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Overview

This guide covers the most common issues you may encounter when running the Siigo Corprecam Scraper and their solutions.

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Environment Variable Issues

Missing or incorrect environment variables are the most common cause of startup failures.
Symptom: Server fails to start or ngrok tunnel doesn’t establish.Cause: The NGROK_AUTHTOKEN environment variable is not set in your .env file.Solution:
  1. Get your ngrok auth token from ngrok dashboard
  2. Add it to your .env file:
NGROK_AUTHTOKEN=your_token_here
  1. Restart the server
Related Code: See config.ts:7 and server.ts:46-49
Symptom: Login fails or automation stops at login page.Cause: Missing USER_SIIGO_CORPRECAM or PASSWORD_SIIGO_CORPRECAM in environment variables.Solution:Add your Siigo credentials to .env:
USER_SIIGO_CORPRECAM=your_username
PASSWORD_SIIGO_CORPRECAM=your_password
Never commit your .env file to version control. Keep credentials secure.
Related Code: See config.ts:8-9 and main.ts:23-24
Symptom: Server starts but API requests fail with database errors.Cause: Missing or incorrect database configuration.Solution:Verify all database environment variables in .env:
DB_HOST=localhost
DB_USER=your_db_user
DB_PASSWORD=your_db_password
DB_DATABASE=corprecam_db
DB_PORT=3306
Test the connection:
mysql -h localhost -u your_db_user -p -P 3306
Related Code: See config.ts:10-14

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Playwright Timeout Issues

Symptom: Script fails with timeout error after 30-60 seconds.Cause: Page elements not loading within expected time, or incorrect selectors.Common Locations:
  • Login page: #siigoSignInName, #siigoPassword
  • Company selection: tr with company NIT
  • Document creation: a[data-value="Documento soporte"]
  • Product input: #trEditRow #editProduct #autocomplete_autocompleteInput
Solution:The scraper uses a 60-second timeout for critical operations:
await page.waitForLoadState('domcontentloaded', { timeout: 60000 });
If timeouts persist:
  1. Check your internet connection
  2. Verify Siigo website is accessible
  3. Run with headless: false to see what’s happening (see Debugging Guide)
Related Code: See utils/functions.ts:25, utils/functions.ts:35, utils/functions.ts:47
Symptom: Script fails with “element is not visible” or “element is outside viewport”.Cause: Angular animations, modal overlays, or dynamic content loading.Solution:The scraper includes built-in retry logic for these scenarios:
await retryUntilSuccess(
  async () => {
    await page.locator('#element').click();
  },
  { label: 'element click', retries: 5, delayMs: 1000 }
);
If the issue persists:
  1. The element may have changed in Siigo’s UI
  2. Check for blocking modals or notifications
  3. Increase retry attempts if needed
Related Code: See utils/retryUntilSucces.ts:1-31
Symptom: Script clicks wrong element or throws “multiple elements found” error.Cause: Non-specific selector matches more than intended.Solution:The scraper uses precise selectors with context:
// Good: Specific selector with context
await page.locator('tr', { hasText: nit_empresa })
  .locator('button', { hasText: 'Ingresar' })
  .click();

// Bad: Too generic
await page.locator('button').click();
Related Code: See utils/functions.ts:42-45 for company selection example

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Ngrok Connection Issues

Symptom: Server starts but ngrok tunnel doesn’t establish.Possible Causes:
  1. Invalid auth token - Check your ngrok dashboard
  2. Port already in use - Another process is using port 3000
  3. Network restrictions - Firewall blocking ngrok
  4. Free plan limits - Too many active tunnels
Solutions:Check if port is available:
lsof -i :3000
# Kill process if needed
kill -9 <PID>
Change port in .env:
PORT=3001
Verify ngrok configuration:
ngrok config check
Related Code: See server.ts:46-51
Symptom: Tunnel starts but webhook URL not accessible.Cause: The setNgrok() function failed to update the database.Solution:
  1. Check database connection
  2. Verify the PHP endpoint is accessible:
curl -X POST https://corprecam.codesolutions.com.co/administrativo/set_ngrok.php \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"link":"https://test.ngrok.io"}'
  1. Check server logs for ngrok URL
Related Code: See api/php.ts:78-89 and server.ts:51

