Nodejs html parser libraries

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by gayathrimohan dot icon Updated: May 29, 2023

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In data extraction tasks, Node.js HTML parser libraries play a crucial role. To parse and manipulate HTML documents node.js html parser library provides tools. To extract data from HTML documents, this HTML parser library will be helpful.  

 

This node.js html parser library parses the HTML code. It creates a tree-like representation of the document's structure. It is called the Document Object Model (DOM). Developers can navigate, query, and modify HTML elements with the help of this library. The developers can access and retrieve the desired information from the DOM tree. We can help with the data element extraction of these libraries from the HTML documents. It will make it quicker to process and use the data in applications. Node.js HTML parser libraries often provide template rendering functionalities. Node.js HTML parser libraries simplify working with HTML documents. It enables developers to extract data, manipulate content, and build powerful web applications.  

 

Here are the best libraries organized by use cases. The best libraries are Cheerio, jsdom, X-ray, htmlparse2, parse5, htmlparser, and fast-html-parser. A detailed review of each library follows.  

 

Let's look at each library in detail. The links below allow access to package commands, installation notes, and code snippets.  

cheerio:  

  • A fast and lightweight library. It allows developers to parse, manipulate, and traverse HTML and XML documents.  
  • Designed to be lightweight, with a small memory footprint and minimal dependencies.  
  • Supports loading HTML documents from various sources, including URLs, local files, and strings.  
  • Built on top of Node.js, and can build web scrapers, crawlers, and other Node.js applications.  

cheerioby cheeriojs

TypeScript doticonstar image 26488 doticonVersion:v1.0.0-rc.12doticon
License: Permissive (MIT)

The fast, flexible, and elegant library for parsing and manipulating HTML and XML.

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            cheerioby cheeriojs

            TypeScript doticon star image 26488 doticonVersion:v1.0.0-rc.12doticon License: Permissive (MIT)

            The fast, flexible, and elegant library for parsing and manipulating HTML and XML.
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                      jsdom:  

                      • JavaScript implementation of the W3C DOM. It allows developers to create a virtual DOM environment in Node.js.  
                      • Support the entire DOM specification, including elements, attributes, text nodes, and events.  
                      • Support synchronous and asynchronous loading of external resources, like images, stylesheets, and scripts.  
                      • Ability to execute JavaScript in the virtual DOM environment. The environments can be event handlers and scripts embedded in HTML.  

                      jsdomby jsdom

                      JavaScript doticonstar image 18855 doticonVersion:22.1.0doticon
                      License: Permissive (MIT)

                      A JavaScript implementation of various web standards, for use with Node.js

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                                jsdomby jsdom

                                JavaScript doticon star image 18855 doticonVersion:22.1.0doticon License: Permissive (MIT)

                                A JavaScript implementation of various web standards, for use with Node.js
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                                          X-ray:  

                                          • X-ray is a web scraping library. It uses a combination of CSS selectors and jQuery-style chaining. It helps extract data from HTML documents.  
                                          • X-ray allows you to extract data from HTML documents.  
                                          • X-ray simplifies the web scraping process. It provides tools to navigate and interact with HTML content.  
                                          • X-ray integrates well with other Node.js libraries and frameworks. It allows you to build more complex applications.  

                                          x-rayby matthewmueller

                                          JavaScript doticonstar image 5710 doticonVersion:2.3.4doticon
                                          License: Permissive (MIT)

                                          The next web scraper. See through the <html> noise.

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                                                    x-rayby matthewmueller

                                                    JavaScript doticon star image 5710 doticonVersion:2.3.4doticon License: Permissive (MIT)

                                                    The next web scraper. See through the noise.
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                                                              htmlparser2:  

                                                              • Provides various options for parsing HTML documents. It includes support for custom element and attribute handlers. It also can parse streaming data.  
                                                              • Designed to be efficient and can process large HTML documents.  
                                                              • Designed to be lightweight and memory-efficient, with a small memory footprint.  
                                                              • Handling malformed or incomplete HTML documents and providing error reporting and recovery capabilities. 
                                                              TypeScript doticonstar image 3923 doticonVersion:v9.0.0doticon
                                                              License: Permissive (MIT)

                                                              The fast & forgiving HTML and XML parser

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                                                                        htmlparser2by fb55

                                                                        TypeScript doticon star image 3923 doticonVersion:v9.0.0doticon License: Permissive (MIT)

                                                                        The fast & forgiving HTML and XML parser
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                                                                                  parse5:  

                                                                                  • Designed to be efficient, with a small memory footprint and minimal dependencies.  
                                                                                  • Various options for parsing HTML documents. The options can be the ability to parse streaming data and parse fragments of HTML.  
                                                                                  • Handling malformed or incomplete HTML documents and providing error reporting and recovery capabilities.  
                                                                                  • Various methods for manipulating HTML documents. The methods can add, remove, and modify elements, attributes, and content.

