• ACTIVE
  • STOPPED
  • NEW
  • HUMAN

How to run and monitor scrapers with your AI

Connect PhantomBuster to your agent to turn your chat interface into a command center for web automation.

Ask AI about this page

Short answer

How can I control PhantomBuster scrapers using my AI?

You can trigger specific Phantoms, pull a list of everything currently running, and check individual progress. If a scraper goes off the rails, you can tell your AI to kill the process immediately. This gives you direct control over your automation without opening a browser tab.

Automation outcomes

What you can achieve

Your AI handles the heavy lifting of managing your automation tasks.

ACTIVE

Live task control

Your AI monitors the status of running Phantoms. You get real-time updates on whether a scraper is working or finished.

STOPPED

Emergency aborts

If a scraper starts behaving badly or hitting limits, your AI can shut it down. This prevents wasted credits and messy data.

NEW

Instant deployment

You can kick off new automation tasks directly from your chat. Your AI handles the handoff to PhantomBuster.

HUMAN

Manual oversight

The AI reports the status, but you decide when to pivot strategies or change the scraper settings. You remain the pilot.

The workflow

What your AI does when <the thing arrives>.

The AI acts as the bridge between your natural language instructions and the PhantomBuster API.

  1. Identify scrapers

    The AI looks through your account to see which automation Phantoms are available to use.

    list_phantoms

  2. Start automation

    Once you pick a target, the AI triggers the specific Phantom to begin its work.

    launch_phantom

  3. Check progress

    The AI pulls the current state of a specific task to see if it's still running or if it finished.

    get_phantom

  4. Kill runaway tasks

    If you see an error in the logs or just want to stop, the AI terminates the execution.

    abort_phantom

Try it

Copy these to start.

Use these prompts to begin managing your scrapers.

Starting points

Swap out the bracketed text for your actual Phantom names or IDs.

PhantomBuster Connector

You're all set. Choose your MCP client and follow the setup instructions.

Connector linkhttps://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_cEm1qpekB7GtJpKhz0j9McLvg4Hh97Lo7G4lguN0/mcp

Claude Desktop

Follow the steps below to connect in seconds.

  1. 1In Claude Desktop, open Settings → Connectors.
  2. 2Click “Add custom connector” and paste the connector link above as the remote MCP server URL.
  3. 3Click Add and start a new chat — PhantomBuster capabilities are ready to use.
Configuration · claude_desktop_config.jsonCopy
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "phantombuster-mcp": {
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_cEm1qpekB7GtJpKhz0j9McLvg4Hh97Lo7G4lguN0/mcp"
    }
  }
}
Copy into chat04

  • List all my active Phantoms so I can see what is running.

  • Launch the LinkedIn Profile Scraper Phantom now.

  • Check the status of my current Instagram scraper to see if it's done.

  • Stop the Twitter scraper immediately; it's hitting too many limits.

  • Claude
  • ChatGPT
  • Cursor
  • VS Code
  • Windsurf
  • Claude Code
  • JetBrains
  • Cline

Start here

Connect PhantomBuster once, then ask.

Just link your account once. Your credentials stay encrypted, and you can start commanding Phantoms through any compatible client.

Connect PhantomBuster to your AI

FAQ

How this task behaves

  • 01

    Can my AI create new Phantoms from scratch?

    No. The AI can only launch, monitor, or stop Phantoms that you have already set up in your PhantomBuster account.

  • 02

    Will the AI delete my scrapers?

    No. The AI can stop a running task, but it cannot delete the Phantom configuration itself.

  • 03

    Can the AI change the settings of a Phantom?

    No. The AI can only trigger the execution or stop it. You must adjust the scraper settings manually in the PhantomBuster dashboard.

  • 04

    How does the AI know if a scraper failed?

    The AI uses the status data from the Phantom to see if a task has stopped or encountered an error.

  • 05

    Can I use this to run multiple Phantoms at once?

    Yes. You can command your AI to launch several different Phantoms in sequence or simultaneously.

  • More questions about PhantomBuster? The Connector page answers them. See everything the PhantomBuster Connector can do

Connect PhantomBuster to Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT & more