This Kompass scraper tutorial shows how to turn a vetted list of fr.kompass.com company detail URLs into a local CSV export with the Kompass Company Detail Scraper for UScraper. You will prepare source URLs, import the workflow, set the export path, run a small validation batch, and read the output before scaling.
Before you start
Prerequisites for a Kompass scraper tutorial
You need the UScraper local desktop app, the Kompass Company Detail Scraper template, and a list of Kompass company detail URLs you are allowed to process. This tutorial is detail-page first: it assumes you already have URLs such as company profile pages from the French Kompass directory, not a broad instruction to crawl every search result.
Kompass describes Business Place as a way to access companies by sector, location, and activity, which is useful for supplier research, B2B enrichment, and market mapping. That usefulness does not remove your compliance work. Review the current Kompass terms of use, keep volumes modest, avoid private or login-only data, and do not try to defeat access controls.
Treat automation as a data collection method, not as permission. If your team needs contractual access, redistribution rights, or guaranteed volume, use an approved data agreement or official route.
Input list
Prepare Kompass detail URLs before scraping
Good Kompass scraping starts before UScraper opens a browser. Create a small input sheet with one URL per row, plus the source campaign, market, owner, and reason for collection. That gives you a clean audit trail when someone later asks why a company was included or why a record was skipped.
Use detail pages, not category pages, country landing pages, or search-result URLs. A detail URL usually points to one company profile and is a better fit for this workflow because the extractor can write one CSV row per source page. If you also need discovery from keywords or categories, handle that as a separate workflow, then feed the reviewed detail URLs into this scraper.
| Input check | Keep | Remove or review |
|---|---|---|
| URL type | Company profile URLs on the target Kompass domain | Search pages, category lists, marketing pages, and login-only pages |
| Country scope | One country domain per first test batch | Mixed country domains until selectors are validated |
| Duplicates | One canonical URL per company | Tracking variants, repeated source rows, and copied redirect URLs |
| Compliance notes | Business purpose, source, owner, and run date | Unknown lists with no collection reason |
Before importing the list, open three to five URLs manually in the same browser session you plan to automate. Confirm that normal page content appears without account-only gates, that your target fields are visible, and that the pages load consistently. This quick check prevents a common failure mode: spending time debugging selectors when the real issue is source quality or access.
Workflow map
How the Kompass business directory scraper works
The bundled JSON workflow is intentionally simple. It does not search Kompass, click through pagination, or discover new companies. Instead, it processes a list of known detail URLs and writes one row per accessible profile.
Navigate -> Wait for Page Load -> Sleep -> Detect challenge
-> if challenge: Loop Continue
-> if accessible: Wait for body -> Structured Export -> Loop Continue
The Navigate block contains sample fr.kompass.com company URLs. Replace those with your approved input list. The challenge check looks for common captcha-delivery.com and DataDome assets; when detected, the workflow skips that URL rather than exporting a CAPTCHA page as company data. Structured Export then runs JavaScript columns against body and appends the result to a local CSV.
| Workflow part | What to check | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Navigate URLs | Replace the five sample profiles with your own approved detail URLs | The template is a detail scraper, not a search crawler. |
| Page waits | Keep page load, sleep, and body wait blocks in place | Company data may render after the first network response. |
| Challenge branch | Leave the DataDome and captcha-delivery selector check enabled | Blocked pages should be skipped, not stored as false company rows. |
| Structured Export | Confirm filename, save folder, headers, and append mode | Pagination-free URL batches need one accumulating CSV. |
| Loop Continue | Keep it after blocked pages and successful exports | Every source URL should either export or move on cleanly. |
Runbook
How to scrape Kompass company detail pages to CSV
Collect approved detail URLs
Build a short list of company profile URLs from Kompass pages your team is allowed to review. Keep the source, search context, and collection reason beside the URL list.
Import the UScraper template
Open the template page, download the JSON workflow, and import it into the UScraper local desktop app. Do not paste the full workflow manually unless you are debugging a specific block.
Replace the Navigate inputs
Open the Navigate block and replace the starter URLs with your batch. Begin with five to ten profiles so validation is fast and selector problems are obvious.
Set the export folder
In Structured Export, confirm kompass_annuaire_des_entreprises_scraper_detail.csv, includeHeaders, append mode, and a project-specific save location on your machine.
