ApiTap — The MCP Server That Turns Any Website Into an API

No docs, no SDK, no browser. Just data.

What It Does

ApiTap gives AI agents cheap access to web data through three layers:

1. Read — Decode any URL into structured text without a browser (side-channel APIs, og: tags, HTML extraction). 0-10K tokens vs 50-200K for browser automation.
2. Replay — Call captured API endpoints directly. 1-5K tokens per call.
3. Capture — Record API traffic from a headless browser session, generating reusable skill files.

MCP Tools (12)

Tier 0: Triage (free)

apitap_peek

Zero-cost URL triage. HTTP HEAD only — checks accessibility, bot protection, framework detection.

apitap_peek(url: string) → PeekResult

Use when: You want to know if a site is accessible before spending tokens. Check bot protection, detect frameworks.

Returns: { status, accessible, server, framework, botProtection, signals[], recommendation }

recommendation is one of: read | capture | auth_required | blocked

Example:

apitap_peek("https://www.zillow.com") → { status: 200, recommendation: "read" }
apitap_peek("https://www.doordash.com") → { status: 403, botProtection: "cloudflare", recommendation: "blocked" }

Tier 1: Read (0-10K tokens, no browser)

apitap_read

Extract content from any URL without a browser. Uses side-channel APIs for known sites and HTML extraction for everything else.

apitap_read(url: string, maxBytes?: number) → ReadResult

Use when: You need page content, article text, post data, or listing info. Always try this before capture.

Returns: { title, author, description, content (markdown), links[], images[], metadata: { source, type, publishedAt }, cost: { tokens } }

Site-specific decoders (free, structured): | Site | Side Channel | What You Get | |------|-------------|-------------| | Reddit | .json suffix | Posts, scores, comments, authors — full structured data | | YouTube | oembed API | Title, author, channel, thumbnail | | Wikipedia | REST API | Article summary, structured, with edit dates | | Hacker News | Firebase API | Stories, scores, comments, real-time | | Grokipedia | xAI public API | Full articles with citations, search, 6M+ articles | | Twitter/X | fxtwitter API | Full tweets, articles, engagement, quotes, media | | Everything else | og: tags + HTML extraction | Title, content as markdown, links, images |

Examples:

# Reddit — full subreddit listing, ~500 tokens
apitap_read("https://www.reddit.com/r/technology")

# Reddit post with comments
apitap_read("https://www.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets/comments/abc123/some-post")

# YouTube — 36 tokens
apitap_read("https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ")

# Wikipedia — 116 tokens
apitap_read("https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence")

# Grokipedia — full article with citations, 6M+ articles
apitap_read("https://grokipedia.com/wiki/SpaceX")

# Grokipedia — search across 6M articles
apitap_read("https://grokipedia.com/search?q=artificial+intelligence")

# Grokipedia — site stats and recent activity
apitap_read("https://grokipedia.com/")

# Twitter/X — full tweet with engagement, articles, quotes
apitap_read("https://x.com/elonmusk/status/123456789")

# Twitter/X article (long-form post) — full text extracted
apitap_read("https://twitter.com/writer/status/987654321")

# Any article/blog/news — generic extraction
apitap_read("https://example.com/blog/some-article")

# Zillow listing (bypasses PerimeterX via og: tags)
apitap_read("https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/123-Main-St/12345_zpid/")

Tier 2: Replay (1-5K tokens, needs skill file)

apitap_search

Find available skill files by domain or keyword.

apitap_search(query: string) → { found, results[] }

Use when: Looking for captured API endpoints. Search by domain name or topic.

apitap_replay

Call a captured API endpoint directly — no browser needed.

apitap_replay(domain: string, endpointId: string, endpointParams?: object, maxBytes?: number) → ReplayResult

Use when: A skill file exists for this domain. This is the cheapest way to get structured API data.

