# iTunes Podcast Scraper (`crawlerbros/itunes-podcast-scraper`) Actor Search, browse trending, and look up podcasts using Apple's iTunes Search API and Apple Podcast Charts. No authentication required. Returns feed URLs, episode counts, genres, artwork, and more. - **URL**: https://apify.com/crawlerbros/itunes-podcast-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Crawler Bros](https://apify.com/crawlerbros) (community) - **Categories:** Developer tools, Integrations - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN 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/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 ## iTunes Podcast Scraper Search, browse trending charts, and look up podcast metadata using Apple's free iTunes Search API and Apple Podcast Charts. No authentication required. ### Data Source This actor uses Apple's public iTunes Search API (`itunes.apple.com/search`) and Apple Charts API (`rss.applemarketingtools.com`). **Note:** podcastindex.org is a JavaScript SPA requiring browser-based rendering and is not directly scrapable. This actor uses Apple's equivalent free public API which indexes all major podcasts globally. ### What Does This Actor Do? - Search millions of podcasts by keyword, topic, or show name - Get trending/top podcast charts for 20+ countries - Look up a specific podcast by its iTunes ID to get full metadata including RSS feed URL ### Input | Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | `mode` | select | `search`, `trending`, or `byId` | | `searchQuery` | string | Podcast name or topic (required for `search` mode) | | `country` | select | Country for trending charts (us, gb, au, etc.) | | `genre` | select | Genre filter for search (Technology, Comedy, True Crime, etc.) | | `language` | string | 2-letter language code filter (en, de, fr, etc.) | | `explicit` | select | Content filter: all, clean, explicit | | `itunesId` | string | iTunes numeric ID for `byId` mode | | `maxItems` | integer | Max records (default: 20, max: 200) | #### Modes - **search** — Search podcasts by keyword using the iTunes Search API. Supports filtering by country, genre, and explicit content. - **trending** — Get the current top podcast chart for a specific country (US, UK, AU, etc.). Enriched with full metadata via iTunes Lookup. - **byId** — Fetch complete metadata for a specific podcast using its iTunes numeric ID. ### Output ```json { "recordType": "podcast", "sourceUrl": "https://itunes.apple.com/search?media=podcast&term=technology", "scrapedAt": "2025-01-01T00:00:00+00:00", "itunesId": "1235836821", "artistId": "1280771285", "title": "The Future of Everything", "author": "Stanford Engineering", "feedUrl": "https://feeds.simplecast.com/Y8_HoeNW", "podcastUrl": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1235836821", "imageUrl": "https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/.../600x600bb.jpg", "episodeCount": 380, "primaryGenre": "Science", "categories": ["Science", "Technology"], "latestEpisodeDate": "2026-05-29T14:00:00Z", "country": "USA", "explicit": "clean", "contentRating": "Clean" } ```` ### Supported Countries (Trending) United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, India, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Poland, Russia, China. ### Supported Genres Arts, Business, Comedy, Education, Fiction, Government, Health & Fitness, History, Kids & Family, Leisure, Music, News, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Society & Culture, Sports, Technology, True Crime, TV & Film. ### FAQs **Q: Does this require an Apple ID or API key?** A: No. The iTunes Search API and Apple Charts API are completely free and public. **Q: How do I find a podcast's iTunes ID?** A: Look at the podcast URL on Apple Podcasts: `podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/name/id1235836821` — the number after `id` is the iTunes ID. **Q: Can I get the RSS feed URL?** A: Yes — the `feedUrl` field contains the podcast's RSS feed URL when available. **Q: How many podcasts can I retrieve?** A: Up to 200 per run. The iTunes Search API supports pagination. **Q: Does this cover all podcasts?** A: It covers all podcasts indexed in the Apple Podcasts directory, which is the world's largest podcast catalog. # Actor input Schema ## `mode` (type: `string`): What to fetch. ## `searchQuery` (type: `string`): Podcast name or topic to search for (e.g. 'true crime', 'tech news', 'comedy'). ## `country` (type: `string`): Two-letter country code for trending chart (e.g. 'us', 'gb', 'au', 'de', 'fr'). ## `genre` (type: `string`): Filter search results by genre. ## `language` (type: `string`): Filter by language (2-letter ISO code, e.g. 'en', 'de', 'fr', 'es', 'ja', 'pt'). ## `explicit` (type: `string`): Whether to include explicit podcasts. ## `itunesId` (type: `string`): iTunes collection/podcast ID (numeric, e.g. '1235836821'). ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of podcast records to return. ## Actor input object example ```json { "mode": "search", "searchQuery": "technology", "country": "us", "genre": "", "explicit": "all", "maxItems": 20 } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `podcasts` (type: `string`): Dataset containing all scraped podcast 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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "mode": "search", "searchQuery": "technology", "country": "us", "genre": "", "explicit": "all", "maxItems": 20 }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("crawlerbros/itunes-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 = { "mode": "search", "searchQuery": "technology", "country": "us", "genre": "", "explicit": "all", "maxItems": 20, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("crawlerbros/itunes-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 '{ "mode": "search", "searchQuery": "technology", "country": "us", "genre": "", "explicit": "all", "maxItems": 20 }' | apify call crawlerbros/itunes-podcast-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=crawlerbros/itunes-podcast-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "iTunes Podcast Scraper", "description": "Search, browse trending, and look up podcasts using Apple's iTunes Search API and Apple Podcast Charts. No authentication required. Returns feed URLs, episode counts, genres, artwork, and more.", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "s9YrmqDR5fki81Ix7" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/crawlerbros~itunes-podcast-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-crawlerbros-itunes-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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/crawlerbros~itunes-podcast-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-crawlerbros-itunes-podcast-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/crawlerbros~itunes-podcast-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-crawlerbros-itunes-podcast-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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", "required": [ "mode" ], "properties": { "mode": { "title": "Mode", "enum": [ "search", "trending", "byId" ], "type": "string", "description": "What to fetch.", "default": "trending" }, "searchQuery": { "title": "Search Query (mode=search)", "type": "string", "description": "Podcast name or topic to search for (e.g. 'true crime', 'tech news', 'comedy')." }, "country": { "title": "Country (mode=trending)", "enum": [ "us", "gb", "au", "ca", "de", "fr", "jp", "br", "mx", "in", "es", "it", "nl", "se", "no", "dk", "fi", "pl", "ru", "cn" ], "type": "string", "description": "Two-letter country code for trending chart (e.g. 'us', 'gb', 'au', 'de', 'fr').", "default": "us" }, "genre": { "title": "Genre Filter (mode=search)", "enum": [ "", "Arts", "Business", "Comedy", "Education", "Fiction", "Government", "Health & Fitness", "History", "Kids & Family", "Leisure", "Music", "News", "Religion & Spirituality", "Science", "Society & Culture", "Sports", "Technology", "True Crime", "TV & Film" ], "type": "string", "description": "Filter search results by genre.", "default": "" }, "language": { "title": "Language Filter", "type": "string", "description": "Filter by language (2-letter ISO code, e.g. 'en', 'de', 'fr', 'es', 'ja', 'pt')." }, "explicit": { "title": "Include Explicit Content", "enum": [ "all", "clean", "explicit" ], "type": "string", "description": "Whether to include explicit podcasts.", "default": "all" }, "itunesId": { "title": "iTunes ID (mode=byId)", "type": "string", "description": "iTunes collection/podcast ID (numeric, e.g. '1235836821')." }, "maxItems": { "title": "Max Items", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 200, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of podcast records to return.", "default": 20 } } }, "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```