# Apple Podcasts Chart Monitor: New Entries and Drops (`accountable_eel/apple-podcasts-chart-monitor`) Actor Apple Podcasts top shows and top episodes by country and genre, with a monitoring mode that reports new chart entries, drops and rank moves since your last run, and bills only for what changed. - **URL**: https://apify.com/accountable_eel/apple-podcasts-chart-monitor.md - **Developed by:** [Adriana Voss](https://apify.com/accountable_eel) (community) - **Categories:** Social media, Automation - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $1.50 / 1,000 chart entry returneds This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md. ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run. For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below. Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`). # README ## Apple Podcasts Chart Monitor: New Entries and Drops **Get Apple Podcasts' Top Shows or Top Episodes chart for any store country, and on every scheduled run only what changed: new entries, drops and rank moves.** Each row is one show (or episode) with its rank, publisher, genres and Apple Podcasts page. Turn on monitoring, run it daily, and a quiet day returns nothing and costs nothing. **Related actors:** to look a single show up by Apple id, with its feed URL and latest episodes, use [Podcast Lookup](https://apify.com/accountable_eel/podcast-lookup). This actor is about the charts. ### Who uses it - **Podcast networks and agencies** watch whether a client show or a competitor's enters or leaves the top 25 in a country, without opening the app every morning. - **Brand and sponsorship teams** get a daily list of shows that just broke into a genre chart, which is the moment a show is worth pitching. - **Newsletters, data journalists and trend trackers** schedule it per country and drop the new entries into Sheets, n8n, Make or Slack. ### How to use 1. **In the Apify Console.** Open the actor page and click **Start** — the `countries` field is already pre-filled with a working example. Results land in the run's dataset as soon as each item is found. 2. **Via the API.** Call it directly with a POST request — no Console needed once you have an API token: ```bash curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~apple-podcasts-chart-monitor/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=" \ -X POST \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"countries":["us"]}' ``` 3. **On a schedule.** Save this actor as an Apify **Task** with the input you want, then add a **Schedule** (hourly, daily, weekly) so it runs on its own — no server of your own required. ### Input ```json { "countries": [ "us" ] } ``` One two-letter Apple store country code per line. Each country gets its own chart and its own monitoring memory. Accepted formats: us, gb, de. One run covers every country you list, one chart per country, each with its own monitoring memory. Entries are the country's chart as Apple publishes it: the feed refreshes daily and holds at most the top 100, so a chart watch is a top-100 watch. **Genre.** Apple's chart feed has no genre parameter, so the genre field filters the country's top 100 by genre name or id (News, True Crime, Comedy, 1489 ...). `rank` counts inside that genre, `overallRank` keeps the position in the country's chart. On the episodes chart Apple prints genre names in the store's language and without an id, so type the name as it appears. **Chart size.** `limit` is how many entries you watch (1 to 100). Monitoring compares that top N between runs, so a show that slides from rank 20 to rank 30 on a top-25 watch is reported as dropped. ### Monitoring: entries, drops and moves Switch on **Only return entries and drops since the last run**, or just give the watchlist a name, and the actor remembers each country's last chart in a key-value store of its own. From the second run on: | `chartStatus` | Meaning | Returned and billed with monitoring on | | --- | --- | --- | | `BASELINE` | The first monitored run: the whole chart, so you have the starting point | yes, once | | `NEW_ENTRY` | In the chart now, not in the last run's chart | yes | | `DROPPED` | In the last run's chart, gone now (`rank` is null, `previousRank` says where it was) | yes | | `UP` / `DOWN` / `UNCHANGED` | Still on the chart; `rankChange` is the places climbed (negative = fell) | no, only in the full-chart mode below | With monitoring on and nothing entered or dropped you get one row with `monitorStatus: NO_CHANGES` and `entryCount: 0`, and you are not charged. A name without the checkbox (a tracked watchlist) returns the full chart every run, stamped with each entry's movement. ### Output One row per chart entry, for example: | query | found | status | country | chart | genreFilter | chartSummary | entryCount | monitorStatus | feedGeneratedAt | sourceUrl | entries | rank | overallRank | id | name | artistName | genres | explicit | artworkUrl | url | chartStatus | previousRank | rankChange | isNew | firstSeenAt | scrapedAt | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | us | true | OK | | | | | | | | | \ | | | | | | | | | | | | | \ | | 1970-01-01T00:00:00.000Z | A country with no chart comes back as a row with `"found": false` and is never charged. Values Apple does not publish are `null`, never `0` or an empty string. `explicit` is `true` when Apple flags the title and `null` otherwise, because the feed never says "clean". Every row carries the Apple Podcasts page in `url`, the feed it came from in `sourceUrl`, and `scrapedAt`. Real rows from the US Top Shows chart on 2026-10-11: | rank | name | artistName | genres | url | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | The Daily | The New York Times | News | https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-daily/id1200361736 | | 2 | In The Dark | The New Yorker | True Crime, Society & Culture | https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-the-dark/id1148175292 | | 3 | Crime Junkie | Audiochuck | True Crime | https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crime-junkie/id1322200189 | ### Pricing - **Chart entry returned**: $3 per 1,000 entries Plus a $0.003 start fee per run. Each event above is billed independently, only when it actually returns data - misses (`found:false`) are never charged. A top-25 chart is 25 entries. A monitoring run that finds no new entries and no drops is free. ### Example runs Paste any of these into the Input tab and press Start. All three return rows with no key, no token and no account of your own beyond an Apify login. **US Top Shows, top 25.