# Vim Awesome Plugin Directory Scraper (`crawlerbros/vim-awesome-scraper`) Actor Scrape Vim Awesome (vimawesome.com) - the comprehensive directory of 19,000+ Vim plugins. Browse popular/newest/updated plugins, search by keyword, or fetch a single plugin by slug. Returns GitHub stars, download counts, tags, install method compatibility, and more. - **URL**: https://apify.com/crawlerbros/vim-awesome-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Crawler Bros](https://apify.com/crawlerbros) (community) - **Categories:** Automation, Developer tools - **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 ## Vim Awesome Plugin Directory Scraper Extract structured data from [Vim Awesome](https://vimawesome.com) — the comprehensive directory of **19,000+ Vim plugins** — using its public REST API. No authentication, no cookies, no proxy required. Browse the most popular plugins, search by keyword, filter by sort order, or fetch the full details of any specific plugin by its slug. --- ### What You Get Each record represents one Vim plugin and includes: | Field | Type | Description | |---|---|---| | `slug` | string | URL slug, e.g. `vim-fugitive-vim-scripts` | | `name` | string | Plugin display name | | `author` | string | Plugin author | | `short_description` | string | One-line description | | `tags` | array of strings | Topic tags (e.g. `["Git", "SCM"]`) | | `github_url` | string | GitHub repository URL (if available) | | `vimorg_url` | string | vim.org page URL (if available) | | `github_stars` | integer | GitHub star count (if available) | | `vimorg_downloads` | integer | vim.org download count (if available) | | `compatible_vims` | array of strings | Supported editors, e.g. `["Vim", "NeoVim"]` | | `created_at` | string | ISO 8601 creation date | | `updated_at` | string | ISO 8601 last-updated date | | `requires_vundle` | boolean | Vundle installation supported (only present when `true`) | | `requires_pathogen` | boolean | Pathogen installation supported (only present when `true`) | | `requires_neobundle` | boolean | NeoBundle installation supported (only present when `true`) | | `url` | string | Canonical Vim Awesome page URL | | `scrapedAt` | string | ISO 8601 timestamp of when this record was collected | Fields that are absent or null in the upstream API are omitted from the output — you will never receive a field set to `null`. --- ### Input #### Mode | Value | Description | |---|---| | `browsePlugins` *(default)* | Browse all plugins with optional keyword search and sort order | | `getPlugin` | Fetch a single plugin by its Vim Awesome slug | #### All Input Fields | Field | Type | Default | Description | |---|---|---|---| | `mode` | select | `browsePlugins` | What to fetch (see above) | | `query` | string | *(empty)* | Free-text keyword search (mode=browsePlugins). Leave blank to browse all plugins. | | `sort` | select | `popular` | Sort order: `popular`, `new`, or `updated` (mode=browsePlugins) | | `slug` | string | *(required for getPlugin)* | Plugin slug from the Vim Awesome URL (mode=getPlugin) | | `maxItems` | integer | `100` | Maximum number of plugins to return (mode=browsePlugins). Range: 1–5000. | --- ### Example Inputs #### Browse the 50 most popular plugins ```json { "mode": "browsePlugins", "sort": "popular", "maxItems": 50 } ```` #### Search for git-related plugins ```json { "mode": "browsePlugins", "query": "git", "sort": "popular", "maxItems": 30 } ``` #### Find the newest plugins ```json { "mode": "browsePlugins", "sort": "new", "maxItems": 20 } ``` #### Get a single plugin by slug ```json { "mode": "getPlugin", "slug": "vim-fugitive-vim-scripts" } ``` #### Collect up to 500 recently updated plugins ```json { "mode": "browsePlugins", "sort": "updated", "maxItems": 500 } ``` *** ### Example Output ```json { "slug": "vim-fugitive-vim-scripts", "name": "vim-fugitive", "author": "Tim Pope", "short_description": "A Git wrapper so awesome, it should be illegal", "tags": ["Git", "SCM"], "github_url": "https://github.com/tpope/vim-fugitive", "vimorg_url": "https://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=2975", "github_stars": 9500, "vimorg_downloads": 456789, "compatible_vims": ["Vim", "NeoVim"], "created_at": "2010-04-01T00:00:00+00:00", "updated_at": "2023-08-15T12:00:00+00:00", "requires_vundle": true, "requires_pathogen": true, "url": "https://vimawesome.com/plugin/vim-fugitive-vim-scripts", "scrapedAt": "2026-06-04T10:00:00+00:00" } ``` *** ### Use Cases - **Plugin research**: Discover the most popular and actively maintained Vim/NeoVim plugins for any use case. - **Ecosystem analysis**: Track trends in the Vim plugin ecosystem — what's gaining stars, what's being updated. - **Dataset building**: Create datasets for machine learning, NLP, or recommendation systems around developer tooling. - **Developer tooling**: Build automated Vim configuration generators or plugin recommendation engines. - **Competitive analysis**: Compare plugin popularity, star counts, and download volumes across categories. - **Archiving**: Snapshot the full Vim plugin directory for historical records. *** ### FAQ **How many plugins does Vim Awesome have?