rss agent timed out waiting for infinite scroll results

RSS agent timed out waiting for infinite scroll results

TL;DR

An RSS agent waiting on infinite scroll is using the wrong tool: infinite scroll is a UI pattern, and the data behind it almost always has a paginated API, a feed, or a sitemap. Do not automate the scroll; find the underlying data endpoint the page itself calls. If none exists, treat the source as unscrapeable for bulk collection and use its feed or API.

The error

(agent timeout)
rss agent timed out waiting for infinite scroll results; scroll loop never finished

When this helps

• an agent times out on infinite scroll
• listing pages never finish loading
• choosing between scrolling and data endpoints
• bounding scroll automation

When it doesn't

• the site offers a proper API; use it instead of any scrolling
• the terms forbid automated collection; skip the source
• you need the full history; scrolling cannot reliably provide it

Works with

Any HTTP client; browser automation only as a capped last resort.

Steps

1. Stop scrolling and look for the page's data API

curl -s -A "IntelBriefingBot/1.0" "https://YOUR-site/sitemap.xml" -o sitemap.xml -w "HTTP %{http_code}\n"
curl -s -A "IntelBriefingBot/1.0" "https://YOUR-site/feed" -o feed.xml -w "feed HTTP %{http_code}\n"

Expected: A sitemap or feed. Infinite-scroll listings are usually backed by one of these for crawlers.

2. Cap any scroll automation as a last resort

import time
MAX_SCROLLS = 10
for i in range(MAX_SCROLLS):
    print("scroll", i + 1, "of", MAX_SCROLLS)
    time.sleep(2)
print("hard cap reached; agent moves on with what it has")

Expected: A bounded loop. If scrolling is ever used, it ends after 10 rounds no matter what.

3. Prefer the site's search or archive pages

curl -s -A "IntelBriefingBot/1.0" "https://YOUR-site/archive/2026/10" -o archive.html -w "HTTP %{http_code}\n"
grep -o "https\?://[^ \"]*" archive.html | sort -u | head -10

Expected: Archive page links. Date archives give the same listing content as the scroll, in one fetch.

4. Record the source as scroll-only if no alternative exists

import json
reg = json.load(open("sources.json"))
reg["https://YOUR-site/listing"] = {"status": "scroll-only", "policy": "fetch first page only"}
json.dump(reg, open("sources.json", "w"), indent=2)
print("scroll-only source: first page only, no bulk collection")

Expected: A registry policy. Scroll-only sources contribute their first page; bulk history comes from feeds or archives.

Other ways people phrase this

infinite scroll timeout scraper

Find the data endpoint behind the scroll. The UI pattern is not a data API.

rss agent scroll loop stuck

Cap the loop hard. Scrolling is the fallback, never the plan.

listing page never finishes loading

Archive or sitemap pages give the same content without the scroll.

Why it happens

Infinite scroll loads content in small batches as the user scrolls, which is hostile to automation: the agent cannot know when it is done, and each batch costs a render cycle. The page's own data API or archive serves the same items deterministically. Scrolling is the site's UI choice, not a collection interface.

Edge cases

• Some sites lazy-load with no backing API; those are scroll-only by design.
• Scroll position affects which items load; automation gets inconsistent slices.
• The backing API may need the page's session; check the page's own requests.
• Respect robots.txt on archive and sitemap paths even when the scroll page is allowed.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_fXRxabXbL-lNHzYYtKSOLw