BrowserAct Wait Node—Beginner's Guide

Introduction

Master BrowserAct's Wait node handles dynamic content loading and timing-sensitive operations. Add strategic pauses in your workflows to ensure pages fully load before extracting data or clicking elements. Learn features, setup rules, and real-world examples to eliminate automation errors caused by timing issues.

Detail

What is the Wait Node?

The Wait node is a timing control tool that pauses your workflow for a specified duration before proceeding to the next step. It ensures pages have enough time to load dynamic content, animations to complete, or asynchronous operations to finish before your automation continues.

When Should You Use It?

Use the Wait node if you need to:

Allow time for dynamic content to load after clicking "Load More" buttons on infinite scroll pages
Wait for page elements to appear after navigation or form submissions
Give JavaScript-heavy websites time to render content before extracting data
Ensure animations or transitions complete before interacting with newly visible elements
Synchronize your workflow with slow-loading pages or network delays

How to Set Up Wait (Step by Step)

1.Add Wait Node

In your workflow, click the + button and select "Wait" from the node options.

2.Configure Wait Duration

Wait Time: Enter the number of seconds to pause (default is 5 seconds).

Example durations:

3 seconds - For fast-loading content updates
5 seconds - Standard wait for most dynamic pages
10 seconds - For heavy JavaScript applications or slow network connections

The node will pause the workflow execution for your specified duration before moving to the next step.

3.Position the Wait Node Strategically

Place Wait nodes at critical points in your workflow:

After Click Element - Wait for the page to respond to button clicks
Before Extract Data - Ensure content is fully loaded before extraction
After Visit Page - Give new pages time to render completely

4.Run Your Workflow

When the workflow reaches the Wait node, it pauses for the specified time, then automatically continues to the next step once the wait period completes.

Example: Instagram Comment Scraper

This tutorial will guide you through creating an automated workflow to batch extract comment data from Instagram posts.

1.Start Node Parameter Settings

TargetUrl

Enter the Instagram post link you want to scrape
Example: https://www.instagram.com/p/DNa1dn9sVNr/

DateLimit

Set the number of comments to extract

Example: 50 (adjustable based on your needs)

2.Add Visit Page Node

Enter "/" to reference the URL parameter

Select Open in the current page

3.Add Loop Node

Loop Stop Condition:

Scroll to the bottom of the comments section OR
The /DateLimit specified number of comments has been collected

4.Add Scroll Page node

Configuration:

✅ Select Scroll to bottom
✅ Check Page has multiple scrollable areas
Area description: the comments section

5.Add Extract Data Node

Extract the following fields:

commenter_name (the display name / username shown next to the comment)
commenter_profile_url (absolute link to the commenter’s profile)
comment_time (ISO-8601 if available, otherwise the exact text as shown)
comment_text (the full textual content of the comment, excluding emojis-only reactions if possible)

6.Add Wait Node

Wait Time: 5 seconds

7.Add Click Elemen

click the "View Hidden Comments" button

8.Add Scroll Page node

Configuration:

✅ Select Scroll to bottom
✅ Check Page has multiple scrollable areas
Area description: the comments section

9.Add Extract Data Node

Extract the following fields:

commenter_name (the display name / username shown next to the comment)
commenter_profile_url (absolute link to the commenter’s profile)
comment_time (ISO-8601 if available, otherwise the exact text as shown)
comment_text (the full textual content of the comment, excluding emojis-only reactions if possible)

10.Output Data

Select CSV file format for output.

Key Rules & Best Practices

Each Wait node executes one single pause—add multiple Wait nodes for complex timing sequences
Use the minimum necessary wait time to keep workflows efficient without unnecessary delays
Position Wait nodes immediately after actions that trigger content changes
For highly variable loading times, test your workflow with different wait durations to find the optimal setting
Avoid using Wait as a substitute for proper element detection—use it only when timing is genuinely needed

Quick Tips

Always test your workflow multiple times to identify the minimum effective wait time
Place Wait nodes after Click Element nodes that trigger page changes or content updates
For infinite scroll pages, add Wait inside Loop Execution nodes to pace content loading
Monitor your workflow execution to spot unnecessary waits that can be removed or shortened
Combine Wait with Extract Data to ensure you're capturing complete, fully-loaded content