Parsing Blocks

Extract data from responses using JSON, Regex, CSS, XPath, and more

Overview

Parsing blocks extract structured data from HTTP responses, HTML pages, and other text sources. IronBullet provides multiple parsing methods:

• ParseJSON: Extract data using JSONPath
• ParseRegex: Pattern matching with regular expressions
• ParseLR: Left-right string extraction
• ParseCSS: CSS selector queries for HTML
• ParseXPath: XPath queries for XML/HTML
• ParseCookie: Extract specific cookies
• LambdaParser: Custom JavaScript expressions
• Parse: Unified parser with all modes

ParseJSON

Extract data from JSON responses using JSONPath syntax.

Settings

input_var · string · default: "data.SOURCE"

Variable containing JSON to parse

json_path · string · required

JSONPath expression

Examples:

• json.token - Extract top-level token field
• data.users[0].email - First user’s email
• response.items[*].id - All item IDs

output_var · string · default: "PARSED"

Variable name to store extracted value

capture · boolean · default: "false"

Capture as user-visible variable

Example

{
  "block_type": "ParseJSON",
  "label": "Extract Auth Token",
  "settings": {
    "type": "ParseJSON",
    "json_path": "json.auth.token",
    "output_var": "AUTH_TOKEN",
    "capture": true
  }
}

Given response:

{"auth": {"token": "abc123", "expires": 3600}}

Result: data.AUTH_TOKEN = "abc123"

ParseRegex

Extract data using regular expressions with capture groups.

Settings

input_var · string · default: "data.SOURCE"

Variable containing text to parse

pattern · string · required

Regular expression pattern

Use capture groups () to extract specific parts

output_format · string · default: "$1"

Output format using capture group references

Examples:

• $1 - First capture group
• $1:$2 - Combine multiple groups
• User: $1, ID: $2 - Custom formatting

output_var · string · default: "PARSED"

Variable name to store result

capture · boolean · default: "false"

Capture as user-visible variable

multi_line · boolean · default: "false"

Enable multi-line mode (^ and $ match line boundaries)

Example

{
  "block_type": "ParseRegex",
  "label": "Extract Email",
  "settings": {
    "type": "ParseRegex",
    "pattern": "email[\"']?:\\s*[\"']([^\"']+)",
    "output_format": "$1",
    "output_var": "EMAIL",
    "capture": true
  }
}

Given text:

{"user": "john", "email": "[e-mail]"}

Result: data.EMAIL = "[e-mail]"

ParseLR

Extract text between left and right delimiters (simple string extraction).

Settings

input_var · string · default: "data.SOURCE"

Variable containing text to parse

left · string · required

Left boundary string

right · string · required

Right boundary string

output_var · string · default: "PARSED"

Variable name to store extracted text

capture · boolean · default: "false"

Capture as user-visible variable

recursive · boolean · default: "false"

Extract all matches (creates array)

case_insensitive · boolean · default: "false"

Ignore case when matching delimiters

Example

{
  "block_type": "ParseLR",
  "label": "Extract Session ID",
  "settings": {
    "type": "ParseLR",
    "left": "session_id=",
    "right": ";",
    "output_var": "SESSION",
    "capture": true
  }
}

Given text:

Set-Cookie: session_id=xyz789; Path=/; HttpOnly

Result: data.SESSION = "xyz789"

ParseCSS

Query HTML documents using CSS selectors.

Settings

input_var · string · default: "data.SOURCE"

Variable containing HTML to parse

selector · string · required

CSS selector

Examples:

• div.username - Element with class
• #token - Element by ID
• input[name='csrf'] - Input by attribute
• table tr:first-child td - Table cells

attribute · string · default: "innerText"

Attribute to extract

Special values:

• innerText - Text content
• innerHTML - HTML content
• value - Form input value
• Any HTML attribute name

output_var · string · default: "PARSED"

Variable name to store result

capture · boolean · default: "false"

Capture as user-visible variable

index · number · default: "0"

Index of element to extract (when multiple matches)

Example

{
  "block_type": "ParseCSS",
  "label": "Extract CSRF Token",
  "settings": {
    "type": "ParseCSS",
    "selector": "input[name='_token']",
    "attribute": "value",
    "output_var": "CSRF",
    "capture": true
  }
}

Given HTML:

<form>
  <input type="hidden" name="_token" value="csrf-abc123">
</form>

Result: data.CSRF = "csrf-abc123"

ParseXPath

Query XML/HTML documents using XPath expressions.

Settings

input_var · string · default: "data.SOURCE"

Variable containing XML/HTML to parse

xpath · string · required

XPath expression

Examples:

• //div[@class='username']/text() - Text content
• //meta[@name='csrf-token']/@content - Attribute value
• //table//tr[1]/td[2] - Table cell

output_var · string · default: "PARSED"

Variable name to store result

capture · boolean · default: "false"

Capture as user-visible variable

Example

{
  "block_type": "ParseXPath",
  "label": "Extract Meta Token",
  "settings": {
    "type": "ParseXPath",
    "xpath": "//meta[@name='csrf-token']/@content",
    "output_var": "CSRF",
    "capture": true
  }
}

ParseCookie

Extract a specific cookie from the cookie jar.

Settings

input_var · string · default: "data.COOKIES"

Variable containing cookies

cookie_name · string · required

Name of cookie to extract

output_var · string · default: "PARSED"

Variable name to store cookie value

capture · boolean · default: "false"

Capture as user-visible variable

Example

{
  "block_type": "ParseCookie",
  "label": "Extract Session Cookie",
  "settings": {
    "type": "ParseCookie",
    "cookie_name": "PHPSESSID",
    "output_var": "SESSION_ID",
    "capture": true
  }
}

LambdaParser

Execute custom JavaScript expressions to transform data.

Settings

input_var · string · default: "data.SOURCE"

Variable containing input data

lambda_expression · string · default: "x => x.split(',')[0]"

JavaScript arrow function expression

The input is available as x

Examples:

• x => x.split(',')[0] - First CSV item
• x => x.trim().toUpperCase() - Uppercase trimmed
• x => JSON.parse(x).data.token - Parse and extract

output_var · string · default: "RESULT"

Variable name to store result

capture · boolean · default: "false"

Capture as user-visible variable

Example

{
  "block_type": "LambdaParser",
  "label": "Extract First Name",
  "settings": {
    "type": "LambdaParser",
    "input_var": "data.FULL_NAME",
    "lambda_expression": "x => x.split(' ')[0]",
    "output_var": "FIRST_NAME",
    "capture": true
  }
}

Unified Parse Block

The Parse block combines all parsing modes into a single configurable block.

Settings

parse_mode · ParseMode · default: "LR"

Parsing method: LR, Regex, Json, Css, XPath, Cookie, Lambda

input_var · string · default: "data.SOURCE"

Variable containing data to parse

output_var · string · default: "PARSED"

Variable name to store result

capture · boolean · default: "false"

Capture as user-visible variable

Mode-Specific Settings

Additional settings depend on the selected parse_mode. See individual parser documentation above.

Best Practices

1. Use the simplest parser that meets your needs (LR is faster than Regex)
2. Test patterns with sample data before deployment
3. Set capture=true only for variables you need in results
4. Use descriptive output_var names for clarity
5. Chain parsers when extracting nested data