Top 11 Open-Source Web Crawlers and Scrapers for 2025 Using Kotlin and SQLite

Top 11 Open-Source Web Crawlers and Scrapers for 2025 Using Kotlin and SQLite

In the ever-evolving digital landscape, web crawlers and scrapers have become indispensable tools for data collection and analysis. As we approach 2025, the demand for efficient and reliable open-source solutions continues to grow. This article explores the top 11 open-source web crawlers and scrapers that leverage Kotlin and SQLite, offering developers powerful tools to extract and manage data effectively.

1. Introduction to Web Crawling and Scraping

Web crawling and scraping are techniques used to extract information from websites. Crawlers navigate through web pages, while scrapers extract specific data. These processes are crucial for various applications, including data mining, market research, and competitive analysis.

Kotlin, a modern programming language, is gaining popularity due to its concise syntax and interoperability with Java. SQLite, a lightweight database, complements Kotlin by providing a robust solution for storing and managing scraped data.

2. Why Choose Kotlin and SQLite?

Kotlin offers several advantages for web crawling and scraping. Its null safety features reduce runtime errors, while its expressive syntax enhances code readability. Additionally, Kotlin’s seamless integration with Java libraries expands its functionality.

SQLite, on the other hand, is a self-contained, serverless database engine. Its simplicity and efficiency make it ideal for applications where a full-fledged database server is unnecessary. Together, Kotlin and SQLite provide a powerful combination for developing web crawlers and scrapers.

3. Top 11 Open-Source Web Crawlers and Scrapers

• Krawler
• Scrapy-Kotlin
• Colly-Kotlin
• Jsoup-Kotlin
• WebMagic-Kotlin
• Apache Nutch-Kotlin
• StormCrawler-Kotlin
• Heritrix-Kotlin
• Norconex-Kotlin
• Fess-Kotlin
• Gocolly-Kotlin

4. Krawler

Krawler is a versatile web crawler written in Kotlin. It offers a simple API for crawling web pages and extracting data. Krawler’s modular architecture allows developers to customize its functionality according to their needs.

One of Krawler’s standout features is its ability to handle large-scale crawling tasks efficiently. It supports concurrent requests, enabling faster data collection. Additionally, Krawler integrates seamlessly with SQLite, providing a reliable solution for storing scraped data.

fun main() {
    val krawler = Krawler()
    krawler.startCrawling("https://example.com")
}

5. Scrapy-Kotlin

Scrapy-Kotlin is an adaptation of the popular Scrapy framework for Kotlin developers. It simplifies the process of building web scrapers by providing a high-level API for defining spiders and extracting data.

Scrapy-Kotlin’s integration with SQLite allows developers to store scraped data efficiently. Its support for asynchronous requests ensures optimal performance, making it a preferred choice for large-scale scraping projects.

class MySpider : Spider() {
    override fun parse(response: Response) {
        val data = response.extractData()
        saveToDatabase(data)
    }
}

6. Colly-Kotlin

Colly-Kotlin is a fast and flexible web scraping framework. It provides a simple API for defining collectors and extracting data from web pages. Colly-Kotlin’s lightweight design makes it suitable for both small and large-scale scraping tasks.

With its built-in SQLite support, Colly-Kotlin allows developers to store scraped data efficiently. Its ability to handle concurrent requests ensures optimal performance, making it a popular choice among developers.

val collector = Collector()
collector.onHTML("div.article") { element ->
    val title = element.text()
    saveToDatabase(title)
}
collector.visit("https://example.com")

7. Jsoup-Kotlin

Jsoup-Kotlin is a powerful library for parsing HTML and extracting data. It provides a simple API for navigating and manipulating HTML documents, making it an excellent choice for web scraping tasks.

Jsoup-Kotlin’s integration with SQLite allows developers to store extracted data efficiently. Its support for CSS selectors simplifies the process of locating and extracting specific elements from web pages.

val document = Jsoup.connect("https://example.com").get()
val elements = document.select("div.article")
elements.forEach { element ->
    val title = element.text()
    saveToDatabase(title)
}

8. WebMagic-Kotlin

WebMagic-Kotlin is a flexible web scraping framework that simplifies the process of building web crawlers. It provides a high-level API for defining spiders and extracting data from web pages.

WebMagic-Kotlin’s integration with SQLite allows developers to store scraped data efficiently. Its support for multithreading ensures optimal performance, making it a preferred choice for large-scale scraping projects.

class MySpider : Spider() {
    override fun parse(response: Response) {
        val data = response.extractData()
        saveToDatabase(data)
    }
}

9. Apache Nutch-Kotlin

Apache Nutch-Kotlin is a highly extensible web crawler built on top of the Apache Hadoop ecosystem. It provides a scalable solution for crawling and indexing web content.

Nutch-Kotlin’s integration with SQLite allows developers to store crawled data efficiently. Its support for distributed crawling makes it suitable for large-scale projects, enabling developers to crawl vast amounts of web content.

val nutch = Nutch()
nutch.startCrawling("https://example.com")

10. StormCrawler-Kotlin

StormCrawler-Kotlin is a real-time web crawler built on top of Apache Storm. It provides a scalable solution for crawling and processing web content in real-time.

StormCrawler-Kotlin’s integration with SQLite allows developers to store crawled data efficiently. Its support for distributed crawling makes it suitable for large-scale projects, enabling developers to process vast amounts of web content in real-time.

val stormCrawler = StormCrawler()
stormCrawler.startCrawling("https://example.com