> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.firecrawl.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Express

> Use Firecrawl with Express to build web scraping and search APIs.

## Prerequisites

* Node.js 18+
* A Firecrawl API key — [get one free](https://www.firecrawl.dev/app/api-keys)

## Setup

```bash theme={null}
npm install express @mendable/firecrawl-js
```

Add your API key to `.env`:

```bash theme={null}
FIRECRAWL_API_KEY=fc-YOUR-API-KEY
```

## Search the web

```javascript theme={null}
import express from "express";
import Firecrawl from "@mendable/firecrawl-js";

const app = express();
app.use(express.json());

const firecrawl = new Firecrawl({ apiKey: process.env.FIRECRAWL_API_KEY });

app.post("/search", async (req, res) => {
  try {
    const { query } = req.body;
    const results = await firecrawl.search(query, { limit: 5 });
    res.json(results);
  } catch (error) {
    res.status(500).json({ error: error.message });
  }
});

app.listen(3000, () => console.log("Server running on port 3000"));
```

## Scrape a page

```javascript theme={null}
app.post("/scrape", async (req, res) => {
  try {
    const { url } = req.body;
    const result = await firecrawl.scrape(url);
    res.json(result);
  } catch (error) {
    res.status(500).json({ error: error.message });
  }
});
```

## Interact with a page

Use interact to control a live browser session — click buttons, fill forms, and extract dynamic content.

```javascript theme={null}
app.post("/interact", async (req, res) => {
  try {
    const { url } = req.body;

    const result = await firecrawl.scrape(url, { formats: ['markdown'] });
    const scrapeId = result.metadata?.scrapeId;

    await firecrawl.interact(scrapeId, { prompt: 'Search for iPhone 16 Pro Max' });
    const response = await firecrawl.interact(scrapeId, { prompt: 'Click on the first result and tell me the price' });

    await firecrawl.stopInteraction(scrapeId);

    res.json({ output: response.output });
  } catch (error) {
    res.status(500).json({ error: error.message });
  }
});
```

## Test it

```bash theme={null}
curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/search \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "firecrawl web scraping"}'
```

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Scrape docs" icon="file-lines" href="/features/scrape">
    All scrape options including formats, actions, and proxies
  </Card>

  <Card title="Search docs" icon="magnifying-glass" href="/features/search">
    Search the web and get full page content
  </Card>

  <Card title="Interact docs" icon="hand-pointer" href="/features/interact">
    Click, fill forms, and extract dynamic content
  </Card>

  <Card title="Node SDK reference" icon="node" href="/sdks/node">
    Full SDK reference with crawl, map, batch scrape, and more
  </Card>
</CardGroup>