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CSS Scraper

The CSS Scraper reads an asset's price from any public web page, using a CSS selector that points at the number. Use it when no other provider covers the instrument. In the Provider list it is called CSS Web Scraper.

🔍 What It Offers

  • ✅ Current price: read from the page at every sync, in the currency you choose.
  • ❌ History: none. Each sync saves the day's price, so the history grows from the day you start.
  • ❌ Search and details: none — you enter the page address and the settings yourself.

🧩 Set It Up

1️⃣ Copy the Price's CSS Selector

The selector tells LibreFolio which element of the page holds the price.

  1. Open the page and right-click the price.
  2. Choose Inspect (or press F12): DevTools highlights the price element.
  3. Right-click the highlighted element, then Copy → Copy selector.
  1. Open the page and right-click the price.
  2. Choose Inspect (or press F12): the Inspector highlights the price element.
  3. Right-click the highlighted element, then Copy → CSS Selector.

2️⃣ Fill In the Provider Settings

In Provider Assignment, choose CSS Web Scraper and paste the page address into URL. The settings appear under their technical names:

Setting Required What to enter
current_css_selector ✅ The selector you copied, e.g. .summary-value strong
currency ✅ The currency of the price, e.g. EUR
decimal_format — us for 1,234.56 (the default) or eu for 1.234,56
timeout — Seconds to wait for the page (default 30)
user_agent — How LibreFolio introduces itself to the site (default LibreFolio/1.0)

3️⃣ Test It

Click Test Configuration: Current Price must show the number you see on the page. The ⚠️ on History is expected, as this provider has none.

A BTP on Borsa Italiana

  • URL: https://www.borsaitaliana.it/borsa/obbligazioni/mot/btp/scheda/IT0005634800.html?lang=en
  • current_css_selector: .summary-value strong
  • currency: EUR
  • decimal_format: us — the English page shows 100.39. The Italian page (lang=it) shows 100,39, so there use eu.

For instruments listed on Borsa Italiana, the Borsa Italiana provider also brings their history.

🛠️ Troubleshooting

What you see What to do
Price element not found The page layout may have changed: copy the selector again.
Failed to parse price Check decimal_format. The element must hold just the number: spaces, €, $, £, ¥ and % are ignored, letters such as EUR are not.
HTTP error or Request failed Check the URL; raise timeout for a slow site. Error 403 means the site refuses automated visits.
A wrong number The selector matches another element (LibreFolio uses the first match): make it more specific.

⚠️ Limits

  • LibreFolio reads the page as the site sends it, without running its scripts: a price filled in by JavaScript cannot be read, nor can pages behind a login.
  • When the site changes its layout, the selector may stop matching: test again and copy a new one.