# G2 Software Review Scraper (de-listed - blocked) (`conversational_kermis/pulse-g2`) Actor

De-listed. Verified on 2026-08-24 through a genuinely connected Apify residential proxy: G2 serves its DataDome interstitial and no review data. Kept runnable for existing users; it returns nothing.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/conversational_kermis/pulse-g2.md
- **Developed by:** [the anh nguyen](https://apify.com/conversational_kermis) (community)
- **Categories:** Business, Marketing
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

Pay per usage

This Actor is paid per platform usage. The Actor is free to use, and you only pay for the Apify platform usage, which gets cheaper the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-usage

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## G2 Software Review Scraper

> **De-listed from Apify Store. G2 blocks this, and the block is real.**
>
> Verified on 2026-08-24 through Apify Residential Proxy, with the account's
> residential meter confirming the traffic actually left the platform:
> `www.g2.com/categories/*` renders the DataDome interstitial — a page whose
> whole body is empty and whose title is just `g2.com`. From an ordinary
> connection the same URLs answer `403`, including
> `g2.com/sitemaps/sitemap_index.xml`, which G2's own `robots.txt` advertises.
>
> The Actor stays public and runnable so existing users keep access. It returns
> nothing.

### The earlier explanation was wrong, and worth recording

This Actor's README used to say G2 needed a residential proxy the free plan
didn't have. The account has 20 GB of residential proxy a month, and the Actor
was never reaching it: Apify's proxy URL was passed with its credentials
embedded into Playwright's `proxy.server`, which wants `server`, `username` and
`password` separately. Chromium fails that handshake silently, so every
navigation landed on a blank page and the run reported "Found 0".

The account's `monthlyResidentialProxyGbytes` stayed at `0` throughout —
the proof that nothing had been tested. With the wiring fixed
(`playwright_proxy()` in `src/main.py`) the meter moves and G2's DataDome page
is what comes back. That is a real answer; the previous one was not.

### Input

| Field | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| `categories` | several software categories | G2 category slugs to walk |
| `maxProducts` | `5` | Products per category |
| `maxReviews` | `20` | Critical reviews per product |
| `proxyConfiguration` | off | Apify Proxy; correctly wired, and still not enough here |

### Working Actors in this family

`pulse-github-trending`, `pulse-stackoverflow`, `pulse-appstore`,
`pulse-google-play`, `pulse-bluesky`, `pulse-shopify`, `pulse-producthunt`.

# Actor input Schema

## `categories` (type: `array`):

G2 category slugs to scrape (e.g. 'scheduling', 'invoicing'). Maps to g2.com/categories/{slug}-software.

## `maxProducts` (type: `integer`):

Maximum products to scrape per category.

## `maxReviews` (type: `integer`):

Maximum reviews to collect per product.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Optional. Selecting a group your plan does not include (RESIDENTIAL is not on the free plan) yields a proxy URL that refuses the connection, and the run then scrapes the proxy's error page and reports no results.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "categories": [
    "scheduling",
    "invoicing",
    "appointment-scheduling",
    "pet-grooming",
    "wedding-planning",
    "restaurant-management",
    "freelance-management",
    "small-business-crm",
    "pos-systems",
    "bookkeeping"
  ],
  "maxProducts": 5,
  "maxReviews": 20,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `dataset` (type: `string`):

No description

# 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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("conversational_kermis/pulse-g2").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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("conversational_kermis/pulse-g2").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{}' |
apify call conversational_kermis/pulse-g2 --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,conversational_kermis/pulse-g2"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/C0Ch6CuymWSkL7Qbl/builds/KSFdK15NjAfzxKb8J/openapi.json