** The default shape. ```json { "countries": ["us"], "chart": "shows", "limit": 25 } ``` **True Crime inside the UK and German top 100, monitored.** Run it daily as a schedule; the first run is the baseline, later runs return only entries and drops. ```json { "countries": ["gb", "de"], "chart": "shows", "genre": "True Crime", "limit": 25, "onlyNewSinceLastRun": true, "deltaName": "true-crime-eu" } ``` **Top 10 episodes in France.** ```json { "countries": ["fr"], "chart": "episodes", "limit": 10 } ``` ### Use it from Clay, n8n, Make, or an AI agent This actor runs synchronously over plain HTTP — call it directly from a script, a workflow tool, or an AI agent, no Apify Console needed once you have an API token. ```bash curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~apple-podcasts-chart-monitor/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=" \ -X POST \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"countries":["us"]}' ``` **n8n.** Add an HTTP Request node: Method `POST`, URL `https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~apple-podcasts-chart-monitor/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=`, Body Content Type `JSON`, JSON Body `{"countries":["us"]}` (swap in an expression from an earlier node for a real value). **Clay.** Add an "HTTP API" column: Method `POST`, URL `https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~apple-podcasts-chart-monitor/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=`, Body `{"countries":["{{country chart}}"]}`, mapping the row's country chart into the `countries` array. **MCP.** In Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client with the Apify MCP server, ask for "apple podcasts chart tracker" — the agent will find and run this actor. # Actor input Schema ## `countries` (type: `array`): One two-letter Apple store country code per line. Each country gets its own chart and its own monitoring memory. Accepted formats: us, gb, de. You're only charged for the ones we actually find — a miss costs nothing. ## `chart` (type: `string`): Apple's Top Shows chart or its Top Episodes chart for the country. ## `genre` (type: `string`): Optional. Keep only entries in this genre, by Apple's name (News, True Crime, Comedy, Business, Technology) or genre id (1489). It filters the country's top 100, and ranks are counted inside that genre. Leave empty for the whole chart. On the episodes chart Apple prints genre names in the store's language, so type the name as it appears. ## `limit` (type: `integer`): How many entries to watch, 1 to 100. Monitoring compares this top N between runs, so a show that slides from rank 20 to rank 30 on a top-25 watch counts as dropped. ## `testRun` (type: `boolean`): Turn this on to test your input on a small sample before running the full list. Turn it off to process everything. ## `onlyFound` (type: `boolean`): Only keep rows where something was actually found. Misses are always free, whether or not you show them here. ## `includeKeywords` (type: `array`): Optional. Only keep results that mention at least one of these words (e.g. a job title, a city, a product name). Leave empty to keep everything. ## `excludeKeywords` (type: `array`): Optional. Drop any result that mentions one of these words. Leave empty to skip nothing. ## `maxResults` (type: `integer`): Optional. Stop the run once this many results have been found — useful for a quick, cheap sample. Leave blank for no limit. ## `onlyNewSinceLastRun` (type: `boolean`): On: after a first baseline run, only shows that entered the chart or dropped off it are returned and charged for. Run it daily on a schedule as a chart alert. Off: the full chart is returned every time. ## `deltaName` (type: `string`): Optional. Name this chart's monitoring memory so you can tell two schedules of this actor apart, or keep one memory across an input change. Leave empty to auto-derive one from your chart, genre and size. Naming a watchlist with the checkbox above off returns the full chart stamped with each entry's movement. ## `columns` (type: `array`): Choose which pieces of information to include in each result row. All are included by default. ## `expandRows` (type: `boolean`): When on, each chart entry found gets its own row instead of being grouped under its country chart. You're still only charged once per country chart, no matter how many rows it produces. ## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`): Parallel requests. Keep conservative — this target has no browser fallback, so getting blocked costs more than slow-and-steady. ## Actor input object example ```json { "countries": [ "us" ], "chart": "shows", "genre": "", "limit": 25, "testRun": false, "onlyFound": false, "includeKeywords": [], "excludeKeywords": [], "onlyNewSinceLastRun": false, "deltaName": "", "columns": [ "country", "chart", "genreFilter", "chartSummary", "entryCount", "monitorStatus", "feedGeneratedAt", "sourceUrl", "entries", "rank", "overallRank", "id", "name", "artistName", "genres", "explicit", "artworkUrl", "url", "chartStatus", "previousRank", "rankChange", "isNew", "firstSeenAt" ], "expandRows": true, "maxConcurrency": 1 } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `results` (type: `string`): No description # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "countries": [ "us" ], "includeKeywords": [], "excludeKeywords": [] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("accountable_eel/apple-podcasts-chart-monitor").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "countries": ["us"], "includeKeywords": [], "excludeKeywords": [], } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("accountable_eel/apple-podcasts-chart-monitor").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}") for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "countries": [ "us" ], "includeKeywords": [], "excludeKeywords": [] }' | apify call accountable_eel/apple-podcasts-chart-monitor --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "type": "http", "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,accountable_eel/apple-podcasts-chart-monitor" } } } ``` The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer ` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations). ## OpenAPI specification Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/eQWnZGXk9oHiuGcoF/builds/aV5L8e7SMDTjgpxww/openapi.json