NodeInfo Instance Extractor

Turn a list of NodeInfo-speaking fediverse hosts into one comparable dataset row per reachable host for researchers, community operators, and monitoring workflows.

Try it now

Use one stable public host for a bounded first run:

{"instances":["mastodon.social"]}

Example output

This row was captured from that exact input in a local run at 2026-07-20T15:13:10Z. The run succeeded and returned one genuine dataset row. Selected fields are shown below; _raw and several null optional fields are omitted for readability. Software versions and usage counts are advertised by the server and can change.

{
  "host": "mastodon.social",
  "_source": "mastodon.social",
  "nodeinfo_version": "2.0",
  "schema_rel": "http://nodeinfo.diaspora.software/ns/schema/2.0",
  "software_name": "mastodon",
  "software_version": "4.6.3",
  "protocols": ["activitypub"],
  "open_registrations": true,
  "total_users": 3344371,
  "active_month": 267542,
  "active_halfyear": 683735,
  "local_posts": 181870144,
  "local_comments": null,
  "node_name": "Mastodon"
}

Pricing

The Actor uses pay per event pricing. It charges one record event for each returned instance row.

• FREE-tier price: $0.0005 per record.
• One-host trial ceiling: 1 row x $0.0005 = $0.0005 in PPE event charges.
• Apify infrastructure usage is separate and is not included in that ceiling.
• A skipped host emits no row and adds no record charge.

Inputs, defaults, limits, and scaling

Field	Required	Default or prefill	Behavior
instances	Yes	The Store form is prefilled with mastodon.social, lemmy.world, and misskey.io.	Accepts bare hostnames or base URLs. The Actor normalizes and deduplicates them, then queries each unique host.
userAgent	No	apify-nodeinfo-instance-extractor (+https://apify.com/datamule)	Replaces the default User-Agent when a server rejects it.
extraHeaders	No	No extra headers	Adds request headers for deployments that require them. See the safety note under Troubleshooting.

The one-host payload above is cheaper than the three-host Store prefill. If all three prefilled hosts return rows, its maximum PPE event charge is $0.0015, excluding Apify infrastructure usage.

Source-enforced behavior and limits:

• Input paths are stripped, hosts are lowercased, ports are preserved, and duplicate normalized hosts are processed once. The run fails if no valid host remains.
• There is no fixed source-level cap on the number of input hosts. Hosts are processed sequentially, so large lists and slow endpoints increase run time.
• Each host can emit at most one row. Cost scales with successful unique hosts, not attempted hosts.
• NodeInfo discovery starts at https://<host>/.well-known/nodeinfo, follows redirects, and then fetches the advertised document URL. Each request has a 45-second timeout. Transient network errors, HTTP 429, and HTTP 5xx responses receive up to three total attempts.
• Each discovery or NodeInfo response is limited to 8 MiB.
• _raw stores compact JSON up to 16,384 characters. A larger document is replaced with a valid {"_truncated":true} marker instead of partial JSON.

Output fields

Field	Meaning
host	Normalized host that was queried.
_source	Original input value associated with the normalized host.
nodeinfo_version	Version reported inside the selected NodeInfo document.
schema_rel	Schema relation selected from the discovery document.
software_name	Server software name, such as mastodon, when advertised.
software_version	Server software version when advertised.
software_repository	Software source repository URL when advertised.
software_homepage	Software homepage URL when advertised.
protocols	Protocol names advertised by the server.
services_inbound	Advertised inbound services.
services_outbound	Advertised outbound services.
open_registrations	Whether the server reports that registrations are open.
total_users	Server-reported total user count.
active_month	Server-reported active users for the monthly window.
active_halfyear	Server-reported active users for the half-year window.
local_posts	Server-reported local post count.
local_comments	Server-reported local comment count.
node_name	Free-form node name from NodeInfo metadata.
node_description	Free-form node description from NodeInfo metadata.
_raw	Compact original NodeInfo JSON, or a truncation marker when it exceeds the stored size limit.

Server-advertised fields can be absent from a NodeInfo document and therefore appear as null.

Practical use cases

• Compare the software, versions, registration policy, and activity reported by a chosen set of instances.
• Build a point-in-time inventory for community operations or fediverse research.
• Run the same watchlist on a schedule and store the resulting datasets to observe changes over time.
• Check self-reported protocol and activity details before migration or federation planning.

Coverage, freshness, and limitations

For each host, the Actor requests /.well-known/nodeinfo, selects the highest recognizable numeric schema version (for example, 2.1 over 2.0 or 1.x), and fetches the advertised document. It works only when the host exposes a usable NodeInfo discovery link and JSON document.

Results are point-in-time values advertised by the server. The Actor does not independently verify the counts, retain history, or guarantee that a server's document is complete or current. Optional fields vary by software and may be absent or null.

An unreachable host, non-NodeInfo host, unusable discovery link, or non-JSON response is skipped with a warning while other hosts continue. If every host fails, the run fails instead of returning an empty successful dataset. This is not an exhaustive fediverse directory and carries no historical or completeness guarantee.

Query only hosts you are authorized to access and follow their operating policies.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	What to check
Missing, empty, or malformed input	Pass a non-empty instances array containing bare hostnames or base URLs. At least one value must normalize to a valid host.
HTTP 403 with the default User-Agent	Set userAgent to a descriptive value accepted by that server. Some deployments reject generic or unfamiliar user agents.
no usable NodeInfo links[] warning	Open https://<host>/.well-known/nodeinfo and confirm it returns JSON with a NodeInfo links entry containing an href.
did not return JSON warning	The endpoint returned HTML, text, or another non-JSON body. Confirm the host supports NodeInfo and that its advertised document URL is working.
Some hosts are missing from the dataset	Read the run warnings. Failed hosts are skipped, and duplicate inputs that normalize to the same host produce at most one row.
All-host failure	Test one host at a time, correct typos, and verify both NodeInfo endpoints. A batch with zero successful hosts fails honestly.
Extra headers are required	extraHeaders are sent on both the discovery request and the advertised NodeInfo document request. Use them only when you trust both URLs. Header values are not logged by the Actor, but run inputs may be retained by Apify, so never place reusable credentials in public examples or shared tasks.