** Vim Awesome indexes approximately 19,400 plugins as of mid-2026. Set `maxItems` up to 5000 per run to collect large batches. **Does this require any API key or authentication?** No. Vim Awesome's public REST API requires no authentication, cookies, or proxy. The actor works out-of-the-box on any Apify plan. **What does the `slug` look like?** The slug is the last segment of the Vim Awesome URL. For `https://vimawesome.com/plugin/vim-fugitive-vim-scripts`, the slug is `vim-fugitive-vim-scripts`. **How fast does the actor run?** Each page returns ~20 plugins. A run collecting 100 plugins takes under 30 seconds. Collecting all 19,000+ plugins takes a few minutes. **Are null fields included in the output?** No. Fields that are absent or empty in the upstream API (e.g., `vimorg_url` for GitHub-only plugins) are omitted entirely from the output record. **Can I search for plugins by tag or category?** Use the `query` field with keywords matching tags or descriptions. For example, `query: "colorscheme"` returns plugins tagged with color schemes. **What sort orders are available?** - `popular` — sorted by a combined popularity score (GitHub stars + vim.org downloads) - `new` — sorted by creation date (newest first) - `updated` — sorted by last-update date (most recently updated first) **Why are some plugins missing `github_stars` or `vimorg_downloads`?** Some plugins are hosted exclusively on GitHub (no vim.org page) or only on vim.org (no GitHub repo). Fields that don't apply to a plugin are simply omitted from its record. # Actor input Schema ## `mode` (type: `string`): What to fetch. ## `query` (type: `string`): Free-text keyword search across plugin names and descriptions (mode=browsePlugins). Leave blank to browse all plugins. ## `sort` (type: `string`): How to order results (mode=browsePlugins). ## `slug` (type: `string`): The plugin slug from the Vim Awesome URL, e.g. `vim-fugitive-vim-scripts` (mode=getPlugin). ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of plugins to return (mode=browsePlugins). Each page returns ~20 plugins. ## Actor input object example ```json { "mode": "browsePlugins", "sort": "popular", "maxItems": 100 } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `plugins` (type: `string`): Dataset containing all scraped Vim Awesome plugins. # 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": "browsePlugins", "sort": "popular", "maxItems": 100 }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("crawlerbros/vim-awesome-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": "browsePlugins", "sort": "popular", "maxItems": 100, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("crawlerbros/vim-awesome-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": "browsePlugins", "sort": "popular", "maxItems": 100 }' | apify call crawlerbros/vim-awesome-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=crawlerbros/vim-awesome-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Vim Awesome Plugin Directory Scraper", "description": "Scrape Vim Awesome (vimawesome.com) - the comprehensive directory of 19,000+ Vim plugins. Browse popular/newest/updated plugins, search by keyword, or fetch a single plugin by slug. Returns GitHub stars, download counts, tags, install method compatibility, and more.", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "nd6jcI2lbuEzgacx1" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/crawlerbros~vim-awesome-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-crawlerbros-vim-awesome-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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/crawlerbros~vim-awesome-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-crawlerbros-vim-awesome-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/crawlerbros~vim-awesome-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-crawlerbros-vim-awesome-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": [ "browsePlugins", "getPlugin" ], "type": "string", "description": "What to fetch.", "default": "browsePlugins" }, "query": { "title": "Search query", "type": "string", "description": "Free-text keyword search across plugin names and descriptions (mode=browsePlugins). Leave blank to browse all plugins." }, "sort": { "title": "Sort order", "enum": [ "popular", "new", "updated" ], "type": "string", "description": "How to order results (mode=browsePlugins).", "default": "popular" }, "slug": { "title": "Plugin slug", "type": "string", "description": "The plugin slug from the Vim Awesome URL, e.g. `vim-fugitive-vim-scripts` (mode=getPlugin)." }, "maxItems": { "title": "Max items", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 5000, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of plugins to return (mode=browsePlugins). Each page returns ~20 plugins.", "default": 100 } } }, "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```