# GitHub Trending Monitor: New Repos by Language and Period (`accountable_eel/github-trending-monitor`) Actor

Read GitHub's trending repositories by language and period (today, this week, this month): rank, stars, forks and stars gained, one row per repository, with a monitoring mode that returns and bills only repositories that newly appeared on the list since your last run.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/accountable_eel/github-trending-monitor.md
- **Developed by:** [Adriana Voss](https://apify.com/accountable_eel) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, Automation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.60 / 1,000 trending repository 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

## GitHub Trending Monitor: New Repos by Language and Period

**Get GitHub's trending repositories by language and period as rows, and get alerted only when a repository newly appears on the list.**
One row per trending repository with its rank, total stars, forks and stars gained today, this week or this month. Turn on monitoring mode and run it on a schedule: you get, and pay for, only the repositories that were not on that list at your last run.

**Who uses it:** developer-relations and open-source teams watching a language ecosystem, newsletter and content writers who need a daily "what is rising" feed, investors and recruiters tracking which projects take off, and AI agents that need a structured trending list.

**Price:** $1.20 per 1,000 repositories on the free plan, lower on paid plans. A language with no list, a quiet monitoring run and a block are never charged.

### How to use

1. **In the Apify Console.** Open the actor page and click **Start** — the `languages` 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~github-trending-monitor/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>" \
     -X POST \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{"languages":["python"]}'
   ```
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
{
  "languages": [
    "python"
  ]
}
```

One programming language per line, as GitHub spells it in the trending URL: python, javascript, c++, jupyter-notebook. Each language is its own list. Leave empty for the all-languages list. You can also paste a github.com/trending/<language> link. Accepted formats: python, javascript, c++, https://github.com/trending/rust.

Each language line is its own request, so `["python","rust"]` returns two lists. `since` is `daily`, `weekly` or `monthly`. `minStarsInPeriod` and `maxResults` filter and cap each list. Filters run before the monitoring memory is stored, so the memory only holds what you asked to see. GitHub lists 13 to 25 repositories per page and has no further pages, so the default `maxResults` of 25 returns the whole list.

Monitoring (`onlyNewSinceLastRun`): the memory is a named key-value store of this actor's own, kept per language and per period. The first monitored run returns the whole list and remembers it; later runs return only repositories not on the list at the previous run. A repository that leaves the list and comes back more than 30 days later counts as new again.

### Output

One row per trending repository, for example:

| query | found | status | sourceUrl | period | repoCount | monitorStatus | repos | rank | fullName | owner | name | description | language | languageColor | stars | forks | starsInPeriod | repoUrl | isNew | firstSeenAt | scrapedAt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| python | true | OK | <trending page> | <period> | <repos returned> | <monitoring status> | \<all repos (full list)> | <rank on the page> | <repository> | <owner> | <name> | <description> | <language> | <language colour> | <total stars> | <forks> | <stars in period> | <repository page> | \<newly on the list?> | <first seen on a run> | 1970-01-01T00:00:00.000Z |

A miss (a language GitHub has no trending list for, or a rate limit) comes back as a row with `"found": false` and is never charged. `stars`, `forks`, `starsInPeriod`, `description` and `language` are `null` when the card does not show them, never `0`.

### Pricing

Pay-per-event. A flat per-run fee covers run start; you're billed per repository only when it is actually returned in the dataset. A miss is never charged.

### 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.

**Python, trending today.** The default shape.

```json
{
  "languages": ["python"],
  "since": "daily",
  "maxResults": 25
}
```

**Rust and Go, trending this week, only repositories that gained 200+ stars.**

```json
{
  "languages": ["rust", "go"],
  "since": "weekly",
  "minStarsInPeriod": 200
}
```

**All languages, trending today, with monitoring on.** Schedule it daily and only new entrants are returned.

```json
{
  "languages": [],
  "since": "daily",
  "onlyNewSinceLastRun": true,
  "deltaName": "all-languages-daily"
}
```

### 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~github-trending-monitor/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>" \
  -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"languages":["python"]}'
```

**n8n.** Add an HTTP Request node: Method `POST`, URL `https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~github-trending-monitor/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>`, Body Content Type `JSON`, JSON Body `{"languages":["python"]}` (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~github-trending-monitor/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>`, Body `{"languages":["{{language}}"]}`, mapping the row's language into the `languages` array.

**MCP.** In Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client with the Apify MCP server, ask for "github trending scraper" — the agent will find and run this actor.

# Actor input Schema

## `languages` (type: `array`):

One programming language per line, as GitHub spells it in the trending URL: python, javascript, c++, jupyter-notebook. Each language is its own list. Leave empty for the all-languages list. You can also paste a github.com/trending/<language> link. Accepted formats: python, javascript, c++, https://github.com/trending/rust. You're only charged for the ones we actually find — a miss costs nothing.

## `since` (type: `string`):

Which GitHub trending period to read. Stars in period count stars gained within it.

## `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`):

Up to 100. GitHub lists 13 to 25 repositories per page, so the default returns the whole list. Caps what you get and pay for per language.

## `minStarsInPeriod` (type: `integer`):

Optional. Only keep repositories that gained at least this many stars in the period. A card with no star-gain figure is kept. Applied before the monitoring memory is stored.

## `onlyNewSinceLastRun` (type: `boolean`):

On: only repositories that were not on this list at your previous run are returned and charged for. Run it on a daily schedule as a trending alert. The first monitored run returns the whole list and remembers it. Off: the whole list every time.

## `deltaName` (type: `string`):

Optional. Names this monitor's memory so you can tell two schedules apart, or keep one memory across a filter change. Leave empty to derive one from your filters. Each language and period keeps its own memory either way.

## `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 repository found gets its own row instead of being grouped under its language. You're still only charged once per language, 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
{
  "languages": [
    "python"
  ],
  "since": "daily",
  "testRun": false,
  "onlyFound": false,
  "includeKeywords": [],
  "excludeKeywords": [],
  "maxResults": 25,
  "onlyNewSinceLastRun": false,
  "deltaName": "",
  "columns": [
    "sourceUrl",
    "period",
    "repoCount",
    "monitorStatus",
    "repos",
    "rank",
    "fullName",
    "owner",
    "name",
    "description",
    "language",
    "languageColor",
    "stars",
    "forks",
    "starsInPeriod",
    "repoUrl",
    "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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "languages": [
        "python"
    ],
    "includeKeywords": [],
    "excludeKeywords": []
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("accountable_eel/github-trending-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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "languages": ["python"],
    "includeKeywords": [],
    "excludeKeywords": [],
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("accountable_eel/github-trending-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 '{
  "languages": [
    "python"
  ],
  "includeKeywords": [],
  "excludeKeywords": []
}' |
apify call accountable_eel/github-trending-monitor --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,accountable_eel/github-trending-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 <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` 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/ssY9ITLUmqLmVf1A6/builds/LFSN9lZnFIPamMD4m/openapi.json