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Contributing to fb-scraper

Project: fb-scraper
Maintainer: TRABY CASPER · CASPER TECH

Thank you for your interest in contributing! All contributions are welcome and appreciated.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

  • Node.js 18 or higher
  • npm 8 or higher
  • Chromium installed (for Puppeteer-based endpoints)
  • Git

Local Setup

git clone https://github.com/Casper-Tech-ke/fb-scraper.git
cd fb-scraper

# Install dependencies
npm install puppeteer-core node-fetch

# Set your Chromium path in server.js if different from /usr/bin/chromium

# Start the service
node server.js

The service will be available at http://127.0.0.1:5757.

How to Contribute

1. Bug Reports

Before opening an issue, please:

  • Search existing issues to avoid duplicates
  • Confirm the bug is reproducible with a real Facebook URL

When opening a bug report, include:

  • Description of the issue
  • The Facebook URL that failed (if not sensitive)
  • Which endpoint failed (/scrape, /scrape-sf, or /scrape-snap)
  • Expected vs actual behaviour
  • Node.js version and OS

2. Feature Requests

Open an issue with the label enhancement. Describe:

  • The new scraping provider or strategy you want to add
  • Why it would benefit users
  • Any implementation ideas you have

3. Adding a New Provider

To add a new upstream scraping provider:

  1. Write a new async function (e.g. scrapeNewProvider(fbUrl)) in server.js
  2. Return the standard format: 
    {
  success: true,
  title: 'Facebook Video',
  thumbnail: 'https://...',
  links: [
    { url: 'https://...', label: 'HD Download', isHD: true, isSD: false }
  ]
}
  3. Add a new route block in the server's request handler: 
    if (parsed.pathname === '/scrape-newprovider') {
  // call your function
}
  4. Document the new endpoint in README.md

4. Pull Requests

  1. Fork the repository
  2. Create a branch from main: 
    git checkout -b feat/your-feature-name
  3. Make your changes — keep commits focused and descriptive
  4. Test your changes — ensure all endpoints respond correctly with a real Facebook URL
  5. Open a Pull Request against main with a clear description

Code Style

  • Use const/let, not var
  • Async/await over callbacks and raw Promises
  • Keep scraper functions self-contained — one function per provider
  • Always close() Puppeteer pages in a finally block
  • Standard response shape: 
    { success: true, title, thumbnail, links: [{ url, label, isHD, isSD }] }
  • Error responses: 
    res.statusCode = 500;
res.end(JSON.stringify({ error: err.message }));

Commit Message Format

Use clear, present-tense messages:

feat: add snapsave.app vm-decode endpoint
fix: handle empty links array from fdown.net
docs: update README with new provider
chore: bump node version requirement

Code of Conduct

Be respectful, constructive, and inclusive. Harassment of any kind will not be tolerated.

© 2026 CASPER TECH · TRABY CASPER · Kenya 🇰🇪