Weibo Trending Rankings Scraper

Capture a current Weibo trending rankings snapshot: public hot-search topic, original rank, Weibo-reported heat, keyword search link, optional label and UTC retrieval time. Run on demand or schedule daily to compare snapshots in your own dataset. No Weibo account is required.

Who is it for?

• China-market researchers track which topics currently occupy top positions.
• Editorial teams compare middle-ranked topics with the headline top ten.
• Data analysts schedule a full snapshot, then join successive exports by topic and timestamp to identify movement.

Why use this Actor?

The default dataset has one typed row per ranked topic, rather than an unstructured HTML page. Original Weibo ranks are retained when filters are used; filtering never renumbers them. A snapshot time on every row makes later exports comparable. The Actor does not scrape posts, comments, profiles, or historical topic traffic.

What data does it collect?

Field	Meaning
topic	Current Chinese topic text from Weibo
rank	Original one-based Weibo ranking position
heat	Weibo's reported heat number; not a post count
keywordUrl	Encoded Weibo search URL for the topic
label	Weibo's label if supplied, otherwise null
retrievedAt	UTC timestamp when the ranking response was processed
sourceUrl	Public Weibo hot-search page

Promoted entries without a numeric rank are excluded. The source may have fewer ranked rows than maxItems; requesting more does not generate nonexistent records.

Get started

1. Run with the default input to capture up to 50 currently ranked topics.
2. Choose minRank: 11 and maxRank: 25 to inspect the middle section rather than the most visible ten.
3. Limit dataset volume with the maximum-topics input; optionally use a heat threshold or topic-substring filter.
4. Download the default dataset as JSON or CSV, or schedule runs from Apify Console for fresh snapshots.

Input parameters

Input	Default	Purpose
maxItems	50	Maximum rows, 1–100
minRank	1	Minimum original rank, 1–100
maxRank	100	Maximum original rank, 1–100
minHeat	0	Minimum source heat, nonnegative integer
keyword	unset	Case-insensitive substring filter for current topic text

Filters apply to the same current ranking, not a historical keyword search. An unmatched keyword yields zero results, not an invented record. Invalid bounds fail explicitly.

Example input

{"maxItems":10,"minRank":1,"maxRank":10}

For a full recurring snapshot, use {"maxItems":100,"minRank":1,"maxRank":100} and set a daily schedule. There is no built-in history, change detector or email alert: retain datasets from successive runs in your own workflow.

Example output

This shape is based on a live public ranking response; titles and heat values change continuously:

{"topic":"英语才是普通人的终极杠杆","rank":1,"heat":2259664,"keywordUrl":"https://s.weibo.com/weibo?q=%E8%8B%B1%E8%AF%AD%E6%89%8D%E6%98%AF%E6%99%AE%E9%80%9A%E4%BA%BA%E7%9A%84%E7%BB%88%E6%9E%81%E6%9D%A0%E6%9D%86","label":null,"retrievedAt":"2026-09-29T06:05:00.000Z","sourceUrl":"https://weibo.com/hot/search"}

The example timestamp is illustrative; each actual record contains the time of that run.

How much does it cost to collect Weibo hot-search rankings?

The Actor uses pay-per-event: a one-time start charge on a successful nonempty snapshot and one item event per accepted result. Check the Pricing tab for the current account tier before running. At the BRONZE tier the current price is $0.00005 per nonempty run plus $0.001625 per accepted topic. For 10 topics the estimated charge is $0.01630; for 50 topics it is $0.08130. The FREE, SILVER and GOLD/PLATINUM/DIAMOND spend tiers differ; these tiers depend on qualifying monthly Store spend rather than the number of topics in one run. A 10-topic snapshot incurs one start plus ten item events; a 50-topic snapshot incurs one start plus fifty. Filters that return no rows incur no Actor-defined events, although platform compute may still apply. Charges are not based on raw response size or rejected/unranked entries. These are estimated Actor charges, not guaranteed invoices or payouts: refunds, fraud, disputes, taxes, corrections and contractual clawbacks can change a finalized payout. Platform compute and account terms can also affect total spend.

Snapshot comparison tips

When you join daily results, use both topic and retrieval date. A topic can disappear, return later, or move several positions while its heat varies independently. Compare rank and heat separately; the Actor does not calculate growth rates. If a filter excludes a topic on one day, that absence is not proof the topic disappeared from the full public ranking. Use the unfiltered full-list input for reliable downstream differences.

Scheduling and integrations

Schedule a full ranking input once per day in Apify Console, then export each default dataset as CSV to Google Sheets, Excel, a warehouse, or an automation workflow. Preserve retrievedAt when joining snapshots: rank changes between runs are not detected by the Actor itself. To follow up on individual topics, use keywordUrl or link public content workflows; these links can encounter Weibo's visitor challenge independently of the ranking API.

API usage: cURL

curl -X POST 'https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/automation-lab~weibo-public-hot-search-rankings/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"maxItems":10,"minRank":1,"maxRank":10}'

Keep tokens in environment variables for real automations, rather than committing them to source files.

API usage: JavaScript

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';
const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('automation-lab/weibo-public-hot-search-rankings').call({ maxItems: 10 });
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

API usage: Python

import os
from apify_client import ApifyClient
client = ApifyClient(os.environ['APIFY_TOKEN'])
run = client.actor('automation-lab/weibo-public-hot-search-rankings').call(run_input={'maxItems': 10})
items = client.dataset(run['defaultDatasetId']).list_items().items
print(items)

MCP use

Connect Apify MCP in Claude Code:

claude mcp add --transport http apify \
  'https://mcp.apify.com?tools=automation-lab/weibo-public-hot-search-rankings'

For Claude Desktop, Cursor, or VS Code clients supporting HTTP MCP, configure the remote server:

{"mcpServers":{"apify":{"url":"https://mcp.apify.com?tools=automation-lab/weibo-public-hot-search-rankings"}}}

Example prompts: “Get the current top ten public Weibo hot-search topics, with ranks and heat” and “Capture the current topics in Weibo ranks 11–25.” Configure your client's Apify authentication securely.

Limitations and troubleshooting

The ranking is a point-in-time public snapshot, not a search index, archive, or guaranteed complete list. It reflects the source's current numbers, which can change rapidly and are not independently audited. Weibo can challenge requests or change the JSON response without notice. A challenge, missing ranking, or malformed payload fails explicitly rather than returning a misleading empty snapshot. Retry after checking run logs; contact support with the run link if a previously working input fails repeatedly. No login, proxy selector, translation, post/comment access or historical backfill is supported.

Legality and responsible use

Use public trend data in accordance with Weibo's terms and applicable laws. Do not infer private user behavior from a ranking, or treat heat as verified audience size. Respect access restrictions on the linked topic pages.

FAQ

Can I collect old rankings? No. Each run captures only the source's currently visible ranking. Schedule future runs and keep their datasets to build your own series.

Why are there fewer than 50 rows? The source can include unranked promoted entries, or filters can remove topics. maxItems is an upper bound.

Why did a run fail instead of outputting zero rows? An empty or challenged upstream response is not a valid current snapshot. A deliberate keyword filter with no match succeeds with zero rows.

Related Actors

For public Weibo posts and profiles, see Weibo Posts and Profiles Scraper. For a comparable trending snapshot from another Chinese platform, see Douyin Hot Search Trends Scraper. These Actors serve different sources or record types.