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Siigo Login and Form Issues

Symptom: Retry logic exhausted, login never succeeds.Possible Causes:
  1. Siigo website changes - UI elements changed
  2. Captcha or security check - Manual verification required
  3. Session/cookie issues - Previous session interfering
  4. Wrong company NIT - Automation looking for wrong company
Solutions:
  1. Run with headless: false to see login attempt:
// In utils/functions.ts:4
const browser = await firefox.launch({ headless: false });
  1. Verify the company NIT matches:
// For Corprecam: "900142913"
// For Reciclemos: "901328575"
  1. Clear browser state and retry
Related Code: See utils/functions.ts:12-89 and main.ts:25, main.ts:38
Symptom: Script fails when searching for provider by NIT.Cause: Provider doesn’t exist in Siigo or NIT is incorrect.Solution:
  1. Verify provider exists in Siigo manually
  2. Check the NIT format (no dots, dashes, or extra spaces)
  3. Ensure database returns correct proveedor_id:
// The proveedor_id comes from database
proveedor_id: compra.comp_asociado
  1. Check autocomplete timing:
await proveedorInput.pressSequentially(nit); // Slow typing
await page.locator('.suggestions tr', { hasText: nit }).first().waitFor();
Related Code: See utils/functions.ts:63-77 and utils/transformDs.ts:63
Symptom: Wrong product selected or timeout waiting for product.Cause: Product code doesn’t exist, or autocomplete timing issues.Solution:The scraper uses slow sequential typing to trigger Angular autocomplete:
await input.pressSequentially(codigo, { delay: 150 });
And exact text matching:
await page.locator('.siigo-ac-table tr', {
  has: page.locator(`div:text-is("${codigo}")`)
}).first().click();
Verify:
  1. Product codes match exactly (case-sensitive)
  2. Products exist in the selected company
  3. Bodega (warehouse) is available for product
Related Code: See utils/functions.ts:91-126 and utils/transformDs.ts:40
Symptom: Second product entry fails or previous value remains.Cause: Angular form not resetting after adding item.Solution:The scraper includes explicit wait for input reset:
// Wait for input to clear after clicking "Agregar"
await expect(inputCantidad)
  .toHaveValue('', { timeout: 10000 })
  .catch(() => {
    console.log('El input no se limpió automáticamente, forzando espera...');
  });

await page.waitForTimeout(1000); // Additional safety wait
This ensures each product starts with a clean form state.Related Code: See utils/functions.ts:232-242

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API and Data Issues

Symptom: /scrapping endpoint returns error, no data fetched.Cause: PHP API endpoints unreachable or invalid compra ID.Solution:Test each endpoint manually:
# Test compra endpoint
curl -X POST https://corprecam.codesolutions.com.co/administrativo/get_compra.php \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"com_codigo":"123"}'

# Test compra items
curl -X POST https://corprecam.codesolutions.com.co/administrativo/get_compra_items.php \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"compra":"123"}'
Check CORS configuration if calling from browser.Related Code: See api/php.ts:8-76 and server.ts:21-36
Symptom: Script completes immediately without creating document.Cause: Products filtered by company resulted in empty arrays.Solution:The data transformation splits products by company:
// empresa === 1 -> Corprecam
// empresa === 2 -> Reciclemos
const [corprecam, reciclemos] = productos.reduce(
  (acc, pro) => {
    if (pro.empresa === 1) {
      acc[0].push(pro);
    } else {
      acc[1].push(pro);
    }
    return acc;
  },
  [[], []]
);
Verify:
  1. Materials have correct emp_id_fk in database
  2. At least one product belongs to company 1 or 2
  3. Material codes exist in Siigo
Related Code: See utils/transformDs.ts:50-60 and main.ts:16-27

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Browser and Performance Issues

Symptom: Error when starting browser.Solution:Install Playwright browsers:
npx playwright install firefox
npx playwright install-deps firefox
Related Code: See utils/functions.ts:4
Symptom: Each document takes several minutes.Causes:
  1. Running with headless: false (visual mode is slower)
  2. Network latency to Siigo servers
  3. Retry logic being triggered frequently
Solutions:
  1. Use headless mode in production:
const browser = await firefox.launch({ headless: true });
  1. Monitor retry logs - frequent retries indicate stability issues
  2. Optimize network/infrastructure
Note: The delay in pressSequentially is intentional to work with Angular:
await input.pressSequentially(codigo, { delay: 150 }); // Required for autocomplete

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Getting More Help

If your issue isn’t covered here:
  1. Check the Debugging Guide for investigation techniques
  2. Review server logs for specific error messages
  3. Run with headless: false to visually inspect failures
  4. Check Playwright documentation for selector strategies
Most issues can be diagnosed by watching the browser automation with headless: false.

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