tmdgusya/browsing-with-robot/threads-scraper

Threads Scraper with robot

Threads requires Instagram login to view all posts on a profile. Without login, only the 2 most recent posts are visible.

Prerequisites

• robot CLI must be installed and on PATH (~/go/bin/robot)
• Always set PATH: export PATH="$HOME/go/bin:$PATH"

Step 1: Start browser

export PATH="$HOME/go/bin:$PATH"
# Clean up stale state if needed
rm -f /tmp/robot.pid
robot start

If "daemon already running" error occurs:

robot stop
# If stop fails with "no such process":
rm -f /tmp/robot.pid
robot start

Step 2: Login to Threads

IMPORTANT: Always ask the user for credentials using AskUserQuestion. Never hardcode or store credentials.

Login flow

# 1. Navigate to login page
robot navigate "https://www.threads.com/login"
# Wait for page load
sleep 2
 
# 2. Enter credentials (ask user first via AskUserQuestion)
robot type "input[autocomplete='username']" "<USERNAME>"
robot type "input[autocomplete='current-password']" "<PASSWORD>"
sleep 1
 
# 3. Click login button (use form div[role='button'], NOT button[type='submit'])
robot click "form div[role='button']"
 
# 4. Wait for redirect (login causes HTTP 500 briefly, this is normal)
sleep 8

Known issues with Threads login

1. HTTP 500 after login: Threads often returns a server error page immediately after login. This is expected. Simply navigate away:

``bash robot navigate "https://www.threads.com/" sleep 3 `` The session/cookies are still valid despite the error.

1. QR code popup: If you click the wrong element, a QR code popup ("Get the app") may appear. If this happens, re-navigate to the login page instead of trying to close it.

1. Verify login success: After login, navigate to home and check for logged-in indicators:

``bash robot navigate "https://www.threads.com/" sleep 3 robot screenshot # Read the screenshot - look for "What's new?" input and "Post" button # If "Log in" button is shown at top-right, login failed ``

1. Own profile check: When viewing your own profile while logged in, the page shows "Edit profile" button instead of "Follow".

Step 3: Navigate to target profile

robot navigate "https://www.threads.com/@USERNAME"
sleep 3

Step 4: Extract posts

robot text

Scrolling for more posts

robot does not have a built-in scroll command. To load more posts on infinite-scroll pages:

• Option A: Use robot click on elements near the bottom of the visible area to trigger scroll behavior.
• Option B: Take note that Threads may limit visible posts even when logged in, depending on the profile's post count.

Extract text after each scroll attempt:

robot text

Step 5: Clean up

robot stop

CSS Selectors Reference (Threads)

Output format

Present extracted posts in a structured format:

### Post N (timestamp) - Topic
[Post content]
- Likes: N, Comments: N, Shares: N

Tips

• Login button selector: Use form div[role='button'] not button[type='submit'] - Threads uses custom div-based buttons.
• HTTP 500 is normal: After login, Threads briefly errors. Navigate to any page and the session works.
• Prefer `text` over `screenshot`: Text extraction is token-efficient. Only screenshot when debugging layout issues.
• Always clean up: Run robot stop when finished.