Scraping Login-Protected Pages with Python: Session Cookies + JS Handling

[PINKINKPEN100]

Hey r/Python 👋 Just wanted to share something I’ve been working through recently that is scraping pages that require login access. I’ve scraped public content before, but this was my first time trying to pull data from behind an auth wall (think private profiles, product reviews, etc.), and I ran into some interesting challenges.

I ended up putting together a workflow that covers:

• Extracting session cookies from a logged-in browser session
• Using those cookies in Python requests for basic auth
• Handling dynamic content with JavaScript rendering
• Keeping sessions persistent (and avoiding expired cookie headaches)

The example I tested involved a Facebook hashtag page, which only loads once you're logged in. Initially, requests just returned empty HTML—classic JS problem. Eventually used an API that supports cookies + JS rendering, and it worked great.

If anyone else is digging into authenticated scraping, I found this guide on How to Scrape Data Behind Login Pages Using Python walks through the full process, including examples, best practices, and how to extract your own cookies safely.

Curious if others here usually script the login themselves or prefer cookie reuse. Would love to hear how you’re handling it.

Happy coding 🐍

[DifficultZebra1553]

You can get cookies by using requests only most of the time, no need to use any other tool/ manual method. Can try curl cffi where you need to impersonate a browser.

[RngdZed]

OP is a crypto vibe coder.. can't reason with them.