CraigsHelper - Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

I've heard that craigslist-search sites like this always end up getting blocked. How is craigshelper.com different?

The difference with Craig's Little Helper is that it doesn't actually 'crawl' or 'scrape' craigslist. In fact, the CLH server doesn't access craigslist at all. Instead, the site basically just automates the process of typing in the search in each craigslist city. Your browser sends the search requests directly to craigslist, and the listings you see in the results window are exactly the same as if you'd gone to the craigslist sites and entered the searches manually.

The great thing about this is that, from craigslist's perspective, it's exactly as if you had done the searches manually. The results pages are opened as you view them, so there is no added strain on their servers, and the requests come straight from your browser, so craigshelper.com doesn't enter the equation at all.

Why don't you filter out cities with no results/show the number of results for each city/put all the results in one big list?

I would LOVE to be able to do these things. Unfortunately, this ties into the point above. Because the results go directly from craigslist to your browser, my code can't actually do anything with them. That includes even viewing them to know how many there are, etc. They're simply passed on, as-is. Otherwise, the CraigsHelper code would have to actually look at the results, which would break craigslist's terms of use, not to mention likely get the site blocked. However, I continuously do everything within my power to make things easier. See the new stacked mode and advanced keywords for examples.
Could you add options to filter the results by date?

Same deal I'm afraid. The requests go straight from your browser to craigslist, so there's no way for me to add any functionality beyond what they provide. Hopefully the new stacked results mode (available through the Options link on the results page) will help though.
Can't you use AJAX or Javascript to do these things?

Unfortunately javascript has security blocks that prevent any cross-site scripting. So... short answer, no - Javascript can't be used to do anything fancy with the craigslist results. (And besides, it would be breaking their terms of use.)

When I click on a craigslist ad then click 'back', it jumps to the top of the list and the ad isn't hilighted. Why?

This is due to a bug in internet explorer. Unfortunately there is no way for me to work around it at present. You could use the Firefox browser instead, or maybe open the ads in new tabs, as described in the Tips.
When I do a search, the results page just says "Loading..." forever.

If you are using Firefox, this shouldn't happen. If it does, please send me an email.

If you are not using Firefox, try refreshing the page - it should come up the second time.
How come craigshelper.com doesn't remember the cities I've searched so I don't have to enter them next time?

Craig's Little Helper should remember all your settings. If this isn't happening, you probably need to enable cookies.
CraigsHelper isn't working properly in Opera

Simple fix there: Tools/Quick Preferences/uncheck 'enable referrer logging'
I've got another question that wasn't covered here.

You could check out the Help and Tips page, in case your question is answered there.

Also, go take a look at the new forums! There's lots of useful info there already, and more being added every day. You can also post questions or suggestions, or just random drivel, if you so desire. :) I read the forums regularly, and will answer your questions in short order. If you have a suggestion, I may well take it too. That's how things like the regions dropdown and the refresh button got introduced.

Cheers,
Craig's Helper Nathan

Back to Main Page