Open VSX Extensions Scraper: Open VSX Extensions Search

This Open VSX extensions scraper helps you gather detailed extension information into clean, structured data. You can easily search by keywords, pull details for a specific extension using its ID, or extract every extension published under a given namespace. Once collected, export your dataset in JSON, CSV, or Excel formats.

Use Cases

• Extension search: Look up extensions like python, sort them by downloads, and capture ratings, review counts, and version details.
• Single extension target: Pass a specific extension ID (e.g., ms-python.python) to pull display names, download numbers, and download links.
• Publisher extraction: Input a publisher namespace like redhat to list every extension under that account.
• Controlled extraction: Set a maximum item limit (maxItems) before exporting to spreadsheets to keep your dataset focused and manageable.

What Data Does This Tool Extract?

The scraper extracts key details for each extension record, including:

• Extension name, display name, and namespace
• Download counts, average ratings, and review counts
• Extension descriptions and version timestamps
• File download links (icon and package files)
• Verification status and deprecation flags

If a specific extension ID cannot be found during a run, the actor records an error row for that entry and continues collecting the remaining items without stopping the run.

Input

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
searchQueries	array	python	Keywords to search for (one per line).
extensionIds	array	empty	Specific extension IDs in namespace.name format (e.g., ms-python.python).
namespaces	array	empty	Publisher namespaces (e.g., redhat).
sortBy	string	relevance	Sort results by relevance, timestamp, downloadCount, or averageRating.
maxItems	integer	100	Total rows to collect (up to 1000).
requestDelaySecs	number	0.3	Pause duration between requests.
timeoutSecs	integer	300	Maximum total runtime in seconds.
requestTimeoutSecs	integer	30	Maximum wait time for a single response.
proxyConfiguration	object	{"useApifyProxy": false}	Proxy settings (optional).

Example Input

{
  "searchQueries": ["python"],
  "extensionIds": ["ms-python.python"],
  "namespaces": ["redhat"],
  "sortBy": "relevance",
  "maxItems": 100,
  "requestDelaySecs": 0.3,
  "timeoutSecs": 300,
  "requestTimeoutSecs": 30,
  "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": false }
}

Output

{
  "averageRating": 3.875,
  "deprecated": false,
  "extensionDescription": "Python language support with extension access points for IntelliSense (Pylance), Debugging (Python Debugger), linting, formatting, refactoring, unit tests, and more.",
  "displayName": "Python",
  "downloadCount": 60435366,
  "files": {
    "sha256": "[https://open-vsx.org/api/ms-python/python/2026.4.0/file/ms-python.python-2026.4.0.sha256](https://open-vsx.org/api/ms-python/python/2026.4.0/file/ms-python.python-2026.4.0.sha256)",
    "download": "[https://open-vsx.org/api/ms-python/python/2026.4.0/file/ms-python.python-2026.4.0.vsix](https://open-vsx.org/api/ms-python/python/2026.4.0/file/ms-python.python-2026.4.0.vsix)",
    "icon": "[https://open-vsx.org/api/ms-python/python/2026.4.0/file/icon.png](https://open-vsx.org/api/ms-python/python/2026.4.0/file/icon.png)"
  },
  "name": "python",
  "namespace": "ms-python",
  "reviewCount": 16,
  "timestamp": "2026-03-13T04:21:53.228120Z",
  "url": "[https://open-vsx.org/api/ms-python/python](https://open-vsx.org/api/ms-python/python)",
  "verified": true,
  "version": "2026.4.0",
  "mode": "search",
  "scraped_at": "2026-10-12T00:00:00+00:00"
}

Output Fields

Field	Type	Description
averageRating	number	Average user rating.
deprecated	boolean	Indicates if the extension is deprecated.
extensionDescription	string	Summary description of the extension.
displayName	string	User-friendly display name.
downloadCount	integer	Total recorded downloads.
files	object	Download and icon links.
name	string	Technical extension name.
namespace	string	Publisher account or namespace name.
reviewCount	integer	Total user reviews.
timestamp	string	Date and time of the release.
url	string	Direct link to the extension record.
verified	boolean	Verification flag for the extension or publisher.
version	string	Version string.
mode	string	Extraction mode (search, detail, or namespace).
scraped_at	string	Timestamp recorded when the data was saved.
error	string	Details about any failed items.
input	string	Query, ID, or namespace associated with an issue.
status	integer	Response status code for troubleshooting.

How It Works

1. Input check: Reads search queries, extension IDs, or namespaces. If none are provided, it defaults to searching for python.
2. Data retrieval: Fetch matches, paging through search results according to your maxItems setting.
3. Deduplication: Automatically removes duplicate entries (namespace.name) before outputting items to your dataset.

FAQ

Can I export data as CSV? Yes. You can export dataset results in JSON, CSV, or Excel formats directly.

How fresh is the data? Every run pulls data in real-time. The scraped_at timestamp shows exactly when each record was collected.

What happens if an extension ID isn't found? Instead of stopping the run, the scraper logs an error record for that specific ID and moves on to collect the rest.

How many rows can I collect per run? maxItems defaults to 100, but you can set it anywhere up to 1000 items per run.

Trademark Notice

Open VSX Extensions and related names, logos, and trademarks belong to their respective owners. Their use here is purely for identification purposes and does not imply affiliation, endorsement, or partnership.

Disclaimer

This scraper is an independent tool created for data extraction. Users are responsible for complying with the source's terms of use, rate guidelines, and applicable data handling practices.

Is Web Scraping Legal?

This tool collects publicly available information without bypassing security measures. Extracting public data is widely practiced, but how you use the data is important to keep in mind:

• Personal Data: If your dataset includes personal information, data privacy rules (such as GDPR or CCPA) may apply. Always handle personal information responsibly.
• Copyright: Certain descriptions or materials may be subject to copyright. Avoid republishing copyrighted content in full without proper permissions.
• Terms: Always respect standard platform terms and usage guidelines.
• Legal Advice: This overview provides general information. If you have specific legal questions, consider consulting a legal professional.

This is not legal advice. To learn more, read Apify's guide: Is web scraping legal?