# Startpage Search Scraper (`codingfrontend/startpage-search-scraper`) Actor Scrapes organic web search results from Startpage.com — the world's most private search engine. Extracts title, link, snippet, domain, displayed URL, and more. - **URL**: https://apify.com/codingfrontend/startpage-search-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [codingfrontend](https://apify.com/codingfrontend) (community) - **Categories:** Automation, Developer tools, SEO tools - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $4.99 / 1,000 results 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 ## Startpage Search Scraper Extract organic web search results from [Startpage.com](https://www.startpage.com) — the world's most private search engine that proxies Google results without tracking. ### Features - **Organic results** — title, URL, snippet, domain, displayed URL, publication date - **Anonymous View URL** — Startpage's unique privacy proxy link for each result - **Site links** — captures supplementary sub-links when displayed - **Pagination** — automatically navigates through search pages up to `maxItems` - **Cross-page deduplication** — skips URLs already captured from previous pages - **Language & region targeting** — set language and region for localized results - **Safe search** — configurable (`off` / `moderate` / `strict`) - **Proxy support** — residential proxies strongly recommended (Startpage actively blocks datacenter IPs) ### Input Parameters | Field | Type | Default | Description | |-------|------|---------|-------------| | `query` | string | *(required)* | Search query | | `maxItems` | integer | `50` | Maximum number of results to extract (1–500) | | `language` | string | `"english"` | Language for results (`english`, `deutsch`, `français`, `español`, etc.) | | `region` | string | `""` | Region/country code for localized results (`us`, `gb`, `de`, `in`, `fr`) | | `safeSearch` | string | `"moderate"` | Safe search filter: `off`, `moderate`, `strict` | | `proxyConfiguration` | object | — | Apify proxy config (residential proxies strongly recommended) | #### Example INPUT.json ```json { "query": "best electric cars 2025", "maxItems": 50, "language": "english", "region": "us", "safeSearch": "off", "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"] } } ```` ### Output Fields | Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | `position` | integer | Rank in results (1-based) | | `title` | string | Title of the search result | | `link` | string | Full URL of the result | | `displayedUrl` | string | Shortened URL shown in Startpage | | `snippet` | string | Descriptive text excerpt | | `domain` | string | Hostname of the result | | `date` | string | Publication date when shown | | `anonymousViewUrl` | string | Startpage's privacy proxy link to visit the page anonymously | | `siteLinks` | array | Sub-links shown under the main result | | `searchQuery` | string | Query that produced this result | | `language` | string | Language setting used | | `region` | string | Region code used | | `pageNumber` | integer | Page number this result was found on | | `scrapedAt` | string | ISO 8601 scrape timestamp | #### Example Output ```json { "position": 1, "title": "Top 10 Electric Vehicles for 2025", "link": "https://www.motortrend.com/features/best-electric-cars/", "displayedUrl": "motortrend.com", "snippet": "Our rankings for the best electric cars in 2025 based on range, performance and value...", "domain": "motortrend.com", "date": null, "anonymousViewUrl": "https://eu2-browse.startpage.com/av/proxy?ep=...", "siteLinks": null, "searchQuery": "best electric cars 2025", "language": "english", "region": "us", "pageNumber": 1, "scrapedAt": "2025-05-13T12:00:00.000Z" } ``` ### Pagination - Startpage paginates results with `page=N` (1-based) - The scraper navigates pages sequentially until `maxItems` is reached - Duplicate URLs are tracked across pages to prevent duplicates ### Notes - **Residential proxy required** — Startpage aggressively blocks datacenter and VPN IP ranges - Startpage proxies Google results, so content reflects Google's organic index without personalization - The `anonymousViewUrl` is unique to Startpage — it lets users visit pages without revealing their IP - `date` and `siteLinks` are often `null` — only shown for certain result types ### Why Use This Scraper? - **Maximum privacy SERP data** — Startpage shows Google results without personalization or tracking - **Un-personalized Google results** — ideal for reproducible SEO research - **Privacy-first audience insight** — understand what privacy-conscious users see in search ### Use Cases - SEO research with de-personalized Google organic rankings - Content gap analysis compared to personalized search results - Academic research on search engine result pages - Competitive intelligence across privacy-focused search audiences ### Custom Solutions Need a custom scraper or dedicated server setup? 📧 Email: lakshmanan.w3dev@gmail.com\ 📱 WhatsApp: +91 6382775774 # Actor input Schema ## `query` (type: `string`): The search query to look up on Startpage. ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of search results to scrape. ## `language` (type: `string`): Language for results. Use Startpage language values: 'english', 'deutsch', 'français', 'español', etc. ## `region` (type: `string`): Region/country code for localized results (e.g. 'us', 'gb', 'de', 'in', 'fr'). Leave empty for global results. ## `safeSearch` (type: `string`): Safe search filter level. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Proxy settings. Residential proxies strongly recommended for Startpage — it actively blocks datacenter IPs. ## Actor input object example ```json { "query": "artificial intelligence", "maxItems": 50, "language": "english", "region": "", "safeSearch": "moderate", "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": [ "RESIDENTIAL" ] } } ``` # 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 = { "query": "artificial intelligence", "maxItems": 50, "language": "english", "region": "", "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": [ "RESIDENTIAL" ] } }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("codingfrontend/startpage-search-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 = { "query": "artificial intelligence", "maxItems": 50, "language": "english", "region": "", "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True, "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"], }, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("codingfrontend/startpage-search-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 '{ "query": "artificial intelligence", "maxItems": 50, "language": "english", "region": "", "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": [ "RESIDENTIAL" ] } }' | apify call codingfrontend/startpage-search-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=codingfrontend/startpage-search-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Startpage Search Scraper", "description": "Scrapes organic web search results from Startpage.com — the world's most private search engine. Extracts title, link, snippet, domain, displayed URL, and more.", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "GA70GfgSLeZdyh3VR" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/codingfrontend~startpage-search-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-codingfrontend-startpage-search-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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/codingfrontend~startpage-search-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-codingfrontend-startpage-search-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/codingfrontend~startpage-search-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-codingfrontend-startpage-search-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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", "required": [ "query" ], "properties": { "query": { "title": "Search Query", "type": "string", "description": "The search query to look up on Startpage." }, "maxItems": { "title": "Max Items", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 500, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of search results to scrape.", "default": 50 }, "language": { "title": "Language", "type": "string", "description": "Language for results. Use Startpage language values: 'english', 'deutsch', 'français', 'español', etc.", "default": "english" }, "region": { "title": "Region", "type": "string", "description": "Region/country code for localized results (e.g. 'us', 'gb', 'de', 'in', 'fr'). Leave empty for global results.", "default": "" }, "safeSearch": { "title": "Safe Search", "enum": [ "moderate", "strict", "off" ], "type": "string", "description": "Safe search filter level.", "default": "moderate" }, "proxyConfiguration": { "title": "Proxy Configuration", "type": "object", "description": "Proxy settings. Residential proxies strongly recommended for Startpage — it actively blocks datacenter IPs." } } }, "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```