# Apple Podcasts Scraper — RSS Feeds, iTunes Search & API (`bovi/podcast-scraper`) Actor Scrape Apple Podcasts via the official iTunes API — search shows, get metadata (genre, artwork, feed URL, episode count) and full episode lists from RSS. No auth, no proxy. Each record has parse\_confidence. Pay per result. - **URL**: https://apify.com/bovi/podcast-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Vitalii Bondarev](https://apify.com/bovi) (community) - **Categories:** News, Marketing - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing $0.90 / 1,000 podcast/episodes This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. 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. Actors are written with capital "A". ## 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. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## Apple Podcasts Scraper — iTunes Search, Episodes & RSS | from $0.50/1K **Built for podcast-app developers, content marketers, and lead-gen teams** that need structured Apple Podcasts data — show metadata, episode lists from RSS, genre filters, and country selection — via the official iTunes API. No auth, no proxy, zero COGS. Scrape Apple Podcasts metadata via the **official iTunes Search and Lookup APIs** — no authentication, no proxies, zero COGS. Optionally retrieve episodes directly from each podcast's RSS feed. ### What you can scrape - **Podcast metadata** — title, author, genre, episode count, artwork, feed URL, iTunes URL, release date - **Episodes** (optional) — title, GUID, publish date, duration, description, audio file URL from the podcast's RSS feed ### Use cases - Podcast directory and competitive research - Lead generation (find podcasts by topic, contact via feed) - Content monitoring — track episode counts, new releases - App development — build podcast apps with rich metadata ### Input | Field | Type | Default | Description | |---|---|---|---| | `searchTerms` | string[] | `["technology"]` | Keywords to search Apple Podcasts | | `podcastIds` | string[] | — | Numeric iTunes podcast IDs for direct lookup | | `country` | string | `"us"` | Two-letter country code (us, gb, de, fr, jp…) | | `maxItems` | integer | 50 | Max total podcasts to return (0 = no limit) | | `includeEpisodes` | boolean | false | Also fetch episodes from RSS feed | | `maxEpisodesPerPodcast` | integer | 20 | Max episodes per podcast (0 = all) | | `maxSearchResults` | integer | 50 | Max search results per term (iTunes cap: 200) | #### Finding a podcast ID Look at the Apple Podcasts URL: `podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/name/id**470624027**` — the number after `id` is the podcast ID. ### Output schema Every row in the dataset has these fields: | Field | Type | Description | |---|---|---| | `record_type` | string | `"podcast"` or `"episode"` | | `podcast_id` | string | Numeric iTunes podcast ID | | `title` | string | Podcast or episode title | | `artist` | string | Author / creator name | | `genre` | string | Primary genre (Technology, True Crime, etc.) | | `genres` | string[] | All genres | | `episode_count` | integer\|null | Total episodes (podcast rows only) | | `rating` | float\|null | Average user rating (where available) | | `rating_count` | integer\|null | Number of ratings | | `country` | string | Input country code | | `feed_url` | string\|null | RSS feed URL | | `artwork_url` | string\|null | 600×600 artwork image | | `release_date` | string\|null | ISO 8601 UTC — latest episode release | | `itunes_url` | string\|null | Apple Podcasts browse URL | | `episode_guid` | string\|null | Episode GUID (episode rows only) | | `pub_date_raw` | string\|null | Episode publish date (RFC 2822) | | `duration` | string\|null | Episode duration HH:MM:SS | | `episode_desc` | string\|null | Episode description (first 2000 chars) | | `enclosure_url` | string\|null | Episode audio file URL | | `parse_confidence` | float | 0.0–1.0 data quality score | | `warnings` | string[] | List of any missing/unexpected fields | | `scraped_at` | string | ISO 8601 UTC scrape timestamp | ### Pricing **Pay per result** — each podcast row or episode row = 1 billable event: **from $0.50 per 1,000 records**. | Volume | Cost | |--------|------| | 100 podcasts | ~$0.05 | | 1,000 podcasts | ~$0.50 | | 1,000 podcasts + 20 episodes each = 21,000 rows | ~$10.50 | --- ### FAQ **Do I need a proxy or API key?** No. The iTunes Search and Lookup APIs are public Apple endpoints — no authentication or proxy required. **What output formats are available?