pokemon-disco/USAGE.md

Quick Start Guide

Simple Usage (Recommended)

1. Make sure you're in the project directory:

   cd pokemon-disco
   

2. Run the complete scraper and PDF generator:

   ./run.sh
   

   This single command will:

   • Set up the Python virtual environment
   • Install all required packages
   • Scrape Pokemon TCG products from Dollar General
   • Generate a professional PDF catalog with barcodes
   • Create timestamped files for easy organization

What You'll Get

Generated Files:

• pokemon_tcg_products_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.json - Raw data in JSON format
• catalog_output/pokemon_tcg_catalog_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.pdf - Professional PDF catalog

PDF Catalog Contents:

• Product images (downloaded automatically)
• Product details (title, price, stock, SKU)
• UPC-A barcodes for each product (generated from SKU)
• Table of contents for easy navigation
• Professional formatting suitable for printing

Alternative Commands

If you prefer more control:

# Activate virtual environment first
source venv/bin/activate

# Run only the scraper
python scraper.py

# Run only the PDF generator (after scraping)
python pdf_generator.py pokemon_tcg_products_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.json

# Run everything (installs requirements automatically)
python run_scraper.py

Output Location

All generated files will be in:

• JSON data: Current directory
• PDF catalog: catalog_output/ directory
• Product images: catalog_output/images/
• Barcode images: catalog_output/barcodes/

Requirements

• Python 3.7+
• pandoc (for PDF generation)
• Internet connection (for scraping)

The script will automatically handle Python dependencies via virtual environment.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues:

1. Permission denied: Make sure the script is executable:

   chmod +x run.sh
   

2. Pandoc not found: Install pandoc for your system:

   # Ubuntu/Debian
   sudo apt install pandoc
   
   # Arch Linux  
   sudo pacman -S pandoc
   
   # macOS
   brew install pandoc
   

3. No products found: The website may have anti-bot protection or changed structure. The script includes fallback mechanisms.

4. PDF generation fails: The markdown file will still be generated, which you can manually convert or view.

File Naming Convention

All output files include Unix-friendly timestamps:

• Format: YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS (e.g., 20241221_143025)
• This ensures chronological sorting with ls command
• No spaces or special characters for script-friendly handling

Example Output

pokemon-disco/
├── pokemon_tcg_products_20241221_143025.json     # Scraped data
├── catalog_output/
│   ├── pokemon_tcg_catalog_20241221_143025.pdf   # Final catalog
│   ├── pokemon_tcg_catalog_20241221_143025.md    # Markdown source
│   ├── images/
│   │   ├── product_1_SKU123456.jpg               # Product images
│   │   └── product_2_SKU789012.jpg
│   └── barcodes/
│       ├── barcode_SKU123456.png                 # UPC-A barcodes
│       └── barcode_SKU789012.png