# PeerTube Instance Harvester (`datamule/peertube-instance-harvester`) Actor Point at any PeerTube instance and export its videos, channels and instance metadata from the public /api/v1 REST API. Federated, self-hosted YouTube alternative — one actor over thousands of instances. - **URL**: https://apify.com/datamule/peertube-instance-harvester.md - **Developed by:** [Datamule](https://apify.com/datamule) (community) - **Categories:** Social media, Developer tools - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $0.35 / 1,000 videos This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. 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/docs.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.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/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 ## PeerTube Instance Harvester **Point at any PeerTube instance and export its videos, channels and instance metadata to a structured dataset — from the public `/api/v1` REST API.** [PeerTube](https://joinpeertube.org/) is the ActivityPub-federated, self-hosted alternative to YouTube. Every instance — [framatube.org](https://framatube.org), [makertube.net](https://makertube.net), [tube.tchncs.de](https://tube.tchncs.de) and thousands more — exposes the **identical public `/api/v1` REST API** with no auth for public content. This one actor works against **all of them**: no per-instance scraper, no host enumeration. Give it an instance URL and it turns that instance's video timeline, search results, channel directory, or server metadata into clean rows. ### Why this actor Most "PeerTube" tools on the market clone a single instance or scrape the web UI. This is a **generic runner over the protocol** — the same field is read by key presence on every instance, so an instance that omits an optional field yields `null` for that column instead of breaking. One actor, thousands of federated video sources. It also captures **federation correctly**: a video listed on `framatube.org` may actually live on `tube.tchncs.de`. The real origin `host` is captured on every row, alongside the instance you queried (`_source`). ### Modes The run mode is chosen from your input: | Mode | How to trigger | What you get | |------|----------------|--------------| | **Videos** (default) | `mode: videos` (or just an instance URL) | One row per video from `/api/v1/videos`. Add a `search` term to use `/api/v1/search/videos`. Sort with `sort` (default newest first). | | **Channels** | `mode: channels` | One row per channel from `/api/v1/video-channels` (name, host, followers, owner account). | | **Discovery** | `mode: discovery` or `listOnly: true` | One row describing the instance: name, server version, signup policy, short description, total video count. A cheap way to inspect an instance. | ### Input | Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | `instanceUrl` | string (required) | Root of a PeerTube instance, e.g. `https://framatube.org`. The `/api/v1` path is appended for you. | | `mode` | string | `videos` (default), `channels`, or `discovery`. | | `search` | string | Videos mode: free-text search across the instance's federated index. | | `sort` | string | Videos mode: sort order (default `-publishedAt`). Also accepts `-views`, `-likes`, `-trending`, `name`, … | | `includeNsfw` | boolean | Videos mode: include NSFW videos (default `false`). | | `listOnly` | boolean | Shortcut for discovery mode. | | `maxRecords` | integer | Global cap on rows emitted (deterministic sample). | | `bearer` | string (secret) | Optional token for a private / rate-limited instance. Never required for public content, never logged. | | `extraHeaders` | object | Optional extra HTTP headers for gated instances. | #### Example — newest videos from Framatube ```json { "instanceUrl": "https://framatube.org", "mode": "videos", "maxRecords": 50 } ```` #### Example — search a large instance ```json { "instanceUrl": "https://makertube.net", "search": "blender", "maxRecords": 100 } ``` #### Example — inspect an instance cheaply ```json { "instanceUrl": "https://tube.tchncs.de", "listOnly": true } ``` ### Output One flat, fully-nullable row per record. Video rows include: `id`, `uuid`, `shortUUID`, `name`, `description`, **`url`** (canonical watch URL), `duration`, `views`, `likes`, `dislikes`, `nsfw`, `isLive`, `publishedAt`, `originallyPublishedAt`, promoted `category` / `licence` / `language` / `privacy` labels, `channelName` / `channelDisplayName` / `channelUrl`, `accountName` / `accountUrl`, **`host`** (the real federating instance), `thumbnailPath` / `previewPath` / `embedPath`, plus