** JSON, CSV, and Excel — downloadable from the Apify dataset UI or via the REST API. **Can I schedule this to run automatically?** Yes. Use Apify's scheduler to monitor new episodes or track podcast rankings on a daily schedule, with webhook delivery to your pipeline. **Why are `rating` and `rating_count` null for most podcasts?** This is expected Apple API behavior — Apple does not expose ratings in the Search API for most podcasts. This is not a bug in the scraper. ### Why this scraper beats the rest - **Official APIs only** — iTunes Search + Lookup APIs are Apple's own public endpoints. Zero DOM fragility, no CAPTCHA risk, no proxy required. - **`parse_confidence` field** — every record includes a quality score + warning list so you know exactly what data arrived intact. No competitor offers this. - **Episodes via RSS** — optional one-click episode mode pulls title, duration, description, and audio URL directly from the podcast's own RSS feed. - **Batch-ready** — search multiple terms + direct IDs in one run, deduped automatically. - **Multi-country** — switch the `country` field to get local storefronts (gb, de, fr, jp, au…). ### Technical notes - iTunes Search API limit: 200 results per query. - `averageUserRating` and `userRatingCount` are often `null` for podcasts in Apple's API — this is expected Apple behaviour, not a bug. - RSS episode fetch adds one HTTP request per podcast. For large batches with `includeEpisodes=true`, runtime increases proportionally. - Not affiliated with Apple Inc. ### Example output ```json { "record_type": "podcast", "podcast_id": "470624027", "title": "TED Tech", "artist": "TED Tech", "genre": "Technology", "genres": ["Technology", "Podcasts"], "episode_count": 268, "rating": null, "rating_count": null, "country": "us", "feed_url": "https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/...", "artwork_url": "https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/.../600x600bb.jpg", "release_date": "2026-05-29T04:00:00Z", "itunes_url": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ted-tech/id470624027", "episode_guid": null, "pub_date_raw": null, "duration": null, "episode_desc": null, "enclosure_url": null, "parse_confidence": 1.0, "warnings": [], "scraped_at": "2026-05-31T12:00:00Z" } ```` *** ### Use with AI agents (MCP) This actor is available as an MCP tool for Claude, GPT-4, and other AI agents that support the Model Context Protocol: ``` https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=bovi/podcast-scraper ``` Search Apple Podcasts by keyword or look up shows by iTunes ID — ideal for AI podcast discovery assistants, content monitoring bots, and lead-gen pipelines targeting podcasters by niche. *** ### vs. competitors | | **This actor** | Typical podcast scraper | |---|---|---| | Data source | Official iTunes API + RSS | HTML / unofficial APIs | | Episode content (RSS) | ✓ (`includeEpisodes` toggle) | Rarely | | Country targeting | ✓ | Usually US-only | | `parse_confidence` | ✓ | No | | Proxy needed | No | Often required | | Price | from $0.50/1K | $2–5/1K | ### Integrations Built for podcast-app developers and content marketers sourcing show metadata and episode feeds by genre and country — the JSON/dataset output drops into the tools you already run, no glue code: - **n8n / Make / Zapier** — trigger a run or pipe every new dataset item into 500+ apps (Google Sheets, Airtable, Slack, HubSpot, your database) with no code: [n8n](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/n8n), [Make](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/make), [Zapier](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/zapier). - **Webhooks** — fire your own endpoint the moment a run finishes, to push results straight into your pipeline ([docs](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/webhooks)). - **MCP server** — expose this actor as a tool to Claude, Cursor, or any [MCP client](https://mcp.apify.com) so an AI agent can pull this data mid-conversation ([guide](https://blog.apify.com/how-to-use-mcp/)). - **API & SDKs** — fetch the dataset as JSON, CSV, or Excel through the Apify REST API or the Python / JS SDKs. See all [Apify integrations](https://apify.com/integrations). # Actor input Schema ## `searchTerms` (type: `array`): Keywords to search for podcasts via the iTunes Search API (up to 200 results per query). Example: \["technology", "true crime", "startup"] ## `podcastIds` (type: `array`): Numeric iTunes podcast IDs for direct lookup. Find the ID in the Apple Podcasts URL: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/name/id. Example: \["1200361736"] ## `country` (type: `string`): Two-letter ISO country code for the iTunes storefront. Controls which region's ranking and availability data is returned. Examples: us, gb, de, fr, jp, ca, au. ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Maximum total podcasts to return across all searches and lookups. 0 = no limit. Default 50. ## `includeEpisodes` (type: `boolean`): Fetch episodes from each podcast's RSS feed URL. Each episode becomes a separate output record with type=episode. This adds one HTTP request per podcast. Default false. ## `maxEpisodesPerPodcast` (type: `integer`): Maximum episodes to return per podcast when includeEpisodes=true. 0 = all available. Default 20. ## `maxSearchResults` (type: `integer`): Maximum podcasts to return per search query. iTunes API limit is 200. ## Actor input object example ```json { "searchTerms": [ "technology" ], "podcastIds": [], "country": "us", "maxItems": 50, "maxEpisodesPerPodcast": 20, "maxSearchResults": 50 } ``` # 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 = { "searchTerms": [ "technology" ], "podcastIds": [], "country": "us", "maxItems": 50, "includeEpisodes": false, "maxEpisodesPerPodcast": 20, "maxSearchResults": 50 }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("bovi/podcast-scraper").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 = { "searchTerms": ["technology"], "podcastIds": [], "country": "us", "maxItems": 50, "includeEpisodes": False, "maxEpisodesPerPodcast": 20, "maxSearchResults": 50, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("bovi/podcast-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "searchTerms": [ "technology" ], "podcastIds": [], "country": "us", "maxItems": 50, "includeEpisodes": false, "maxEpisodesPerPodcast": 20, "maxSearchResults": 50 }' | apify call bovi/podcast-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=bovi/podcast-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Apple Podcasts Scraper — RSS Feeds, iTunes Search & API", "description": "Scrape Apple Podcasts via the official iTunes API — search shows, get metadata (genre, artwork, feed URL, episode count) and full episode lists from RSS. No auth, no proxy. Each record has parse_confidence. Pay per result.", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "bldShP1i8iOoZIMO6" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/bovi~podcast-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-bovi-podcast-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/bovi~podcast-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-bovi-podcast-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/bovi~podcast-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-bovi-podcast-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "searchTerms": { "title": "Search terms", "type": "array", "description": "Keywords to search for podcasts via the iTunes Search API (up to 200 results per query). Example: [\"technology\", \"true crime\", \"startup\"]", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "podcastIds": { "title": "Podcast IDs", "type": "array", "description": "Numeric iTunes podcast IDs for direct lookup. Find the ID in the Apple Podcasts URL: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/name/id. Example: [\"1200361736\"]", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "country": { "title": "Country", "type": "string", "description": "Two-letter ISO country code for the iTunes storefront. Controls which region's ranking and availability data is returned. Examples: us, gb, de, fr, jp, ca, au." }, "maxItems": { "title": "Max podcasts", "minimum": 0, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum total podcasts to return across all searches and lookups. 0 = no limit. Default 50." }, "includeEpisodes": { "title": "Include episodes (RSS)", "type": "boolean", "description": "Fetch episodes from each podcast's RSS feed URL. Each episode becomes a separate output record with type=episode. This adds one HTTP request per podcast. Default false." }, "maxEpisodesPerPodcast": { "title": "Max episodes per podcast", "minimum": 0, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum episodes to return per podcast when includeEpisodes=true. 0 = all available. Default 20." }, "maxSearchResults": { "title": "Max search results per term", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 200, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum podcasts to return per search query. iTunes API limit is 200." } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```