Run and inspect the first CSV
Run the workflow, open the CSV, and compare several rows against the live Kompass profiles. Expand only after company names, URLs, legal IDs, websites, and activity fields look stable.
Append mode is useful for batches, but it can mix test rows with production rows. Use a dated output folder or clear the CSV between test runs when you are adjusting URL lists or selector logic.
Output
What the Kompass data extractor exports
The JSON export defines 17 CSV columns. There is no bundled CSV sample, so treat the workflow definition as the source of truth and validate output against live pages.
| CSV column | Field meaning | Validation note |
|---|---|---|
URL_entrée | Final Kompass URL visited | Use this for auditing and deduplication. |
Nom | Company name from heading or metadata fallback | Check that suffixes from page titles are removed cleanly. |
Lieu, Pays | City, postal code, and country | Some pages expose structured address fields; others require text matching. |
Téléphone, Site | Visible phone and external company website | Blank values can be normal when Kompass hides or omits contact details. |
Présentation | Long company description or metadata description | Watch for cookie, challenge, or boilerplate text in failed runs. |
Nature, Création, Forme_juridique | Establishment type, creation year, and legal form | These depend on labels visible in the profile body. |
Activité, Capital | Activity classification and capital | Activity detection looks for NAF-style activity text when present. |
SIREN, SIRET, TVA | French legal and tax identifiers | Validate formatting before merging with CRM or procurement systems. |
Effectifs_adresse, Effectifs_entreprise | Employee ranges at address and company level | Expect ranges, not exact headcount, when exposed. |
kompass_annuaire_des_entreprises_scraper_detail.csv
URL_entrée, Nom, Lieu, Pays, Téléphone, Présentation, Site, Nature,
Création, Forme_juridique, Activité, Capital, SIREN, SIRET, TVA,
Effectifs_adresse, Effectifs_entreprise
If the first CSV contains company names and URLs but misses some legal fields, do not assume the run failed. Kompass profiles are not uniform. The right validation question is whether the field is visible on the source page and whether the extractor captured it when it was visible.
Alternatives
Kompass scraper vs Octoparse, Apify, and hosted tools
Octoparse publishes Kompass template pages, including a detail-page template. Apify also lists a Kompass scraper actor with API-oriented usage paths. Other hosted scraping tools and data services position themselves around cloud runs, AI-assisted extraction, or managed data delivery.
| Option | Best fit | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| UScraper local desktop app | Supervised CSV exports from approved Kompass detail URLs | You maintain URL lists, pacing, selectors, and compliance review. |
| Octoparse templates | No-code users who prefer a hosted template catalog | Pricing, run mode, and export behavior depend on Octoparse's platform. |
| Apify actor | Developers who want cloud runs, API calls, and actor infrastructure | Input URLs and exported rows are handled in a hosted environment. |
| Managed data service | Teams buying finished B2B datasets instead of running automation | Less workflow control and usually more vendor dependence. |
For many analysts, the practical question is not "which Kompass scraping tool is most powerful?" It is "where should the URL list and exported company rows live, and who maintains the workflow?" UScraper is strongest when you want a local, visible, no-code workflow you can inspect before each research batch.
Troubleshooting
Common Kompass scraping issues
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No row for a URL | The challenge branch detected DataDome or captcha-delivery | Pause, reduce volume, review access, and rerun a smaller batch. |
| Company name is blank | The heading or metadata changed | Inspect the current page and update the Nom JavaScript column. |
| Phone or website is missing | The field is hidden, absent, or not exposed to the session | Treat it as optional unless the live profile clearly shows it. |
| Legal IDs are malformed | Text formatting or country layout differs from the French assumptions | Validate only French profiles with SIREN/SIRET expectations, or add country-specific logic. |
| Old and new rows are mixed | Append mode reused an existing CSV | Clear the file or create a dated export folder before production runs. |
FAQ
Kompass company detail scraper FAQ
Kompass company pages can include publicly visible B2B information, but automated access may still be limited by Kompass terms, robots guidance, database rights, privacy rules, and local law. Review the current terms, avoid bypassing access controls, keep runs modest, and get legal review before commercial reuse.
Next step
Download the Kompass company detail scraper template
Download Kompass Company Detail Scraper, import it into the UScraper local desktop app, and keep this tutorial open for your first validation pass. For adjacent workflows, browse the UScraper template library or the UScraper blog for more scraping tutorials and comparison guides.