RubyGems Scraper

Search RubyGems.org or list any profile's gems, and get each gem's metadata, downloads, release history, dependencies and reverse dependency count as clean JSON.

RubyGems.org hosts every public Ruby library, from Rails and Nokogiri to the smallest single-purpose gem. This Actor scrapes Ruby gems from RubyGems.org by search term, gem name, profile or release feed and returns each gem's version, summary, description, authors, licenses, total and per-version downloads, version count, first and latest release dates, dependencies, required Ruby version, reverse dependency count and project links (homepage, source code, documentation, bug tracker, changelog, funding). Search the way you would on rubygems.org, paste the pages you already have, or follow the feeds of brand-new gems and the latest releases. There is no login, no API key, and no proxy to configure. Built for developer-tool market research, open-source due diligence, dependency and license audits, lead generation among gem authors, and Ruby ecosystem tracking.

⚡ Quick start

{
  "searchTerms": ["web scraping"],
  "startUrls": [{ "url": "https://rubygems.org/profiles/flavorjones" }],
  "maxItems": 5
}

Or follow the newest gems:

{
  "feeds": ["newGems"],
  "maxItems": 10
}

🧩 Input

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
searchTerms	array	no	—	Searches to run on RubyGems.org, one per line, such as web scraping or http client. RubyGems.org's search syntax works too, such as name:rack or downloads:>1000000.
gemNames	array	no	—	Gem names, one per line, such as nokogiri or rails. Each returns the gem at its latest version.
startUrls	array	no	—	RubyGems.org URLs: a search (/search?query=…), a gem (/gems/nokogiri), a gem version (/gems/nokogiri/versions/1.15.0), a profile (/profiles/flavorjones) or New Releases (/releases).
feeds	array	no	—	Activity feeds: newGems (the 50 newest gems) and justUpdated (the 50 latest releases of any gem).
maxItems	integer	no	—	Maximum gems per search term, start URL or feed. The input form starts at 5; leave it empty to get everything (a search returns at most 9,990 gems, a feed 50).
includeVersions	boolean	no	false	Include version history: every version of each gem with its release date, downloads, platform, prerelease flag, required Ruby and RubyGems versions and licenses.
proxyConfiguration	object	no	{ "useApifyProxy": false }	Proxy configuration. RubyGems.org's public gem data needs no proxy.

Add search terms, gem names, URLs, feeds, or any mix. Searches come back in RubyGems.org's relevance order. A profile returns the gems that user owns, most downloaded first. A gem version URL returns that version, platform builds such as /versions/1.19.4-x86_64-linux-gnu included; every other gem returns its latest version. The activity feeds are also how to watch RubyGems.org for new launches and releases on a schedule.

📤 Output

Each gem is one dataset row, describing its latest version or the version you asked for.

Fields

Field	Type	Description
name	string	Gem name.
version	string	The version this row describes: the latest, or the one a URL named.
platform	string	The build's platform: ruby for pure-Ruby gems, or a native platform such as x86_64-linux-gnu.
summary	string	One-line summary.
description	string	Longer description, or the summary when the gem has none.
authors	array	Author names.
licenses	array	Licenses, usually SPDX identifiers such as MIT.
downloads	number	All-time downloads of the gem, every version included.
versionDownloads	number	Downloads of this version.
versionsCount	number	Number of published versions (platform builds of one version count once).
versionReleasedAt	string	When this version was published (ISO 8601).
firstReleasedAt	string	When the gem's first version was published.
lastReleasedAt	string	When the gem's most recent version was published.
prerelease	boolean	Whether this version is a prerelease, such as 2.0.0.beta1.
homepageUrl	string	Project homepage.
sourceCodeUrl	string	Source repository.
documentationUrl	string	Documentation.
bugTrackerUrl	string	Issue tracker.
changelogUrl	string	Changelog.
fundingUrl	string	Where to sponsor the project.
runtimeDependencies	array	Gems this version needs to run: name and requirements (version range).
developmentDependencies	array	Gems needed only to develop or test it: name and requirements.
requiredRubyVersion	string	Ruby versions it supports, such as >= 3.2; null when it sets no limit.
requiredRubygemsVersion	string	RubyGems versions it needs; null when it sets no limit.
reverseDependenciesCount	number	Number of gems that depend on this gem.
mfaRequired	boolean	Whether its owners must use multi-factor authentication to publish.
sha256	string	SHA-256 checksum of this version's .gem file.
versions	array	Every version, newest first: number, platform, createdAt, downloads, prerelease, requiredRubyVersion, requiredRubygemsVersion and licenses. null unless includeVersions is on.
searchQuery	string	The search that found the gem; null for gem names, gem, profile and feed URLs.
url	string	The gem's page on RubyGems.org (the version's page when a URL named one).

💡 Use cases

• Developer-tool market research — size a category by downloads and reverse dependencies, and see which gems lead it.
• Open-source due diligence — check how actively a gem is released, who maintains it, and whether its owners require multi-factor authentication.
• Dependency and license audits — collect licenses, dependencies and supported Ruby versions across the gems you rely on.
• Ecosystem tracking — schedule the new-gems or just-updated feed, or a profile, to catch new launches and releases as they appear.
• Lead generation — find the authors and companies behind the gems in your niche.

❓ FAQ

• Do I need a RubyGems.org account or an API key? No. The Actor reads the same public gem data anyone can see.
• Do I need a proxy? No. It runs without one by default.
• Which search syntax works? Free text, plus RubyGems.org's field searches such as name:rack, summary:http, description:scraping and downloads:>1000000, in search terms and in rubygems.org search URLs.
• How many gems can one search return? Up to 9,990, in relevance order. Split a broad search into narrower ones to go further.
• Why do some gems have no source code or documentation link? Those links are whatever the gem's authors declared. Many older gems set only a homepage.
• How do I get an older version? Paste its page, such as https://rubygems.org/gems/nokogiri/versions/1.15.0. Its dependencies, downloads and Ruby requirement are those of that version.
• Why is versions so long for some gems? Gems with native extensions publish one build per platform, so a single version can appear ten times or more. versionsCount counts each version once.

🔗 More scrapers by Anyx

• npm Package Scraper
• PyPI Scraper
• GitHub Trending Scraper
• Hacker News Scraper

🤝 Anyx Solutions

We build custom scrapers and data-extraction pipelines.

• Email: tantosthor@gmail.com

🖼 Image credit

Image credit: rubygems.org