Mainline vs Spider Cloud

Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, and ratings

Analysis reviewed Live tool data as of 2026-10-18
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At a glance

DimensionMainlineSpider Cloud
Primary FunctionGit-native intent memory for coding agentsWeb crawling & scraping API for AI agents and RAG
Target UsersCoding agent teams, developers using multiple AI coding toolsAI agents, RAG pipelines, developers needing web data
IntegrationGitHub, Codex, Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, WindsurfLangChain, LlamaIndex, CrewAI, FlowiseAI, AutoGen, Agno, Dify, cloud storage connectors
Key DifferentiatorsGit-native intent records, agent hooks, live conflict detection, high-risk code trapsRust engine, AI Studio, Browser AI commands, 99.9% success rate, 1000+ scraper templates
Output/StorageIntent records stored in Git refs and notesMarkdown, HTML, JSON, CSV, XML, plain text, JSONL; data connectors to S3/GCS/Sheets/Azure/Supabase

Spider Cloud and Mainline serve completely different needs. Spider Cloud is a web scraping API for feeding real-time data to AI agents and RAG pipelines, while Mainline is a Git-native memory system for coding agents to preserve intent and decisions alongside code. Choose Spider Cloud if you need structured web data for LLM context; choose Mainline if you manage multiple coding agents and want to avoid repeated mistakes by storing engineering intent in your repo.

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Mainline
Mainline

Mainline is Git-native agent memory: coding agents save developer intent and decisions as Git refs and notes so the next agent inherits

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Spider Cloud
Spider Cloud

Spider Cloud is a web scraping, crawling, and search API that streams live pages as markdown or JSON for AI agents and RAG pipelines.

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Pricing
Freemium
Freemium
Plans
$0/mo
Planned
Planned
$1/GB + $0.0001/CPU-min
From $6/mo
From $40/mo
Custom
Popularity
2 views
7.5k views
Skill Level
Intermediate
Intermediate
API Available
Platforms
CLI
WebAPIPluginCLIDesktop
Categories
💻 Code & Development🧠 Agent Memory & Runtimes
🌐 Web Scraping & Search APIs🖱️ Browser & Computer-Use Agents
Features
Stores developer intent records as Git refs and notes inside your repo
Human CLI: mainline preflight --json, start, append, and seal
Inspection CLI: mainline hub open, log, show <intent_id>, and gaps
Agent protocol: mainline context --current --json, start, append, seal
Agent hooks pull repo intents into context at task start and before handoff
Skill framework teaches agents when to read, when to write, and when to stop for human judgment
Records tried-and-abandoned approaches so future agents skip dead ends
Detects logic conflicts from recorded intent before they become Git conflicts
Annotates high-risk code traps and module constraints before an agent edits
Shows reviewers the original goal, reasoning path, and key decisions behind a diff
Intent travels through fetch, branch, merge, and fork without a separate database
mainline init --actor-name writes .mainline/config.toml, configures Git refs, creates an actor identity, installs agent
mainline doctor --setup verifies the install; installer checks the GitHub Release archive against checksums
Live self-dogfooded Hub (272 intents, 236 merged, 4 proposed as of Jun 19, 2026)
Public site available in English, Chinese, and Spanish
Scrape a single page into markdown, JSON, HTML, raw, or plain text
Crawl entire sites with each page streamed as one JSONL line in order as it finishes
Web search endpoint returns SERP results plus the scraped pages behind them
Custom browser renders like a user: scripts run, lazy images load, infinite scroll reaches the end
Load protected pages through a real browser engine with geo checks, returning a 200
Run full browser sessions over WebSocket with anti-detection and rotating exits
Send AI commands (Act, Extract, Observe) over the Browser API WebSocket
Send a prompt on a scrape or crawl request and get named fields back as JSON
Two-phase AI extraction: a fast model for most pages, a stronger model for complex layouts
Provider router sends scrape and crawl requests to outside providers on your own keys
Data connectors pipe crawl results into S3, GCS, Google Sheets, Azure Blob, or Supabase
Proxy network with 215M+ residential and ISP exits in 199 countries, rotated per request
MCP server at mcp.spider.cloud for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and Claude Desktop
1,000+ ready-made scraper examples across 32 categories, each with working code
API responses support JSON, JSONL, CSV, and XML; up to 10,000 core API requests per minute by default
Integrations
GitHub
Codex
Claude Code
Cursor
GitHub Copilot
Windsurf
LangChain
LlamaIndex
CrewAI
FlowiseAI
Langflow
Dify
Agno
MCP
Claude Desktop
Amazon S3
Google Cloud Storage
Google Sheets

