Sketchfab 3D Model Scraper

Search and browse Sketchfab.com — the largest platform for publishing and finding 3D, AR, and VR content — without logging in. Get model titles, authors, license and pricing info, view/like/comment counts, polygon counts, categories, tags, thumbnails, and model page URLs. Powered directly by Sketchfab's own public search API, so results are always live and accurate.

What this actor does

• Five modes: search (keyword), byCategory (taxonomy browse), byUser (all models by an author), staffPicks (Sketchfab editorial picks), byIds (exact model lookup)
• Filters: category, license type, downloadable-only, animated-only, staff-picked-only, sort order
• Price & download detail: optionally enriches every model with its exact price (for paid Sketchfab Store items), download count, protection status, sound/texture/material counts, PBR material type, and last-update timestamp
• No login, no cookies, no proxy required — all data comes from Sketchfab's public REST API
• Empty fields are always omitted — you only ever see fields with real data

Output per model

Field	Description
modelId	Sketchfab's 32-character model ID
title, description	Model name and description
authorName, authorUsername, authorUrl	Model creator
licenseType, licenseSlug, licenseUrl	License (only set for downloadable models)
isFree	true for downloadable/CC models, false for paid Sketchfab Store models
priceUsd	Exact USD price (only present for paid Store models)
isDownloadable	Whether the model can be downloaded
downloadCount	Total downloads (when price/detail enrichment is on)
viewCount, likeCount, commentCount	Engagement metrics
isAnimated, animationCount	Whether the model has animations
isStaffPicked, staffPickedAt	Sketchfab editorial staff pick status
faceCount, vertexCount	Polygon/mesh complexity
isAgeRestricted	Age-restriction flag
isProtected	Whether the model has extra copy protection (detail enrichment)
hasSound, soundCount	Whether the model has embedded sound, and how many sound clips (detail enrichment)
textureCount, materialCount	Number of textures / materials used by the model (detail enrichment)
pbrType	PBR material workflow, e.g. metalness (detail enrichment, when set)
updatedAt	Last-modified timestamp (detail enrichment)
category, categories[]	Sketchfab taxonomy category
tags[]	Free-text tags
thumbnailUrl	Largest available thumbnail image
modelUrl, embedUrl	Model viewer page / embeddable iframe URL
publishedAt, createdAt	Timestamps
sourceUrl	Canonical model page URL
recordType, scrapedAt	Always "model" and the scrape timestamp

Input

Field	Type	Default	Description
mode	select	search	search / byCategory / byUser / staffPicks / byIds
searchQuery	string	dragon	Keyword(s) (mode=search)
category	select	–	One of Sketchfab's 18 taxonomy categories
username	string	–	Exact Sketchfab username (mode=byUser)
modelIds	array	–	Exact 32-char model IDs (mode=byIds)
licenseType	select	–	CC Attribution, CC0, Editorial, etc.
sortBy	select	relevance	relevance / likes / views / recent
downloadableOnly	boolean	false	Only downloadable models
animatedOnly	boolean	false	Only models with animation
staffPickedOnly	boolean	false	Only staff-picked models
riggedOnly	boolean	false	Only models with a rig (skeleton), ready for animation/posing
minFaceCount	integer	–	Only models with at least this many polygon faces
maxFaceCount	integer	–	Only models with at most this many polygon faces (good for finding low-poly/lightweight models)
fetchPricing	boolean	true	Fetch exact price/download-count/protection status per model (1 extra request/model)
maxItems	integer	30	Maximum models to return (1–500)

Example: keyword search

{ "mode": "search", "searchQuery": "dragon", "maxItems": 30 }

Example: browse a category, downloadable + CC0 only

{
  "mode": "byCategory",
  "category": "cars-vehicles",
  "downloadableOnly": true,
  "licenseType": "cc0",
  "maxItems": 50
}

Example: everything by one author

{ "mode": "byUser", "username": "stanislavpotlov", "maxItems": 100 }

Example: exact model lookup

{ "mode": "byIds", "modelIds": ["14ec4c0460c64065af1c6fd31f104344"] }

Use cases

• Game & VR/AR development — discover free CC-licensed assets for prototyping
• 3D asset marketplaces — track pricing and popularity of Sketchfab Store items
• Content research — analyze category trends, tag usage, or staff-pick criteria
• Creator analytics — monitor an author's full portfolio and engagement over time
• Digital heritage / education — pull cultural-heritage and science models by category

FAQ

Do I need a Sketchfab account or API key? No. This actor uses Sketchfab's public search API, which returns full model metadata without any authentication.

What does isFree mean? Downloadable models on Sketchfab are always released under a Creative Commons license and are free to use under that license's terms. isFree: false with a priceUsd means the model is a paid Sketchfab Store item (view-only preview, purchase required to download). Some models are simply "Standard" license (view-only, not for sale, not downloadable) — for those, neither isFree nor priceUsd is set because Sketchfab does not publish a definitive free/paid signal for that state.

Why do I need fetchPricing for prices? Sketchfab's search results endpoint doesn't include price/download-count data — only each model's individual detail endpoint does. Turning fetchPricing off skips this extra per-model request for faster runs when you only need search-listing fields.

What are the valid category slugs? The 18 top-level categories Sketchfab exposes: Animals & Pets, Architecture, Art & Abstract, Cars & Vehicles, Characters & Creatures, Cultural Heritage & History, Electronics & Gadgets, Fashion & Style, Food & Drink, Furniture & Home, Music, Nature & Plants, News & Politics, People, Places & Travel, Science & Technology, Sports & Fitness, Weapons & Military.

Does this include Sketchfab's paid Store catalog? Yes — Store items appear in search/category/user results like any other model; if fetchPricing is on, their price is included.

How much data can I get in one run? Up to 500 models per run. Sketchfab paginates at 24 results per request; the actor automatically follows pagination until maxItems is reached or results are exhausted.

Is polygon/vertex count always available? Yes for regular models — faceCount/vertexCount are part of Sketchfab's own metadata and are populated whenever the model has finished processing.