# ❓ Zhihu Search Scraper (`ethereal_wool/zhihu-search-scraper`) Actor

Extract Zhihu search data — title, author, engagement, and more. Scrape by keyword, URL or ID. Export to JSON, CSV & Excel, use the API, schedule runs and integrate. No code required.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/ethereal\_wool/zhihu-search-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Jackie Chen](https://apify.com/ethereal_wool) (community)
- **Categories:** Social media
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$3.00 / 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/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.md):

```bash
npm install apify-client
```

In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.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/platform/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

## Zhihu Search Scraper

![zhihu-search-scraper](https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/48FFrfZnw5XqzUC1C/records/zhihu-search-scraper__hero)

Search **Zhihu (知乎)**, China's largest Q&A and knowledge-sharing platform, by
**keyword**. Returns clean, structured records for each result: title, excerpt,
full HTML content, upvote / comment / favorite counts, the question it belongs to,
and author info. Choose what to search: **answers & articles & questions**,
**videos**, **columns**, or **users**.

> **Unofficial.** This Actor is not affiliated with, authorized, or endorsed by
> Zhihu (智者天下 / Zhihu Inc.). It is an independent tool that retrieves publicly
> available data via a third-party API. Use it in compliance with Zhihu's terms and
> all applicable laws; you are responsible for how you use the retrieved data.

### What it does

- **Keyword search** — give one or more keywords; the Actor paginates Zhihu search
  results for each until it hits `maxItems` or the end of results.
- **Search types** — pick one:
  - `general` (default): answers, articles and questions.
  - `video`: Zhihu videos (zvideo).
  - `column`: Zhihu columns (专栏).
  - `user`: Zhihu users (people).
- Promo / ad / "related query" / gaokao cards are filtered out automatically; only
  real content records are returned. Search-highlight `<em>` markup is stripped.

### Input

| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `searchKeywords` | string[] | `["人工智能"]` | Keywords to search. Each is paginated independently. Chinese keywords return the most results. |
| `searchType` | enum | `general` | `general` / `video` / `column` / `user`. |
| `maxItems` | integer | `50` | Max total records across all keywords. |
| `includeContent` | boolean | `true` | Include the full HTML body of answers/articles. Disable to keep items small. |

#### Example input

```json
{
  "searchKeywords": ["人工智能", "心理学"],
  "searchType": "general",
  "maxItems": 100,
  "includeContent": true
}
````

### Output

One dataset item per record:

```json
{
  "id": "2044932700230914484",
  "kind": "answer",
  "title": "如何评价知乎上以赵泠为首的人工智能唱衰党？",
  "excerpt": "大家一定要对这个专业去魅 ...",
  "url": "https://www.zhihu.com/answer/2044932700230914484",
  "authorName": "赵泠",
  "authorUrlToken": "MarryMea",
  "authorHeadline": "衣沾不足惜，但使愿无违。",
  "voteupCount": 2159,
  "commentCount": 126,
  "favoritesCount": 0,
  "questionTitle": "如何评价知乎上以赵泠为首的人工智能唱衰党？",
  "questionId": "2042974223212213176",
  "createdTime": 1780329948,
  "updatedTime": 1780330499,
  "content": "<p>...full answer HTML...</p>",
  "source": "general:人工智能"
}
```

For `user` results the item carries `authorName`, `authorUrlToken`, `authorHeadline`,
`followerCount`, `answerCount` and `articlesCount`; for `column` results it carries
`title`, `articlesCount` and `followerCount`.

### Notes

- Data is sourced live. The Zhihu upstream is occasionally flaky and can emit a
  transient error even for a good keyword; the Actor retries with exponential
  backoff, so a run that briefly errors usually still returns results.
- Record IDs are de-duplicated within a run.

# Actor input Schema

## `searchKeywords` (type: `array`):

Keywords to search Zhihu for. Each keyword is searched and paginated independently. Chinese keywords return the most results.

## `searchType` (type: `string`):

What kind of Zhihu results to return. 'general' returns answers, articles and questions; 'video' returns Zhihu videos (zvideo); 'column' returns columns; 'user' returns people.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum total number of records to scrape across all keywords.

## `includeContent` (type: `boolean`):

Include the full HTML body (object.content) of answers and articles. Disable to keep dataset items small.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Optional. Route the upstream API calls through an Apify Proxy to vary the source IP. Usually not needed.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchKeywords": [
    "人工智能"
  ],
  "searchType": "general",
  "maxItems": 50,
  "includeContent": true,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# 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 = {
    "searchKeywords": [
        "人工智能"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("ethereal_wool/zhihu-search-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 = { "searchKeywords": ["人工智能"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("ethereal_wool/zhihu-search-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 '{
  "searchKeywords": [
    "人工智能"
  ]
}' |
apify call ethereal_wool/zhihu-search-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

```

## OpenAPI specification

```json
{
    "openapi": "3.0.1",
    "info": {
        "title": "❓ Zhihu Search Scraper",
        "description": "Extract Zhihu search data — title, author, engagement, and more. Scrape by keyword, URL or ID. Export to JSON, CSV & Excel, use the API, schedule runs and integrate. No code required.",
        "version": "0.1",
        "x-build-id": "H7pJi6uqsm6nHahAU"
    },
    "servers": [
        {
            "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
        }
    ],
    "paths": {
        "/acts/ethereal_wool~zhihu-search-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-ethereal_wool-zhihu-search-scraper",
                "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": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/ethereal_wool~zhihu-search-scraper/runs": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "runs-sync-ethereal_wool-zhihu-search-scraper",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$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": {
                                    "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/ethereal_wool~zhihu-search-scraper/run-sync": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-ethereal_wool-zhihu-search-scraper",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$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",
                "properties": {
                    "searchKeywords": {
                        "title": "Search keywords",
                        "type": "array",
                        "description": "Keywords to search Zhihu for. Each keyword is searched and paginated independently. Chinese keywords return the most results.",
                        "default": [
                            "人工智能"
                        ],
                        "items": {
                            "type": "string"
                        }
                    },
                    "searchType": {
                        "title": "Search type",
                        "enum": [
                            "general",
                            "video",
                            "column",
                            "user"
                        ],
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "What kind of Zhihu results to return. 'general' returns answers, articles and questions; 'video' returns Zhihu videos (zvideo); 'column' returns columns; 'user' returns people.",
                        "default": "general"
                    },
                    "maxItems": {
                        "title": "Max items",
                        "minimum": 1,
                        "maximum": 100000,
                        "type": "integer",
                        "description": "Maximum total number of records to scrape across all keywords.",
                        "default": 50
                    },
                    "includeContent": {
                        "title": "Include full content",
                        "type": "boolean",
                        "description": "Include the full HTML body (object.content) of answers and articles. Disable to keep dataset items small.",
                        "default": true
                    },
                    "proxyConfiguration": {
                        "title": "Proxy configuration",
                        "type": "object",
                        "description": "Optional. Route the upstream API calls through an Apify Proxy to vary the source IP. Usually not needed.",
                        "default": {
                            "useApifyProxy": false
                        }
                    }
                }
            },
            "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
                                    }
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
```