                                                                                  parse5by inikulin

                                                                                  TypeScript doticonstar image 3326 doticonVersion:v7.1.2doticon
                                                                                  License: Permissive (MIT)

                                                                                  HTML parsing/serialization toolset for Node.js. WHATWG HTML Living Standard (aka HTML5)-compliant.

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                                                                                            parse5by inikulin

                                                                                            TypeScript doticon star image 3326 doticonVersion:v7.1.2doticon License: Permissive (MIT)

                                                                                            HTML parsing/serialization toolset for Node.js. WHATWG HTML Living Standard (aka HTML5)-compliant.
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                                                                                                      node-htmlparser:  

                                                                                                      • HTML Parser enables developers to parse HTML documents and extract specific information. It helps extract tags, attributes, and content.  
                                                                                                      • HTML Parser helps extract data from HTML documents by locating specific patterns.  
                                                                                                      • HTML Parser allows you to modify the content of HTML documents.  
                                                                                                      • HTML Parser libraries include features for sanitizing HTML input. It helps prevent cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks and other security vulnerabilities.  

                                                                                                      node-htmlparserby tautologistics

                                                                                                      JavaScript doticonstar image 1136 doticonVersion:Currentdoticon
                                                                                                      License: Permissive (MIT)

                                                                                                      Forgiving HTML/XML/RSS Parser in JS for *both* Node and Browsers

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                                                                                                                node-htmlparserby tautologistics

                                                                                                                JavaScript doticon star image 1136 doticonVersion:Currentdoticon License: Permissive (MIT)

                                                                                                                Forgiving HTML/XML/RSS Parser in JS for *both* Node and Browsers
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                                                                                                                          node-fast-html-parser:  

                                                                                                                          • It is efficient for web scraping, data extraction, and parsing of HTML documents.  
                                                                                                                          • It provides significant advantages in time efficiency, scalability, robustness, compatibility, and developer productivity.  
                                                                                                                          • These are compatible with the latest HTML standards and specifications.  
                                                                                                                          • These will speed up the development process, especially during iterative and debugging cycles.  
                                                                                                                          JavaScript doticonstar image 133 doticonVersion:Currentdoticon
                                                                                                                          License: Permissive (MIT)

                                                                                                                          A very fast HTML parser, generating a simplified DOM, with basic element query support.

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                                                                                                                                    node-fast-html-parserby ashi009

                                                                                                                                    JavaScript doticon star image 133 doticonVersion:Currentdoticon License: Permissive (MIT)

                                                                                                                                    A very fast HTML parser, generating a simplified DOM, with basic element query support.
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                                                                                                                                              FAQ:  

                                                                                                                                              1. What is a nodejs html parser library, and how does it work?  

                                                                                                                                              A Node.js HTML parser library is a software package. It allows developers to parse HTML documents and extract data using JavaScript. It provides functions and methods that simplify navigating and manipulating HTML structures. HTML parser libraries work by analyzing the structure and content of HTML documents. They use algorithms and parsers to structure the HTML code logically. We often represent it as a tree-like data structure called the Document Object Model (DOM). The DOM represents the HTML document as a collection of interconnected nodes. The interconnected elements can be elements, attributes, and text nodes.  

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                              2. Can a nodejs html parser library parse complete HTML or XML sources?  

                                                                                                                                              Yes, Node.js HTML parser libraries can parse complete HTML or XML sources. Node.js libraries provide robust HTML and XML parsing capabilities. One of the used libraries is Cheerio. Cheerio can learn the implementation of core jQuery designed for server-side parsing of HTML.  

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                              3. What are the DOM manipulation capabilities of this library?  

                                                                                                                                              These libraries focus on parsing HTML documents and extracting information from them. It does that and then provides extensive DOM manipulation capabilities. But some libraries offer limited DOM manipulation features. Here are Node.js HTML parser libraries and their DOM manipulation capabilities:  

                                                                                                                                              • Cheerio  
                                                                                                                                              • Jsdom  
                                                                                                                                              • parse5  
                                                                                                                                              •  

                                                                                                                                              4. How is the DOM tree created from actual HTML documents?  

                                                                                                                                              We can create the Document Object Model tree from documents called parsing. Here's a simplified overview of the steps involved in creating the DOM tree from an HTML document:  

                                                                                                                                              • Tokenization  
                                                                                                                                              • Lexical Analysis  
                                                                                                                                              • Parsing  

                                                                                                                                               a. Element Creation  

                                                                                                                                               b. Hierarchy Establishment  

                                                                                                                                               c. Text Nodes  

                                                                                                                                               d. Attribute Handling  

                                                                                                                                              • Completion  
                                                                                                                                              •  

                                                                                                                                              5. Is it possible to parse string HTML with the help of this library?  

                                                                                                                                              Yes, there are several Node.js libraries available that can help you parse string HTML. Here are a few popular ones:  

                                                                                                                                              • Cheerio  
                                                                                                                                              • JSDOM  
                                                                                                                                              • Parse5 

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