Workshop: Custom Browsertrix Behaviors Follow-Up
This event is for IIPC Members. Registration links are available in the Members-only Archive. Contact staff[at]netpreserve.org if you don’t have access.
Developed by Webrecorder, Browsertrix is a powerful browser-based crawling tool that has been gaining popularity with organizations that need customized, high-fidelity web captures. A key feature is its use of behaviors, which are automated actions that can be run on each page during a crawl. Behaviors are “one more way Browsertrix makes it easy to capture the web exactly the way you want” (Tessa Walsh).
Building on the previous workshop on September 18, 2025, this workshop will focus specifically on creating custom behaviors using JavaScript. JavaScript-based custom behaviors offer developers a great deal of flexibility in defining exactly what automated actions should be taken as a page, but creating them can seem intimidating to the uninitiated. This workshop aims to lower the barrier to entry to creating custom behaviors with JavaScript by doing a deep dive into their creation and using examples from custom behaviors developed by the community to discuss how they might be debugged and improved.
Goals
This workshop is designed to help you leverage the full potential of writing and modifying custom Browsertrix behaviors using JavaScript. Our goals for the workshop are:
- Creating custom behaviors:
- Demonstrating how to create custom behaviors in JavaScript by walking through an example of creating a custom behavior together
- Providing insight into the structure of a custom behavior class and the utility methods available to developers
- Debugging and improving custom behaviors:
- Demonstrating the process of testing and debugging existing custom behaviors, using real examples from the Browsertrix community
Our ultimate aim is for attendees to come away from the workshop feeling empowered to begin writing custom behaviors in JavaScript, using these custom behaviors in Browsertrix, and improving existing custom behaviors that may not quite yet have the desired results.
Prerequisites
To get the most out of this session, you should have:
- A basic understanding of Browsertrix (both cloud and local versions)
- Familiarity with the official Browsertrix documentation and the recent Webrecorder blog post on behaviors
- Attended or watched the recording of the previous workshop on Customizing Browsertrix with Behaviors
- Working knowledge of writing code in JavaScript
Target audience
The workshop is primarily designed for a technical audience of Browsertrix users who are comfortable writing code in JavaScript. Much of the material covered will be for a technical audience. Curators may find the workshop valuable as well, to understand what is broadly possible with custom behaviors and how to talk to developers at their institutions about creating custom behaviors.
Format
- This workshop will primarily be a “show-and-tell” session presented by the Webrecorder Team, building on the content from the Oslo workshop and the previous workshop on Customing Browsertrix with Behaviors.
- The session will include a presentation with examples from Webrecorder, as well as use cases submitted by IIPC member organizations. There will be no hands-on component but participants are encouraged to ask questions throughout the event. To get the most out of the workshop, attendees should have a basic familiarity with Browsertrix. To submit your custom behavior use case for the Webrecorder Team to discuss during the workshop, please email staff[at]netpreserve.org with a description of the issue and a link to the behavior (e.g. GitHub) by 10 December.
- Parts of the presentation will be recorded and shared with members.
References and resources
- https://webrecorder.net/blog/2025-05-28-create-use-and-automate-actions-with-custom-behaviors-in-browsertrix/
- https://crawler.docs.browsertrix.com/user-guide/behaviors/
- https://github.com/webrecorder/custom-behaviors
- https://archiveweb.page/en/features/behaviors/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHqgikgr8I4
- https://netpreserve.org/members-only-archive/scaling-browsertrix-crawls/
- https://netpreserve.org/members-only-archive/customizing-browsertrix-with-behaviors/