Who should pick which

  • RAG Engineer
    Pick: Spider Cloud

    Spider Cloud provides a high-speed API to crawl and extract structured data (markdown, JSON) for feeding into vector databases. Its AI Studio and Browser AI commands allow natural language instructions and dynamic interactions, ideal for up-to-date context.

  • ML Team Lead
    Pick: Spider Cloud

    Need to build a dataset from web sources? Spider Cloud's 1,000+ scrapers, multiple output formats, and connectors to cloud storage make it easy to pipe data directly into training pipelines.

  • Full-stack Developer Using Multiple Agents
    Pick: Mainline

    Mainline preserves decisions and intent in Git, so agents like Codex and Cursor can avoid repeating dead ends. Its agent hooks and live conflict detection help maintain code quality across agent edits.

  • Coding Agent User
    Pick: Mainline

    If you rely on AI agents (e.g., Claude Code, Copilot) for code generation, Mainline stores the context behind each change, allowing agents to retrieve historical intent before modifying code.

  • Data Scientist Needing Web Data
    Pick: Spider Cloud

    Spider Cloud's structured output and search endpoint enable query-based data retrieval. The Unblocker with rotating proxies handles anti-bot measures, and the cost is low at $0.03 per 1k pages.

Frequently Asked Questions

Mainline vs Spider Cloud: which should you choose?

Spider Cloud and Mainline serve completely different needs. Spider Cloud is a web scraping API for feeding real-time data to AI agents and RAG pipelines, while Mainline is a Git-native memory system for coding agents to preserve intent and decisions alongside code. Choose Spider Cloud if you need structured web data for LLM context; choose Mainline if you manage multiple coding agents and want to avoid repeated mistakes by storing engineering intent in your repo.

Can Spider Cloud handle dynamic JavaScript-rendered pages?

Yes, Spider Cloud includes Browser AI commands via WebSocket (Act, Extract, Observe) for dynamic interactions, and it has a Browser Cloud with stealth anti-detection for JavaScript-heavy sites.

Does Mainline require a separate database or server?

No, Mainline is Git-native, storing intents as refs and notes within your existing Git repository. No new database or server is needed.

What integrations does Spider Cloud support for AI frameworks?

Spider Cloud integrates with LangChain, LlamaIndex, CrewAI, FlowiseAI, AutoGen, Agno, and Dify, as well as data connectors for S3, GCS, Google Sheets, Azure Blob, and Supabase.

Which coding agents does Mainline work with?

Mainline provides integration docs for Codex, Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, and Windsurf, and works with any agent that can run CLI commands.

How does Spider Cloud charge for failed requests?

Failed requests are not billed, so you only pay for successful page crawls.

Can Mainline be used without an AI agent?

Yes, Mainline's CLI (preflight, start, append, seal, etc.) can be used manually, and it's designed for human reviewers as well to see intent behind code diffs.

Does Spider Cloud offer a free tier?

Spider Cloud is freemium, but specific free tier limits (like number of pages) are not detailed in the provided data. Pricing is usage-based starting at $0.03 per 1k pages.

What output formats does Spider Cloud support?

Spider Cloud supports markdown (GitHub-flavored and plain), HTML, JSON, JSONL, CSV, XML, and plain text.

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Explore each tool further

Mainline
View Mainline reviewMainline alternatives
Spider Cloud
View Spider Cloud reviewSpider Cloud alternatives

Browse these categories

Best AI Code & Development toolsBest AI Web Scraping & Search APIs toolsBest AI Agent Memory & Runtimes toolsBest AI Browser & Computer-Use Agents tools
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Last reviewed: July 5, 2026