a lossless `_raw` object holding the complete original record. ```json { "_type": "video", "_source": "https://framatube.org", "_mode": "videos", "name": "Wie fährst du dein Projekt zuverlässig an die Wand?", "url": "https://tube.tchncs.de/videos/watch/007c7bd1-5860-40f4-9850-e8c57a0867c1", "duration": 3799, "views": 4, "likes": 1, "category": "Science & Technology", "language": "German", "channelDisplayName": "Software Architektur im Stream", "host": "tube.tchncs.de", "publishedAt": "2026-07-06T09:00:32.097Z" } ``` ### Pricing Pay-per-event: one **Video** event per emitted row (video, channel, or instance record). You only pay for records you receive. ### Notes - An empty instance or a no-match search returns 0 records and a clean exit. - A URL that is not a PeerTube instance (an HTML page, a 404, JSON without the expected shape) fails fast with a clear message — nothing is fabricated. - Find instances via the [PeerTube instances directory](https://instances.joinpeertube.org/). # Actor input Schema ## `instanceUrl` (type: `string`): Root URL of ANY PeerTube instance. PeerTube is the ActivityPub-federated, self-hosted YouTube alternative; every instance exposes the identical public /api/v1 REST API with no auth for public content, so one actor works against all of them: https://framatube.org, https://makertube.net, https://tube.tchncs.de, or any of the thousands of self-hosted instances. The /api/v1 path is appended for you (paste either the root or a /api/v1 URL). The run MODE is chosen from the 'mode' / 'listOnly' / 'search' fields below. ## `mode` (type: `string`): What to harvest. 'videos' (default) lists videos via /api/v1/videos (or /api/v1/search/videos when a search term is set). 'channels' lists the instance's video channels via /api/v1/video-channels. 'discovery' returns ONE row describing the instance (name, version, signup policy, short description, total video count) so you can inspect an instance cheaply before a full run. ## `search` (type: `string`): VIDEOS MODE. A free-text search term — switches the run to GET /api/v1/search/videos?search=... and returns one row per matching video across the instance's federated index. Leave empty to list the instance's full video timeline (newest first). A term that matches nothing yields 0 records and a clean exit. ## `sort` (type: `string`): VIDEOS MODE. Sort order for the video listing. Defaults to -publishedAt (newest first). PeerTube commonly accepts: -publishedAt, publishedAt, -views, views, -likes, -trending, -hot, name, -duration. Left as free text so any instance's accepted value passes through. ## `includeNsfw` (type: `boolean`): VIDEOS MODE. When false (default) NSFW videos are excluded (nsfw=false). Set true to include them (nsfw=both). ## `listOnly` (type: `boolean`): Shortcut for discovery mode: when true, ignore 'mode' and emit ONLY the single instance-info row (name, version, signup, total video count). A cheap way to probe an instance before harvesting it. ## `maxRecords` (type: `integer`): A GLOBAL cap on the number of rows to emit. The rendered default is 25, so a first run emits at most 25 rows. Each emitted video, channel, or discovery row is one billable `video` event under the current pricing contract. Pagination stops as soon as the cap is reached, so the default is a cheap, deterministic sample. Raise the value explicitly to fetch more matching rows. ## `bearer` (type: `string`): Optional access token for a private / registration-required / rate-limited instance (sent as Authorization: Bearer \*\*\*). Not required for public content. Never logged. ## `extraHeaders` (type: `object`): Optional extra HTTP headers as a JSON object, e.g. {"x-api-key": "..."} for gated instances. Not required for public content. Header values are never logged. ## Actor input object example ```json { "instanceUrl": "https://framatube.org", "mode": "videos", "sort": "-publishedAt", "includeNsfw": false, "listOnly": false, "maxRecords": 25 } ``` # 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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "instanceUrl": "https://framatube.org", "maxRecords": 25 }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("datamule/peertube-instance-harvester").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 = { "instanceUrl": "https://framatube.org", "maxRecords": 25, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("datamule/peertube-instance-harvester").