# Dotfyle Neovim Plugins Scraper (`crawlerbros/dotfyle-neovim-plugins-scraper`) Actor

Scrape Dotfyle (dotfyle.com) - a directory of 2,500+ Neovim plugins. Browse trending/popular/new plugins, search by keyword, filter by category/tag, and look up a specific plugin by owner/repo. Returns name, author, GitHub URL, description, stars, category, last-synced date.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/crawlerbros/dotfyle-neovim-plugins-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Crawler Bros](https://apify.com/crawlerbros) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, Automation, AI
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $3.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

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

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — 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

## Dotfyle Neovim Plugins Scraper

Scrape [Dotfyle](https://dotfyle.com) — a directory of 2,500+ Neovim plugins aggregated from `awesome-neovim` and community submissions. Browse trending/popular/new plugins, search by keyword, filter by category/tag (LSP, completion, colorscheme, fuzzy-finder, statusline, and 75+ more), or look up a specific plugin by its GitHub owner/repo. HTTP-only via Dotfyle's public tRPC API — no auth, no proxy.

### What this actor does

- **Two modes:** `search` (browse/filter/sort) and `byPlugin` (direct owner/repo lookup)
- **Sorting:** trending (recent star growth), popular (most-used in indexed configs — see FAQ, not raw star count), new (recently added to Dotfyle)
- **Category/tag filter:** any combination of 80 known Dotfyle categories
- **Keyword search:** matched against plugin name/owner/description
- **Empty fields are omitted**

### Output per plugin

- `id` — Dotfyle internal plugin ID
- `name`, `owner` — GitHub repo name and org/user
- `category`, `categorySlug`
- `githubUrl` — GitHub repository URL
- `description`, `shortDescription`
- `stars`, `addedLastWeek` — star count and recent star growth
- `configCount` — number of public dotfiles/configs on Dotfyle that use this plugin
- `source` — where Dotfyle sourced the listing (`awesome-neovim`, `manually-created`, etc.)
- `createdAt` — when the plugin was added to Dotfyle
- `lastSyncedAt` — when Dotfyle last synced metadata for this plugin from GitHub
- `shieldAddedAt` — when the plugin's README added a Dotfyle usage-count badge/shield, when known
- `thumbnailUrl`, `mediaUrls[]` — screenshots/demos, when the plugin has any (capped at 5)
- `detailUrl` — Dotfyle plugin page
- `recordType: "plugin"`, `scrapedAt`

### Input

| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `mode` | string | `search` | `search` / `byPlugin` |
| `searchQuery` | string | – | Keyword matched against name/owner/description (mode=search) |
| `categories` | array (select) | `[]` | One or more of 80 categories/tags (mode=search) |
| `sortBy` | string | `trending` | `trending` / `popular` / `new` (mode=search) |
| `owner` | string | – | GitHub owner (mode=byPlugin), e.g. `nvim-telescope` |
| `repoName` | string | – | GitHub repo name (mode=byPlugin), e.g. `telescope.nvim` |
| `maxItems` | int | `25` | Hard cap on emitted records (1–1000, mode=search) |

#### Example: trending fuzzy-finder plugins

```json
{
  "mode": "search",
  "categories": ["fuzzy-finder"],
  "sortBy": "trending",
  "maxItems": 20
}
```

#### Example: keyword search

```json
{
  "mode": "search",
  "searchQuery": "telescope",
  "maxItems": 10
}
```

#### Example: look up a single plugin

```json
{
  "mode": "byPlugin",
  "owner": "folke",
  "repoName": "lazy.nvim"
}
```

### Use cases

- **Plugin discovery** — find the most popular/trending plugins in a category before adding to your config
- **Neovim distro curation** — build category-complete plugin lists for a distro or starter config
- **Ecosystem research** — track star growth and adoption (`configCount`) across the plugin ecosystem
- **Config generators** — feed plugin metadata into a dotfiles/config-generation tool
- **Competitive analysis for plugin authors** — see where a plugin ranks within its category

### Limitations

Dotfyle also hosts a separate **"Configurations"** section (`dotfyle.com/[username]`) where users publish their full Neovim dotfiles/config repos, plus a weekly **"This Week in Neovim"** news digest. Both are a different entity type from plugins (configs are dotfiles repos, not plugin packages) and are out of scope for this actor, which is purpose-built for the plugin catalog. `configCount` on each plugin record already surfaces the cross-reference signal (how many indexed configs use that plugin) without requiring a separate config-scraping mode.

