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Open Scouts

Open Scouts is a TypeScript web-monitoring application that runs scheduled AI scouts to search and track information on the web, then sends email alerts when it finds relevant updates.

Explore the practical guide ↓

Independent OpenViST project profile, based on linked sources.

Open Scouts — OpenViST project profile in Workflow Agents.
OpenViST project illustration. See the linked sources for product details.
Understand the project

Practical overview

When it fits

Use it when a topic needs repeated web searching and email is a suitable way to receive discovered updates.

Who it is for

  • People who want recurring web searches for topics such as AI news.
  • People tracking location-based information, such as new restaurants nearby.
  • Developers who want to self-host a scheduled web-monitoring application.

Documented uses

  • Monitor a topic on a schedule rather than repeatedly searching for updates by hand.
  • Receive an email when a scout finds relevant information.
  • Configure Firecrawl credentials for web search, either per user or through a shared self-hosted key.
Before you choose

Requirements & limits

The README documents email/password authentication through Supabase Auth, with Google OAuth as an optional provider. It also documents a user-provided Firecrawl key or a shared key for self-hosting. Resend requires a verified domain to send notifications to an address other than the Resend account email.

  • The documented implementation uses Firecrawl for web search and scraping and OpenAI for agent tasks and embeddings.
  • Supabase provides the database, authentication and Edge Functions; pg_cron and pg_net support scheduled dispatch.
  • Resend handles email notifications, and the documented recipient behavior depends on domain verification.
  • Self-hosting requires Node.js 18+, a package manager, a Supabase project and API credentials for OpenAI, Firecrawl and Resend.

Check current requirements in the official documentation. Source-based guidance does not mean OpenViST has run or independently tested this project.

Source-based practical guide

Set up a self-hosted Open Scouts project

Prepare the application’s database, secrets, authentication and scheduled execution functions for local development.

Before you start

  • Node.js 18+ and bun, npm or pnpm
  • A Supabase account and project
  • OpenAI, Firecrawl and Resend API keys
  • A Google Cloud Console account only if configuring Google OAuth

Steps

  1. Clone the repository and install dependencies with bun, npm or pnpm.

  2. Create a Supabase project, enable pg_cron, pg_net, vector and supabase_vault, then copy .env.example to .env and fill in the required values.

  3. Log in to the Supabase CLI, link the project, and run the setup:db script to create database structures, configure scheduled dispatch and sync Edge Function secrets.

  4. Configure Supabase Auth, then deploy the scout-cron and send-test-email Edge Functions.

Expected outcome

The documented database, authentication and scheduled scout/email functions are configured for the application.

Guide limitations

  • The setup instructions do not by themselves describe creating or running a scout.
  • Google OAuth is optional; email/password authentication is supported.
  • A custom Firecrawl key can be entered by each user in Settings instead of using a shared server-side key.
Documentation 1 ↗
Evidence and transparency

Sources & review

Official repository ↗
Source record details
Source availability
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Sources checked
16 October 2026
Original website title
firecrawl/open-scouts · Official homepage title · retained in its source language
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