CLI Reference¶

OPAL provides command-line tools for scraping Alabama news sites and court records. For the easiest way to build commands, use our Interactive Command Builder which provides a visual interface with examples and real-time validation.

Command Structure¶

Basic Syntax¶

python -m opal --url <URL> --parser <PARSER> [OPTIONS]

Available Tools¶

Main OPAL CLI - For news articles and basic court scraping

python -m opal --url <URL> --parser <PARSER> [options]

Configurable Court Extractor - For advanced court searches with filters

python -m opal.configurable_court_extractor --court <TYPE> [options]

Common Examples¶

News Scraping¶

1819 News Articles:

python -m opal --url https://1819news.com/ --parser Parser1819 --suffix /news/item --max_pages 5

Alabama Daily News:

python -m opal --url https://www.aldailynews.com/ --parser ParserDailyNews --max_pages 3

Court Records¶

Basic Court Scraping:

python -m opal --url https://publicportal.alappeals.gov/portal/search/case/results --parser ParserAppealsAL

Advanced Court Search:

# Last 7 days of civil cases, excluding closed
python -m opal.configurable_court_extractor --court civil --date-period 7d --exclude-closed

# Last month of criminal cases (JSON and CSV automatically generated)
python -m opal.configurable_court_extractor --court criminal --date-period 1m

Complete Parameter Reference¶

Main OPAL Parameters¶

Parameter	Description	Required	Example
`--url`	Base URL of the website to scrape	Yes	`https://1819news.com/`
`--parser`	Parser to use (`Parser1819`, `ParserDailyNews`, `ParserAppealsAL`)	Yes	`Parser1819`
`--suffix`	URL suffix to filter articles	No	`/news/item`
`--max_pages`	Maximum number of pages to scrape	No	`5`

Court Extractor Parameters¶

Parameter	Description	Default	Example
`--court`	Court type (`civil`, `criminal`, `supreme`)	`civil`	`civil`
`--date-period`	Time period (`7d`, `1m`, `3m`, `6m`, `1y`, `custom`)	`1y`	`7d`
`--exclude-closed`	Exclude closed cases	False	`--exclude-closed`
`--case-number`	Search specific case number	None	`2024-CA-001`
`--case-title`	Search by case title	None	`Smith v. Jones`
`--start-date`	Custom range start date (YYYY-MM-DD)	None	`2024-01-01`
`--end-date`	Custom range end date (YYYY-MM-DD)	None	`2024-12-31`
`--max-pages`	Maximum pages to process	All	`10`
`--output-prefix`	Prefix for output files	`court_cases`	`civil_appeals`

CSV Output

The court extractor automatically generates both JSON and CSV output files for every search. There's no need to specify a separate flag - both formats are always created.

Getting Help¶

Command-Line Help¶

# Main OPAL help
python -m opal --help

# Court extractor help
python -m opal.configurable_court_extractor --help

Interactive Resources¶

🛠️ Interactive Command Builder - Build commands visually with examples
📋 Common Use Cases - Real-world scenarios and workflows
💾 Output Examples - See what data you'll get
🚀 Quick Start Tutorial - Step-by-step first scrape

Tips and Best Practices¶

Start Small: Use --max_pages 1 when testing to verify your command works
Use Suffixes: For news sites, use --suffix to filter only article pages
Check Output: Review the JSON output format in Output Examples
Rate Limiting: The court scraper includes automatic delays to respect server limits
Virtual Environment: Always run OPAL in a virtual environment to avoid conflicts

Troubleshooting¶

If you encounter errors: 1. Check your URL is correct and accessible 2. Verify you're using the right parser for your target site 3. Ensure Chrome is installed (for court scraping) 4. See Understanding Errors for detailed error explanations