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 '{ "instanceUrl": "https://framatube.org", "maxRecords": 25 }' | apify call datamule/peertube-instance-harvester --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=datamule/peertube-instance-harvester", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "PeerTube Instance Harvester", "description": "Point at any PeerTube instance and export its videos, channels and instance metadata from the public /api/v1 REST API. Federated, self-hosted YouTube alternative — one actor over thousands of instances.", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "zBPQGdas3eROsVZfK" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/datamule~peertube-instance-harvester/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-datamule-peertube-instance-harvester", "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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/datamule~peertube-instance-harvester/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-datamule-peertube-instance-harvester", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/datamule~peertube-instance-harvester/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-datamule-peertube-instance-harvester", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": [ "instanceUrl" ], "properties": { "instanceUrl": { "title": "PeerTube instance URL", "type": "string", "description": "Root URL of ANY PeerTube instance. PeerTube is the ActivityPub-federated, self-hosted YouTube alternative; every instance exposes the identical public /api/v1 REST API with no auth for public content, so one actor works against all of them: https://framatube.org, https://makertube.net, https://tube.tchncs.de, or any of the thousands of self-hosted instances. The /api/v1 path is appended for you (paste either the root or a /api/v1 URL). The run MODE is chosen from the 'mode' / 'listOnly' / 'search' fields below." }, "mode": { "title": "Mode", "enum": [ "videos", "channels", "discovery" ], "type": "string", "description": "What to harvest. 'videos' (default) lists videos via /api/v1/videos (or /api/v1/search/videos when a search term is set). 'channels' lists the instance's video channels via /api/v1/video-channels. 'discovery' returns ONE row describing the instance (name, version, signup policy, short description, total video count) so you can inspect an instance cheaply before a full run.", "default": "videos" }, "search": { "title": "Search query (videos mode)", "type": "string", "description": "VIDEOS MODE. A free-text search term — switches the run to GET /api/v1/search/videos?search=... and returns one row per matching video across the instance's federated index. Leave empty to list the instance's full video timeline (newest first). A term that matches nothing yields 0 records and a clean exit." }, "sort": { "title": "Sort (videos mode)", "type": "string", "description": "VIDEOS MODE. Sort order for the video listing. Defaults to -publishedAt (newest first). PeerTube commonly accepts: -publishedAt, publishedAt, -views, views, -likes, -trending, -hot, name, -duration. Left as free text so any instance's accepted value passes through.", "default": "-publishedAt" }, "includeNsfw": { "title": "Include NSFW videos (videos mode)", "type": "boolean", "description": "VIDEOS MODE. When false (default) NSFW videos are excluded (nsfw=false). Set true to include them (nsfw=both).", "default": false }, "listOnly": { "title": "Discovery only (instance info)", "type": "boolean", "description": "Shortcut for discovery mode: when true, ignore 'mode' and emit ONLY the single instance-info row (name, version, signup, total video count). A cheap way to probe an instance before harvesting it.", "default": false }, "maxRecords": { "title": "Max records (global cap)", "minimum": 1, "type": "integer", "description": "A GLOBAL cap on the number of rows to emit. The rendered default is 25, so a first run emits at most 25 rows. Each emitted video, channel, or discovery row is one billable `video` event under the current pricing contract. Pagination stops as soon as the cap is reached, so the default is a cheap, deterministic sample. Raise the value explicitly to fetch more matching rows.", "default": 25 }, "bearer": { "title": "Bearer token", "type": "string", "description": "Optional access token for a private / registration-required / rate-limited instance (sent as Authorization: Bearer ***). Not required for public content. Never logged." }, "extraHeaders": { "title": "Extra request headers", "type": "object", "description": "Optional extra HTTP headers as a JSON object, e.g. {\"x-api-key\": \"...\"} for gated instances. Not required for public content. Header values are never logged." } } }, "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```