Link Extractor: A Practical Guide
Use Link Extractor to list href values from anchor elements in supplied HTML. It is useful for reviewing a page’s links before checking them elsewhere. It does not automatically verify whether those destinations return successful responses.
How to Use Link Extractor
- Paste the HTML containing the anchors.
- Select Analyze.
- Review the extracted destinations.
- Resolve relative URLs against the original page before testing them.
An Extracted Link Is Not a Checked Link
The parser reads a elements with href attributes. Buttons driven by JavaScript, plain-text URLs and links inserted after the supplied markup was generated may not appear.
Relative paths such as /contact/ are returned as written. Their full destination depends on the original page’s origin and base URL. An extracted mailto or tel URI is not an ordinary HTTP webpage.
Worked Example
HTML containing links to /about/ and https://example.org/ should reveal both values. The first needs the source site’s origin to become a complete web address.
A list of destinations can help find unexpected duplicates, but repeated links may be intentional navigation.
Inspect an extracted URL: use the URL Parser.
Inspect its hostname: use the Domain Extractor.
Checks and Common Mistakes
- Do not call extracted links verified or unbroken.
- Paste HTML, not only a URL.
- Distinguish relative and absolute addresses.
- Check JavaScript-created navigation separately.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will it find broken links?
It lists anchors; a separate HTTP check is needed to determine availability.
Does it remove duplicate links?
Do not assume deduplication. Review repeated values in context.
Can it extract image URLs?
Image src values are not anchor href values; this tool focuses on links.
Related Tools for the Next Step
- URL Parser: Inspect an extracted URL.
- Domain Extractor: Inspect its hostname.
- HTML Link Generator: Create corrected anchor markup.
- Heading Extractor: Review the supplied document outline.
Reference
Further reading: MDN anchor element.
