GitHub Trending & Repo Search Scraper — Stars, Topics, API

GitHub Trending for today, this week or this month — overall or per programming language — plus repository search with GitHub's own query syntax (topic:llm stars:>1000, language:rust created:>2026-01-01). Every repository comes with stars, forks, stars gained in the period, language, description, topics, license, open issues, watchers, created/updated/pushed dates, homepage and archived flag. JSON, CSV, Excel or API.

Trending comes from github.com/trending; details and search from the official GitHub API. No login needed; an optional personal token (no scopes) raises the API limit for big runs.

Why this Actor

• Trending today, this week or this month — overall or per language
• Repository search with GitHub's own syntax (topic:llm stars:>1000), up to 1,000 results
• Stars gained in the period and contributors for trending repos; topics, license, issues, dates from the API
• Optional token for 5,000 requests an hour
• Checked every day by an automated run

Sample output

One item of the dataset (long values shortened):

{
  "source": "trending:daily:python",
  "rank": 2,
  "fullName": "paperless-ngx/paperless-ngx",
  "language": "Python",
  "stars": 45559,
  "starsPeriodLabel": "57 stars today",
  "forks": 3146,
  "topics": [
    "ai",
    "angular",
    "archiving",
    "…"
  ],
  "license": "GPL-3.0",
  "createdAt": "2022-02-12T21:56:52Z",
  "url": "https://github.com/paperless-ngx/paperless-ngx"
}

What you get

Field	Description
source, rank	trending:daily:python or search:<query>, and position
fullName, owner, ownerType, name, url, description, language	Identity
stars, forks, watchers, openIssues, starsPeriod, starsPeriodLabel, builtBy	Popularity (period stars and contributors for trending)
topics, license, homepage, defaultBranch, archived, fork, createdAt, updatedAt, pushedAt, sizeKb	Details

Repositories are deduplicated across lists and queries. A per-target summary is saved as SUMMARY.

Input

• Trending periods, Programming languages (empty = all), Spoken language code.
• Repository search queries, Search sort, Max results per query (≤1,000).
• Fetch repository details (trending) and GitHub token (optional).

Limits and notes

• Without a token the GitHub API allows 60 requests per hour and 10 searches per minute per IP; the Actor paces itself and, if the limit is hit, still delivers trending rows without the detail fields. With a token: 5,000 requests per hour.
• Trending lists show up to 25 repositories each, as on github.com.
• Public data only; the Actor stores nothing beyond the dataset of your run.

Input example

{
  "trendingPeriods": [
    "daily"
  ],
  "searchSort": "stars",
  "maxResultsPerQuery": 100,
  "fetchDetails": true
}

How much does it cost?

Pay per repo — no subscription, no minimum, no charge for platform usage.

Volume	Price
1,000 repositories	$3.00
10,000 repositories	$30.00
100,000 repositories	$300.00

The Apify free plan includes $5 of usage every month — about 1,666 repositories with this Actor, no card needed. Nothing else is charged: platform usage is included in the price, and Apify Bronze, Silver and Gold subscribers get 10%, 20% and 30% off these prices.

Use it from code, n8n, Make, Zapier or an AI agent

Run the Actor and download the dataset in one call (JSON by default; add &format=csv or xlsx):

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/chorelet~github-trending-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"trendingPeriods": ["daily"], "searchSort": "stars", "maxResultsPerQuery": 100, "fetchDetails": true}'

Python:

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("chorelet/github-trending-scraper").call(run_input={"trendingPeriods": ["daily"], "searchSort": "stars", "maxResultsPerQuery": 100, "fetchDetails": true})
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

• n8n, Make, Zapier — use the Apify node/module: run the Actor, then "get dataset items".
• Google Sheets, Slack, webhooks — add an integration on the run's Integrations tab.
• AI agents — the Actor is available as a tool through the Apify MCP server; the dataset schema describes every field for the model.
• Schedules — run it hourly, daily or weekly from the Schedules tab.

FAQ

Do I need a GitHub token?

No for trending; without one the API allows 60 requests an hour per IP, enough for a couple of lists with details. For big searches add a personal token (no scopes) for 5,000 requests an hour.

How many repositories does trending list?

Up to 25 per period and language, as on github.com.

Can I search by topic or creation date?

Yes — any GitHub search syntax: topic:agents, language:rust created:>2026-01-01, stars:>500.

What if the API limit is hit?

The Actor waits for the reset once; if the limit persists it still delivers trending rows without the detail fields.

What does a run cost?

$3 per 1,000 repositories. The free plan's $5 a month covers about 1,600 repositories.

Support

Questions, missing fields or a source that changed? Open an issue on the Issues tab or write to support@chorelet.app — problems are usually fixed within a day, and the Actor is checked every morning by an automated test run. If the Actor saved you time, a short review on its Store page helps other people find it.