# XPath Extractor MCP for AI Agents AI Agent Connect

> XPath Extractor lets your AI agent navigate and pull specific data from XML and HTML documents. Instead of guessing where information lives in a messy web page or a complex data file, you can use precise queries to grab exactly what you need, whether it's a single attribute or a deep nested value. It turns unstructured markup into structured, usable data for your agent.

## Overview
- **Category:** web-scraping
- **Price:** Free
- **Endpoint:** https://edge.vinkius.com/undefined/ai-agent-connect
- **Tags:** xpath, xml, html, parsing, data-extraction

## Description

Parsing web data or complex XML files is usually a manual, tedious process of trial and error. You spend half your time just trying to figure out how to point a script at the right tag or attribute. This MCP changes that by giving your AI agent the ability to act like a precision instrument for document navigation. 

Instead of asking your agent to 'find the price' and hoping it looks at the right part of the page, you can give it the exact path to the data. It can check if a document is even valid before it tries to read it, preventing errors that usually break automation scripts. It can also reach into specific elements to pull out attributes like IDs, classes, or links that are often buried in the markup. 

By connecting this to your workflow through the Vinkius catalog, you're essentially giving your agent a pair of high-powered tweezers for the web. It stops guessing and starts extracting. You get clean, reliable data that your agent can actually use to make decisions or populate databases, without the usual headache of broken selectors or malformed files.

## Tools

### evaluate_xpath_expression
Runs a specific query against a document to find and return data. It's the primary way to grab text or values from a specific path.

### extract_node_attributes
Pulls specific attribute values from elements you've already found. Use this to grab links, IDs, or other metadata.

### validate_document_structure
Checks if your XML or HTML is actually valid. It catches syntax errors before they break your data pipeline.

## Prompt Examples

**Prompt:** 
```
Can you get the ID of the first div in this HTML: <div id='header-01'><p>Hello</p></div>
```

**Response:** 
```
The ID for that element is **header-01**.
```

**Prompt:** 
```
Check if this XML is formatted correctly: <root><user id='123'>John</user></root>
```

**Response:** 
```
Yes, the XML structure is **valid** and well-formed.
```

**Prompt:** 
```
Find the text inside the title tag in this XML: <book><title>The Great Gatsby</title></book>
```

**Response:** 
```
The title is **The Great Gatsby**.
```

## Capabilities

### Target specific data points
Pull exact text or attribute values from any XML or HTML element using precise paths.

### Verify document integrity
Check if your XML or HTML strings are well-formed to prevent processing errors.

### Grab element attributes
Extract specific metadata like IDs, hrefs, or classes from matched nodes.

### Navigate complex hierarchies
Move through deeply nested structures to find data that isn't immediately visible.

## Use Cases

### Automated Web Scraping
An agent needs to pull product prices from a site. It uses evaluate_xpath_expression to grab the price tag directly from the HTML.

### XML Feed Monitoring
A developer needs to ensure a daily XML data feed is correct. They use validate_document_structure to check for syntax errors before processing.

### Metadata Harvesting
A researcher wants to collect all image URLs from a page. They use extract_node_attributes to pull the 'src' attribute from every img tag.

### API Response Validation
An engineer uses the MCP to verify that a complex XML response from a legacy system matches the expected structure.

## Benefits

- Eliminate guesswork by using exact paths to find data with evaluate_xpath_expression.
- Prevent broken workflows by using validate_document_structure to catch malformed files early.
- Pull hidden metadata like IDs and links using extract_node_attributes.
- Reduce errors in data pipelines by ensuring documents follow proper structural rules.
- Speed up data collection by letting your agent navigate complex hierarchies directly.

## How It Works

The bottom line is you stop fighting with messy markup and start getting clean data instantly.

1. Provide the XML or HTML document string to your agent.
2. Define the specific path or attribute you want to find.
3. Receive the exact value or attribute string directly in your chat.

## Frequently Asked Questions

**How can I use XPath Extractor to pull data from web pages?**
You can provide the HTML content of a page to your agent, and it will use the XPath tools to find and extract the specific text or attributes you need.

**Can XPath Extractor help me validate my XML files?**
Yes, it includes a specific tool to check if your XML strings are well-formed and free of syntax errors before you try to process them.

**Will this work with any AI client?**
Yes, as long as your client is MCP-compatible, like Claude, Cursor, or Windsurf, you can connect and use these tools immediately.

**Can I extract attributes like links or IDs using XPath Extractor?**
Absolutely. You can use the attribute extraction tool to pull specific metadata like hrefs, IDs, or classes from any element you've located.

**Is this MCP useful for automated data scraping?**
It is highly effective for targeted scraping where you need to grab specific, predictable data points from structured markup.

**What kind of documents can I parse?**
You can parse both XML and HTML documents. Use `validate_document_structure` to check if your document is well-formed before running queries.

**How do I get attribute values?**
You can use `extract_node_attributes` to target specific attributes, or use `evaluate_xpath_expression` with an XPath expression that points directly to the attribute.

**Does it support HTML5?**
The tool supports HTML parsing via the 'html' mode in `validate_document_structure`, which is more lenient with unclosed tags.