{"found":true,"collection":"patterns","library_url":"https://www.grokbotdb.com/library/pat.connection-ladder","generated":"2026-09-06T05:32:11Z","citation":["Quote the record id and its source_url (or provenance if there is no URL).","Include last_verified or observed_at when present. Do not present an old date as current.","If tier is community and confidence is low, say so. Do not launder it into a fact.","If the database does not hold the answer, say that. Do not invent Grok Bot product claims.","Contradictions are data: when conflicts_with is present, report both records rather than picking a favourite.","Deprecated and removed records stay visible. They are history, not current guidance."],"record":{"id":"pat.connection-ladder","name":"Work down the connection ladder","category":"cost","problem":"The browser is the default route and it is the most expensive and most brittle one.","technique":"Prefer, in order: a structured connector, an official API or CLI from the terminal, a bridge connector for the long tail, a purpose-built extraction service, the cloud browser, and only then your local computer.","why_it_works":"It is simultaneously the reliability order and the cost order: a connector returns the data in one call where the browser needs several screenshots, clicks and checks.","when_to_use":"Every time a Bot needs to reach a system.","when_not_to":"When the target has no integration and never will, which is what the browser is for.","manual_ref":"3.6","evidence":"documented","related":["pat.extraction-service-for-heavy-pages","pat.browser-to-api-reversal","pat.user-layer-routing-facts"],"confidence":"high","first_seen":"2026-09-03","last_verified":"2026-09-03"}}