# Assess a page

Source: https://getanalog.io/docs/assess/

Choose between a structured view of a page and local Markdown.

Run `analog assess` for help choosing how to view a page:
**Would a structured view help you understand the page, or is local
Markdown enough?**

Sections and records help you find relevant items and examine their
details, whether you want to answer a question, compare items, or
export data. Local Markdown is useful when the page's prose already
provides what you need. If you know which representation suits your
task, go straight to `analog browse` with the appropriate mode.

The check runs on your machine, performs no extraction, and makes no
backend call. It does not require an account or create a saved result.

<details class="reference-index">
<summary>On this page</summary>

- [Read an assessment](https://getanalog.io/docs/assess/#read-an-assessment)
- [Start with the default steer](https://getanalog.io/docs/assess/#start-with-the-default-steer)
- [Act on what the page reports](https://getanalog.io/docs/assess/#act-on-what-the-page-reports)
- [Reuse or refresh the check](https://getanalog.io/docs/assess/#reuse-or-refresh-the-check)

</details>



## Read an assessment

Assess the same quotes page used in the [Quickstart](https://getanalog.io/docs/quickstart/).
The first line recommends Markdown for a direct read. The lines below
report the page's approximate Markdown size and pagination.

These answer different questions. The recommendation helps you choose
a representation; the pagination note tells you that this view covers
only the first page. A Markdown recommendation does not mean the page
has no useful records.



### Check the quotes page

```bash wrap=true example=runnable scenario=cli-assess-quotes
analog assess https://quotes.toscrape.com/js/
```

This example has no recent saved result for this URL. The output shows
the complete assessment response; fetch progress is reported separately.
Live page content may change.

<details>
<summary>View output</summary>

```text wrap=true hangingIndent=2 example=output scenario=cli-assess-quotes
default steer: markdown  → read the page directly

This page as markdown: ~426 tokens (measured). Repeating structure: substantial.
- pagination: this looks like page 1 of a paginated collection (its links reach page 2) — these records cover this page only. Analog can follow the site's own next links and merge the pages into one result; pass --pages 2 to analog browse.
Task-by-task guidance (records vs markdown vs feeds): https://getanalog.io/docs/assess/
```

</details>





## Start with the default steer

The recommendation is advice. Choose the path that suits what you
want to do with the page:

- **`markdown  → read the page directly`** suggests local Markdown.
  This can be enough when the prose already makes the information
  you need easy to read, or few useful records are expected.
- **`analog  ✓ worth extracting`** suggests a structured view.
  Choose this when sections and records will help you locate or
  inspect the content you need, even for one question.

For the quotes page above, you might follow the Markdown recommendation
to read the quotes, or choose records to find quotes by author and
compare their tags. Both commands fetch the page and save a result.



### Save the page as local Markdown

```bash wrap=true example=runnable scenario=cli-local-quotes
analog browse https://quotes.toscrape.com/js/ --mode local
```

Reopen the save with `analog view latest --markdown` to read the page
text. See the [complete Markdown response](https://getanalog.io/docs/extract/#markdown-only-no-account).
This path requires no account and makes no backend call.

### View the quotes as records

Use this alternative when records suit your task. It requires a
[connected account](https://getanalog.io/docs/authenticate/):

```bash wrap=true example=runnable scenario=cli-extract-quotes
analog browse https://quotes.toscrape.com/js/
```

Read the [example preview](https://getanalog.io/docs/extract/#get-your-bearings-when-needed), then
[inspect and find](https://getanalog.io/docs/results/#inspect-and-find) the quotes you need.





## Act on what the page reports

The quotes assessment reports a link to page 2. If you want records
from both pages, carry the suggested `--pages 2` into `analog browse`.
The assessment itself has not followed that link or collected those
records.

The approximate Markdown size describes the full rendered page. It
helps compare a direct read with a saved result; it does not estimate
what another tool will spend summarizing the page.



### Follow the next-page link

```bash wrap=true example=runnable scenario=cli-assess-quotes-two-pages
analog browse https://quotes.toscrape.com/js/ --pages 2
```

This requests up to two pages and saves their combined result. Check
the resulting coverage notes to see how far the fetch reached.
[Fetching](https://getanalog.io/docs/fetching/) explains pagination, load-more controls,
and collapsed details.



### Consider other reported sources

Other pages may report feeds or navigation that change where you
look next:

- **The page or its platform offers a data feed.** Consider the feed
  when you need a complete catalog or recent items. A declared or
  responding feed is an available source, not a claim that it is
  authoritative; compare it with the rendered page when that matters.
- **The page exposes navigation or a sitemap.** Use the site's own map
  when the task belongs on another page or requires many pages rather
  than one. The assessment lists sitemap locations but does not fetch
  the sitemap files.
- **The page returned no HTML content.** There is no page content to
  view yet. Use [Troubleshooting](https://getanalog.io/docs/troubleshooting/) to check
  the fetch before choosing a mode.





## Reuse or refresh the check

When a result for the same URL was saved within the last 15 minutes,
`analog assess` reuses its stored assessment instead of rendering the
page again. The output names the saved result and its age. Live feed
and sitemap checks still run unless you pass `--no-probe`.

Feeds and navigation declared in the page itself remain part of the
assessment with `--no-probe`, because they require no additional
request. This flag does not turn off the browser's page fetch or
its robots.txt checks.



### Check the current page again

```bash wrap=true example=runnable scenario=cli-assess-quotes-fresh
analog assess https://quotes.toscrape.com/js/ --fresh
```

Use `--fresh` when the page may have changed, or when you want to
apply different [expansion options](https://getanalog.io/docs/cli-reference/#analog-assess)
instead of reusing the assessment from a recent save.

### Skip the additional feed and sitemap checks

```bash wrap=true example=runnable scenario=cli-assess-quotes-no-probe
analog assess https://quotes.toscrape.com/js/ --no-probe
```

A recent assessment can still be reused. Add `--fresh` as well if
you want to render the page again without those additional checks.



### Assessment during a normal fetch

In its default `auto` mode, `analog browse` runs the local part of the
same check, attaches the assessment to the result, and still performs
the extraction. The [Python API reference](https://getanalog.io/docs/api-reference/)
documents the returned `FitAssessment` fields.