# npm Package Scraper — Metadata & Download Stats (`eins332570/npm-package-scraper`) Actor

Scrape npm package data — versions, license, repository, dependencies, maintainers, and download counts — from the public npm registry. Search by keyword or fetch exact package names. Great for dependency audits, package research & dev-tool dashboards. No login, no key, no proxy.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/eins332570/npm-package-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [thanachit singruang](https://apify.com/eins332570) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $5.00 / 1,000 results

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?

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

## npm Package Scraper — Metadata & Download Stats

Scrape **npm package** data — versions, license, repository, dependencies, maintainers, and **download counts** — into **one unified dataset** using the public **npm registry** API. No login, no proxies, no browser, no API key.

Search the registry by keyword, or fetch exact package names (scoped names like `@types/node` too).

### What you get

Every package is one row (`recordType: "package"`):

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `name` | package name |
| `version` | latest published version |
| `description` | package description |
| `license` | SPDX license (e.g. `MIT`) |
| `homepage` / `repository` | homepage and cleaned repo URL |
| `author` | author name |
| `keywords` | list of keywords |
| `dependenciesCount` | number of runtime dependencies |
| `maintainersCount` | number of maintainers |
| `createdAt` / `modifiedAt` / `latestPublishedAt` | ISO timestamps |
| `downloads` / `downloadsPeriod` | downloads over the chosen window |
| `url` | npmjs.com package page |

### Sample output

```json
{
  "recordType": "package",
  "name": "express",
  "version": "5.2.1",
  "description": "Fast, unopinionated, minimalist web framework",
  "license": "MIT",
  "homepage": "https://expressjs.com/",
  "repository": "https://github.com/expressjs/express",
  "author": "TJ Holowaychuk",
  "keywords": ["express", "framework", "sinatra"],
  "dependenciesCount": 28,
  "maintainersCount": 5,
  "createdAt": "2010-12-29T19:38:25.450Z",
  "latestPublishedAt": "2025-12-01T20:49:43.268Z",
  "downloads": 514621816,
  "downloadsPeriod": "last-month",
  "url": "https://www.npmjs.com/package/express"
}
```

### Input

```json
{
  "packages": ["express", "react"],
  "search": ["http client"],
  "searchSize": 20,
  "includeDownloads": true,
  "downloadsPeriod": "last-month"
}
```

- **packages** — exact package names (scoped names supported).
- **search** — keywords to search the registry.
- **searchSize** — max packages per search query (1–100).
- **includeDownloads** — also fetch download counts.
- **downloadsPeriod** — `last-day` / `last-week` / `last-month` / `last-year`.

### Use cases

- **Dependency audits** — license, version, and maintainer data across your dependency list
- **Package research** — compare candidates by downloads, deps, and freshness before you adopt one
- **Dev-tool dashboards** — track popularity and release cadence of packages you care about
- **Supply-chain monitoring** — watch versions and maintainers of critical packages

### FAQ

**Do I need an API key or login?** No. Both the registry and the downloads API are public and key-free.

**Is it free to try?** Yes — click **Try for free** and run the prefilled example (`express`, `react`) in seconds.

**Do scoped packages work?** Yes — pass `@scope/name` (e.g. `@types/node`).

**Where do download numbers come from?** The official npm downloads API (`api.npmjs.org`), for the period you choose.

### Pricing

**Pay per result — $5 per 1,000 packages.** Runs that return nothing cost nothing. No monthly fee, no proxy costs.

# Actor input Schema

## `packages` (type: `array`):

Exact npm package names to fetch (scoped names like @types/node are supported).

## `search` (type: `array`):

Search the npm registry by keyword. Each query returns up to `searchSize` packages. Example: \["http client", "date"].

## `searchSize` (type: `integer`):

Cap the number of packages returned per search query (1–100).

## `includeDownloads` (type: `boolean`):

Also fetch each package's download count from the npm downloads API.

## `downloadsPeriod` (type: `string`):

Time window for download counts.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "packages": [
    "express",
    "react"
  ],
  "searchSize": 20,
  "includeDownloads": true,
  "downloadsPeriod": "last-month"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `items` (type: `string`):

All scraped package records as dataset items.

# 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 = {
    "packages": [
        "express",
        "react"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("eins332570/npm-package-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 = { "packages": [
        "express",
        "react",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("eins332570/npm-package-scraper").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 '{
  "packages": [
    "express",
    "react"
  ]
}' |
apify call eins332570/npm-package-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,eins332570/npm-package-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

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/sR0mfj0k7NhSnwwYw/builds/CkzefQdrLA6BXNsjR/openapi.json