# Apple Podcasts Scraper: Search, Charts & Episodes (`datalantern/podcast-directory`) Actor

Search Apple Podcasts, read top charts by country and category, and export podcasts with RSS feed links or episodes with audio links, dates and durations from Apple's official API.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/datalantern/podcast-directory.md
- **Developed by:** [Data Lantern](https://apify.com/datalantern) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, News, Automation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

Pay per event

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

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

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Apple Podcasts Scraper: Search, Charts & Episodes

**Apple Podcasts Scraper** searches the Apple Podcasts directory and exports clean tables of shows or episodes from Apple's official iTunes API: podcast name, publisher, category, number of episodes, latest episode date, RSS feed link and artwork, or for every episode the title, description, release date, duration and audio file link. It also reads Apple's **top podcast charts** for any country and category. Use it for podcast research, guest and sponsor prospecting, media monitoring, and building podcast databases.

### What can this tool do?

- Search Apple Podcasts by keyword and export up to 200 shows per search term, in any country store.
- Read Apple's top podcast chart (all podcasts or a category such as Technology, Business or True Crime) with rank. Give no search terms and no podcasts and you get the chart.
- Look up shows by Apple Podcasts link or id and get their RSS feed link, so you can read the full episode history with an RSS reader.
- Export the newest episodes (up to 200 per show) with audio link, release date, duration and show notes as plain text.
- Combine searches, links and charts in one run: shows are de-duplicated.

### What data does it return?

**Podcasts** (one row per show). Example values from a real run:

| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| `source` | search (or lookup, chart) |
| `searchTerm` | history |
| `chartRank` | null (1, 2, 3… for chart rows) |
| `podcastId` | 1291579828 |
| `podcastName` | History That Doesn't Suck |
| `publisher` | Prof. Greg Jackson |
| `primaryGenre` | History |
| `genres` | \["History", "Education"] |
| `country` | USA |
| `feedUrl` | https://rss.amperwave.net/v2/feed/audacynetwork/e69da14a26973f1dc761432876205254 |
| `episodeCount` | 234 |
| `latestEpisodeDate` | 2026-09-28T07:00:00.000Z |
| `contentRating` | Clean |
| `description` | null (filled for chart rows) |
| `artworkUrl` | https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/…/600x600bb.jpg |
| `appleUrl` | https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/history-that-doesnt-suck/id1291579828 |

**Episodes** (one row per episode): `podcastId`, `podcastName`, `episodeId`, `title`, `description`, `releasedAt`, `durationSeconds`, `audioUrl`, `appleUrl`, `contentRating`.

- Missing values are `null`. Apple's search does not return show descriptions; chart rows include Apple's short description.
- Episode listing is limited by Apple to the newest 200 episodes per show. Use `feedUrl` with an RSS reader for the complete archive.
- Publisher names are shown as Apple lists them. No listener data or download numbers exist in these sources, and personal email addresses in show notes are replaced with "\[email removed]".

### How to use it

1. Enter search terms, Apple Podcasts links or ids, or turn on the top chart and pick a country and category.
2. Choose **Podcasts** or **Episodes**, and the maximum number of shows and episodes.
3. Click **Start**, then download the data as CSV, Excel or JSON, or read it through the API.

### Pricing

Pay per result: **$1.50 per 1,000 podcasts** or **$1.00 per 1,000 episodes**, plus $0.005 per run. You only pay for rows you receive. Set a maximum cost per run in the run options.

### Use it through the API, AI agents, and integrations

Schedule it weekly to track chart movements, call it from your code with the Apify API, or connect it to Make, Zapier, n8n, Google Sheets or an AI agent through Apify's MCP server.

### Is it legal?

This tool uses Apple's public iTunes Search API and public chart feeds. It does not log in or bypass access controls, and it collects no personal data about listeners. Apple's terms apply to its data and artwork; episode descriptions and audio belong to their publishers. You are responsible for how you use the data.

### FAQ

**Why did a podcast link return nothing?** The show may not be in the store of the country you chose. Set the country to the one in the link (for example `gb` for podcasts.apple.com/gb/…).

**How many results can I get per search?** Apple returns up to 200 shows per query. Use several related search terms for more.

**Can I get ratings and reviews?** Not from this API. It returns show and episode information only.

### Feedback

Found a bug or need a field added? Open an issue on the **Issues** tab. We usually respond within 24 hours.

# Actor input Schema

## `outputType` (type: `string`):

Podcasts: one row per show. Episodes: one row per episode of each show found.

## `searchTerms` (type: `array`):

Find shows by keyword, for example "true crime" or "startup". Each term returns up to the maximum below. If you give no search terms and no podcasts, you get the top chart.

## `podcasts` (type: `array`):

Optional. Apple Podcasts links (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-daily/id1200361736) or numeric ids.

## `topCharts` (type: `boolean`):

Adds Apple's top podcasts chart for the country and category below.

## `chartGenre` (type: `string`):

Category of the top chart.

## `country` (type: `string`):

Two-letter Apple Podcasts store country, for example us, gb, de, fr, ca, au, in, jp, br.

## `maxPodcastsPerSource` (type: `integer`):

Between 1 and 200.

## `maxEpisodesPerPodcast` (type: `integer`):

Newest first, between 1 and 200 (Apple's limit for this lookup). Only used for the Episodes output.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "outputType": "podcasts",
  "searchTerms": [
    "startup founders"
  ],
  "topCharts": false,
  "chartGenre": "26",
  "country": "us",
  "maxPodcastsPerSource": 10,
  "maxEpisodesPerPodcast": 20
}
```

# 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 = {
    "searchTerms": [
        "startup founders"
    ],
    "maxPodcastsPerSource": 10
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("datalantern/podcast-directory").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 = {
    "searchTerms": ["startup founders"],
    "maxPodcastsPerSource": 10,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("datalantern/podcast-directory").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 '{
  "searchTerms": [
    "startup founders"
  ],
  "maxPodcastsPerSource": 10
}' |
apify call datalantern/podcast-directory --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,datalantern/podcast-directory"
        }
    }
}
```

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/AN0Rz5ebkgyUnj39g/builds/OKxA77sHAhETdCCM8/openapi.json