Returns: { status, data (JSON), domain, endpointId, tier, fromCache }

Example:

# Get live stock quote (Robinhood, no auth needed)
apitap_replay("api.robinhood.com", "get-marketdata-quotes", { symbols: "TSLA,MSFT" })

# Get NBA scores (ESPN)
apitap_replay("site.api.espn.com", "get-apis-personalized-v2-scoreboard-header")

# Get crypto trending (CoinMarketCap)
apitap_replay("api.coinmarketcap.com", "get-data-api-v3-unified-trending-top-boost-listing")

apitap_replay_batch

Replay multiple endpoints in one call.

apitap_replay_batch(requests: Array<{ domain, endpointId, endpointParams? }>, maxBytes?: number)

Tier 3: Capture (15-20K tokens, uses browser)

apitap_capture

Launch a headless browser to capture API traffic from a website.

apitap_capture(url: string, duration?: number) → { sessionId }

Use when: No skill file exists and apitap_read doesn't give you the data you need. This is expensive but creates a skill file for future free replays.

apitap_capture_interact

Send browser commands during an active capture session.

apitap_capture_interact(sessionId: string, action: string, ...) → result

Actions: click, type, navigate, snapshot, scroll, wait

apitap_capture_finish

End capture session, generate skill file, verify endpoints.

apitap_capture_finish(sessionId: string) → { skillFile, endpoints[] }

Auto-Router

apitap_browse

Automatic escalation: cache → skill file → discover → read → capture_needed.

apitap_browse(url: string, query?: string, maxBytes?: number) → result

Use when: You don't know which tier to use. This tries the cheapest option first and escalates automatically.

Inspection

apitap_inspect

Get details about a skill file's endpoints.

apitap_inspect(domain: string) → { endpoints[], metadata }

apitap_stats

Usage statistics across all skill files.

apitap_stats() → { domains, endpoints, tiers }

Decision Tree

Need web data?
│
├─ Know the domain? → apitap_search → found? → apitap_replay (cheapest)
│
├─ Unknown URL → apitap_peek first (free)
│   ├─ recommendation: "blocked" → STOP, tell user
│   ├─ recommendation: "read" → apitap_read (no browser)
│   ├─ recommendation: "capture" → apitap_capture (browser)
│   └─ recommendation: "auth_required" → needs human login
│
├─ Just need article/post content → apitap_read directly
│
└─ Need structured API data → apitap_capture → creates skill file → future replays free

Key Patterns

Instagram profile data (login wall bypass)

Instagram blocks all normal scraping (Googlebot UA, oembed, noembed). But the mobile API works:

curl -s 'https://i.instagram.com/api/v1/users/web_profile_info/?params={"user_name":"TARGET_USERNAME"}' \
  -H 'User-Agent: Instagram 275.0.0.27.98 Android (33/13; 420dpi; 1080x2400; samsung; SM-G991B; o1s; exynos2100)' \
  -H 'X-IG-App-ID: 936619743392459'

Returns: Full profile JSON — bio, follower/following counts, post count, contact info (email, phone), category, highlights, recent posts with captions/engagement.

When to use: Need Instagram profile data, follower counts, contact info, or recent post summaries. Works without auth.

Limitations: Only public profiles. Rate-limited if abused. Does NOT return full post feeds — just recent edge.

Morning news scan

# Scan multiple subreddits
for sub in ["technology", "wallstreetbets", "privacy"]:
    apitap_read(f"https://www.reddit.com/r/{sub}")

Stock research

# Live quote via captured API
apitap_replay("api.robinhood.com", "get-marketdata-quotes", { symbols: "TSLA" })

# Company fundamentals
apitap_replay("api.robinhood.com", "get-fundamentals", { symbol: "TSLA" })

Research any topic (dual knowledge base)

# 1. Read Wikipedia summary (established knowledge)
apitap_read("https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topic")

# 2. Read Grokipedia article (AI-curated, with citations)
apitap_read("https://grokipedia.com/wiki/Topic")

# 3. Check Reddit discussion (community sentiment)
apitap_read("https://www.reddit.com/r/relevant_sub")

# 4. Read a linked article
apitap_read("https://news-site.com/article")

Check before committing

# Peek first — is it worth reading?
result = apitap_peek("https://some-site.com")
if result.recommendation == "read":
    apitap_read("https://some-site.com")
elif result.recommendation == "blocked":
    # Don't waste tokens
    pass

Token Economics

| Method | Cost per page | Notes | |--------|-------------|-------| | Browser automation | 50-200K tokens | Full DOM serialization | | apitap_read | 0-10K tokens | No browser, side channels | | apitap_replay | 1-5K tokens | Direct API call, needs skill file | | apitap_peek | ~0 tokens | HEAD request only |

CLI Usage

All MCP tools are also available as CLI commands:

apitap peek <url> [--json]
apitap read <url> [--json] [--max-bytes <n>]
apitap search <query> [--json]
apitap replay <domain> <endpointId> [--params '{}'] [--json]
apitap capture <url> [--duration <sec>] [--json]
apitap inspect <domain> [--json]
apitap stats [--json]

Every command supports --json for machine-readable output.