# Apple Podcasts Scraper — iTunes Search (`darknezz/apple-podcasts-scraper`) Actor

Search Apple Podcasts (iTunes) for any keyword: podcast name, author, episode count, rating, genre and feed URL as clean JSON. Uses the public iTunes Search API. No API key required.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/darknezz/apple-podcasts-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Oaida Adrian](https://apify.com/darknezz) (community)
- **Categories:** For creators, Videos
- **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/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-usage

## 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

## Apple Podcasts Scraper — iTunes Search

Search **Apple Podcasts (iTunes) by keyword** and get every podcast as clean, structured JSON — name, author, episode count, rating, genre, feed URL and artwork. Uses the public iTunes Search API. No API key required.

Built for podcast directories, newsletter writers, media researchers and anyone building a podcast discovery feed.

### Why this Actor

- **No API key, no login, no proxy budget** — speaks to Apple's public iTunes Search API directly.
- **Rich podcast metadata** — episode count, primary genre, content advisory, release date and country on every row.
- **Feed URL included** — the `feedUrl` lets you subscribe or re-publish episodes without a second lookup.
- **Multi-keyword support** — search several topics or niches in one run.
- **Pay per result** — a small fee per podcast returned; a 100-podcast run costs a fraction of a cent.

### How it works

For each keyword the Actor calls the iTunes Search API (`entity=podcast`), normalises the response, and outputs **one dataset item per podcast** — up to `maxPodcastsPerKeyword` per keyword.

### Input

```json
{
  "keywords": ["technology", "true crime"],
  "maxPodcastsPerKeyword": 10
}
```

| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `keywords` | array | Search terms — **required** |
| `maxPodcastsPerKeyword` | integer | Podcasts to return per keyword (default 10, max 200) |

### Output (one item per podcast)

```json
{
  "keyword": "technology",
  "podcastId": 1530262988,
  "podcastName": "The Tech Podcast",
  "author": "Tech Media",
  "trackCount": 250,
  "contentAdvisoryRating": "Clean",
  "primaryGenreName": "Technology",
  "genres": ["Technology", "News", "Business"],
  "podcastUrl": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-tech-podcast/id1530262988",
  "feedUrl": "https://feeds.example.com/techpodcast.xml",
  "artworkUrl": "https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/.../600x600bb.jpg",
  "releaseDate": "2026-07-01T00:00:00Z",
  "country": "USA"
}
```

### Use cases

- 🎙️ **Podcast discovery** — build a browsable directory of shows in any niche.
- ✍️ **Newsletter content** — curate fresh shows and episodes for a tech or culture newsletter.
- 📊 **Media research** — map the podcast landscape for a topic: authors, genres, episode counts.
- 🤖 **Feed generation** — collect `feedUrl` values to aggregate episodes automatically.
- 🔎 **Competitor tracking** — watch which shows appear for your keywords over time.

### Run it from the API

```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/darknezz~apple-podcasts-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"keywords":["technology"],"maxPodcastsPerKeyword":25}'
```

**Scheduling:** attach an Apify Schedule (e.g. weekly) to track new shows entering your niche.

### Pricing

Pay per event: a small fee for each podcast scraped, plus Apify's standard platform events (actor start + dataset item). No subscription — you pay only for what you run.

### FAQ

**Do I need an Apple ID or API key?** No. The Actor uses Apple's public iTunes Search API, which requires no authentication.

**Why does `trackCount` vary?** It is Apple's reported episode count for the show at search time; very new shows may report lower counts.

**Can I fetch episodes, not just shows?** Not yet — this Actor focuses on podcast search results. Ask in the Issues tab if you need episode-level scraping.

**How many podcasts can I get?** Up to `maxPodcastsPerKeyword` (max 200 per keyword).

**Is scraping this legal?** The iTunes Search API is Apple's public, unauthenticated endpoint. You are responsible for complying with Apple's terms and applicable laws for how you use the data.

# Actor input Schema

## `keywords` (type: `array`):

Search keywords, one per line (e.g. 'technology', 'true crime'). Each keyword is searched on Apple Podcasts via the iTunes Search API.

## `maxPodcastsPerKeyword` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of podcasts to return per keyword.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "keywords": [
    "technology",
    "true crime"
  ],
  "maxPodcastsPerKeyword": 10
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (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 = {
    "keywords": [
        "technology",
        "true crime"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("darknezz/apple-podcasts-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 = { "keywords": [
        "technology",
        "true crime",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("darknezz/apple-podcasts-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 '{
  "keywords": [
    "technology",
    "true crime"
  ]
}' |
apify call darknezz/apple-podcasts-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=darknezz/apple-podcasts-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/tEK6dQZMaApl8KIWH/builds/DbeTDHWjyLKETl0wV/openapi.json