapy_proxies.RandomProxy': 100,
    'scrapy.downloadermiddlewares.httpproxy.HttpProxyMiddleware': 110,
}

Step 3: Add proxy list​

You also need to add a list of proxies in your settings.py:

PROXY_LIST = 'path/to/proxy/list.txt'

In the list.txt file, you should have one proxy per line in the following format:

http://proxy1.com:port
http://proxy2.com:port
...

Using a VPN with Scrapy​

Using a VPN with Scrapy can be a bit tricky as Scrapy itself doesn't have built-in support for VPNs. However, you can set up your VPN at the system level, and all your Scrapy requests will go through it.

Step 1: Choose a VPN provider​

There are many VPN providers available. You need to choose one that fits your needs and sign up for their service.

Step 2: Install VPN​

Install the VPN according to the provider's instructions. The process may differ depending on the provider and your operating system.

Step 3: Connect to the VPN​

Once installed, connect to the VPN. Ensure your entire internet connection is routed through the VPN, not just your browser.

Now, all your Scrapy requests will be routed through the VPN, giving you a different IP address for each request.

Conclusion​

Using proxies and VPNs with Scrapy can help you overcome common obstacles in web scraping, such as IP blocking. While Scrapy doesn't directly support these tools, it's flexible enough to let you integrate them into your projects. Remember to use these tools responsibly and respect the websites' terms of service.

I hope this tutorial has been helpful. Happy scraping!