### FAQ

**Is Dotfyle free to use?** Yes — Dotfyle is a free, open Neovim plugin directory; no login is required to browse or search.

**What's the difference between `stars` and `configCount`?** `stars` is the plugin's GitHub star count. `configCount` is how many public Neovim configs indexed by Dotfyle actually use the plugin — a real-world adoption signal independent of stars.

**Why is `search` sometimes empty for a query?** Dotfyle's search matches plugin name, owner, and description text server-side. A very narrow or misspelled query can legitimately return zero plugins — this isn't an actor error.

**Can I combine multiple categories?** Yes — pass multiple values in `categories`; Dotfyle returns plugins matching any of the selected categories.

**Does `sortBy=popular` sort by GitHub stars?** No — verified against live data, Dotfyle's "popular" ordering ranks by `configCount` (how many indexed dotfiles actually use the plugin), not raw star count. Use `sortBy=trending` if you want star-growth-driven ordering, or sort the output yourself by `stars` for a pure star-count ranking.

**What does `lastSyncedAt` mean?** The last time Dotfyle's backend re-synced the plugin's metadata (stars, description) from GitHub. It's a reasonable proxy for plugin activity, though not the same as the underlying repo's last commit date.

**How fresh is the data?** Dotfyle re-syncs popular plugins roughly weekly; `lastSyncedAt` on each record shows the actual sync time for that plugin.

# Actor input Schema

## `mode` (type: `string`):

What to fetch.

## `searchQuery` (type: `string`):

Free-text keyword matched against plugin name/owner/description.

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

Filter to one or more plugin categories, e.g. LSP, Completion, Colorscheme, Fuzzy Finder.

## `sortBy` (type: `string`):

Ordering of results.

## `owner` (type: `string`):

GitHub org/user that owns the plugin repo, e.g. `nvim-telescope`. Required together with `repoName` for mode=byPlugin -- leaving this blank while setting `repoName` (or vice versa) is treated as missing, not defaulted, so you never silently get an unrelated plugin back.

## `repoName` (type: `string`):

GitHub repository name, e.g. `telescope.nvim`. Required together with `owner` for mode=byPlugin -- leaving this blank while setting `owner` (or vice versa) is treated as missing, not defaulted, so you never silently get an unrelated plugin back.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Hard cap on emitted plugin records (mode=search).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "mode": "search",
  "searchQuery": "",
  "categories": [],
  "sortBy": "trending",
  "owner": "nvim-telescope",
  "repoName": "telescope.nvim",
  "maxItems": 25
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `plugins` (type: `string`):

Dataset containing all scraped Neovim plugin records.

# 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 = {
    "mode": "search",
    "searchQuery": "",
    "categories": [],
    "sortBy": "trending",
    "owner": "nvim-telescope",
    "repoName": "telescope.nvim",
    "maxItems": 25
};

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

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "mode": "search",
    "searchQuery": "",
    "categories": [],
    "sortBy": "trending",
    "owner": "nvim-telescope",
    "repoName": "telescope.nvim",
    "maxItems": 25,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("crawlerbros/dotfyle-neovim-plugins-scraper").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 '{
  "mode": "search",
  "searchQuery": "",
  "categories": [],
  "sortBy": "trending",
  "owner": "nvim-telescope",
  "repoName": "telescope.nvim",
  "maxItems": 25
}' |
apify call crawlerbros/dotfyle-neovim-plugins-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,crawlerbros/dotfyle-neovim-plugins-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

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/u5SOXhfW4NphqqkJr/builds/klHoe398f2qg0sffe/openapi.json