# WeChat Article Extraction Techniques

## Problem
WeChat articles (mp.weixin.qq.com) trigger CAPTCHA verification when accessed from server IPs. Both curl and headless Playwright hit this wall.

## What DOESN'T work
- `curl` directly → returns verification page (even with realistic User-Agent)
- Playwright headless with default settings → "环境异常" CAPTCHA
- Playwright with mobile UA + `--disable-blink-features=AutomationControlled` → still CAPTCHA
- Accessing `#comment` anchor → loads article content but NOT comments

## What DOES work

### 1. QQ Mirror (best option for content)
```
https://so.html5.qq.com/page/real/search_news?docid=<DOCID>
```
- Search for the article title on QQ search to find the docid
- Renders full article text without verification
- **Does NOT include comments**

### 2. Playwright + `#comment` anchor (partial)
```
await page.goto("https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/<HASH>#comment")
```
- Sometimes loads the article body text (server-side rendered)
- Still no comments — those require WeChat JS runtime + login

### 3. OG metadata extraction
Even on the verification page, meta tags are available:
```python
og_title = await page.evaluate('document.querySelector(\'meta[property="og:title"]\')?.content')
og_desc = await page.evaluate('document.querySelector(\'meta[property="og:description"]\')?.content')
```
Also available in HTML: `msg_title`, `msg_desc`

### 4. mmx search for indirect sources
```bash
mmx search query '"exact article title" site:csdn.net OR site:zhihu.com'
```
Many WeChat articles get cross-posted to CSDN, 知乎, 今日头条, etc.

## Comments
WeChat article comments are **never accessible without login**. They require:
- WeChat JS runtime (not available in headless browser)
- Authenticated WeChat session
- Comments API calls with specific token/session parameters

**Workaround**: Search for user discussions on other platforms (GitHub issues, 知乎, 小红书, 即刻, B站) using `mmx search`.

## Example extraction flow
```
1. Try mmx search for article title → find QQ mirror or cross-post
2. If found: Playwright fetch from QQ mirror → get full text
3. If not found: Playwright + #comment → get article body (no comments)
4. For comments: mmx search for "article title 评价 OR 反馈 OR 体验"
5. For community data: GitHub API for related repos (stars, forks, issues)
```