Block reference / Browser

Block resources

Stop images, video, fonts, stylesheets or chosen addresses from loading in the current tab.

Only inWarpX Browser

Partly works in WarpX Browser. Needs a Chromium-based profile. On a Camoufox (Firefox) profile the block fails with "Block resources needs a Chromium-based profile".

Block resources tells the tab not to load certain kinds of files, or any address you list. Pages load faster and use less proxy traffic, which matters on a residential or 4G proxy billed by the gigabyte. The blocking holds for the tab until a Block resources block set to Load everything again runs, or the tab closes.

The Block resources block's settings, filled in as in the example below.

Settings

Description

A note shown on the block in the canvas.

ExampleSave proxy traffic
Block / Load everything again

The two choices at the top. Block applies the settings below. Load everything again lifts all blocking from the tab.

ExampleBlock
Imageswhen Block / Load everything again is Block

Addresses containing .png, .jpg, .jpeg, .gif, .webp, .avif, .svg, .ico or .bmp.

ExampleChecked
Video and audiowhen Block / Load everything again is Block

Addresses containing .mp4, .webm, .ogg, .mp3, .m4a, .wav, .mov or .m3u8.

ExampleChecked
Fontswhen Block / Load everything again is Block

Addresses containing .woff, .woff2, .ttf, .otf or .eot.

ExampleChecked
Stylesheets (CSS)when Block / Load everything again is Block

Addresses containing .css. Pages without their styles can lay out so differently that selectors for visible elements stop matching, so leave it off unless you only read text.

ExampleUnchecked
Also block addresses containingwhen Block / Load everything again is Block

One pattern per line (commas also separate). A pattern without * blocks any address that contains it; with * it is a wildcard pattern.

Example
google-analytics.com
*doubleclick*
hotjar.com

Every block also has the shared block settings — a description, Disable block and what to do on an error. Fields that take text accept data from earlier blocks.

What it hands on

Leaves by its only output and hands on the list of patterns it blocked as {{prevBlockData}}.

Example: Scrape 50 product pages through a residential proxy without images

  1. Start
  2. New tab
  3. Block resources
  4. Loop data
  5. Open URL
  6. Get text
  7. Loop breakpoint
Where Block resources sits in the example workflow.
  1. Add a New tab block with https://shop.example.com.
  2. Add a Block resources block. Keep Block, tick Images, Video and audio and Fonts, and add google-analytics.com under Also block addresses containing.
  3. Add a Loop data block over the product addresses.
  4. Inside the loop, add an Open URL block with {{loopData.products}}, which loads in the same tab, so the blocking still applies.
  5. Add Get text blocks for the name and price, writing to the table, and close the loop with Loop breakpoint.

Good to know

  • Blocking applies to what loads after the block runs. A page that is already loaded keeps its images until it is reloaded or left.
  • It applies to the tab the workflow is working in at that moment. A new tab loads everything.
  • The kinds are matched by the address, not by what the server sends. An image served from an address without an image extension still loads; add part of its address under Also block addresses containing.
  • Each Block resources block replaces the previous list for the tab rather than adding to it.

See also

  • New tab — Opens an address in a new tab of the profile's browser and moves the workflow onto it.
  • Open URL — Load a web address in the current tab or a new one, and wait for it to load.
  • Rotate proxy — Call a proxy's change-IP link and wait until the profile's IP is really new.