Facebook Groups Search Scraper

Find publicly indexed Facebook groups by keyword, location qualifier or a known group URL. Export group names, URLs, available member and activity counts, and the evidence behind each value. Optional monitoring compares observations across runs. Facebook may withhold public About details, so fields such as locations, contacts, images and rules can remain empty.

Quick start

Enter a topic and keep the first search small:

{
  "keywords": ["tesla owners"],
  "locations": ["United States"],
  "maxGroupsPerQuery": 5
}

Click Start, wait for the run to finish, then open Dataset. Start with the group name, URL and source snippet. Optional fields are filled only when the source exposes them.

Prefer a video guide? This short Apify walkthrough shows you how to set up and run an Actor. It uses a different Actor, but the setup steps are the same.

Ready-to-run examples

• Find local Facebook gardening groups — Search for gardening communities near Austin, Texas.
• Find electric vehicle communities — Discover groups about electric vehicles.

What you get

• Discover groups: get canonical URLs, names, query rank and original indexed titles/snippets.
• Review available metadata: member counts, privacy, activity windows and creation history, with approximation and source labels.
• Try public About details: optional descriptions, images, topic tags, actual locations, designated group contacts and rules when accessible.
• Filter the results: choose privacy, member range, observed monthly activity, actual location or strict keyword matching.
• Monitor changes: save first observations, new groups and changed known values. Optional webhook or Telegram notifications follow saved changes.

This Actor does not log in or collect group posts, member lists or administrator identities. An indexed group may carry a Private label without exposing private content.

Who is it for?

• Community researchers who need a reviewed list of groups about a topic or local market.
• Partnership and outreach teams who want public group context before deciding whether a community is relevant.
• Analysts and developers who need repeatable group exports or a record of changes in observed member counts and privacy.

Input settings

Supply at least one keyword or group target. All other settings are optional unless their mode requires them. If both keywords and groupUrls are absent or empty, the run returns no rows and warns that no groups were searched. RUN_SUMMARY.reason is missing_supported_selector. The unrelated startUrls field is not a supported selector; use groupUrls for known groups. This no-search outcome makes no custom startup or result charge.

Setting and API key	What it does
Keywords · keywords	Up to 20 search phrases. Omit when using only direct targets.
Search locations · locations	Up to 20 qualifiers, combined with every keyword. These are search terms, not verified group locations.
Group targets · groupUrls	Up to 200 supplied URLs, numeric IDs or vanity names. Root, About, mobile, post and permalink URLs normalize to the group.
Per-query limit · maxGroupsPerQuery	From 1 to 100, default 10. In monitor mode it limits emitted change rows per query.
Total output limit · maxItems	Aggregate saved rows. Omitted means 40,000 for scrape or 500 for monitor. Monitoring accepts at most 500. Runtime limits still apply.
Mode · mode	scrape by default, or monitor to compare observations.
Monitor name · monitorStateId	Required for monitor mode. Reuse the same 1–64 character name and settings to continue a baseline.
Privacy · privacy	any by default, or public / private. Unknown values fail an explicit filter.
Member range · minMembers, maxMembers	Optional non-negative whole-number bounds. Unknown counts fail the filter. Approximate counts retain their labels.
Activity · minPostsPerDay	Minimum observed last-month posts divided by 30. Today counts and unsupported estimates do not substitute.
Actual location · locationText	Case-insensitive match against an exposed group location, not a search qualifier or vanity name.
Strict matching · requireKeywordMatch	Requires keywords. Every word of a phrase must match eligible group fields. Direct targets may match any supplied phrase.
Public details · enrichGroupDetails	Try the anonymous direct About page. Default false. This option never enables paid proxy access.
Paid group details · enrichPaidGroupDetails	Separate opt-in, default false, scrape mode only. Unavailable in this release. Basic and optional direct/indexed enrichment remain available.
Extra indexed snippets · enrichIndexedDetails	Look up additional indexed About/rules snippets. Default false. Snippets may be truncated or stale.
Webhook URL · webhookSecretUrl	Optional encrypted destination for monitor change summaries. Public HTTPS on port 443 only.
Telegram token · telegramBotToken	Optional encrypted bot token. Requires monitor mode and a recipient.
Telegram recipient · telegramChatSecret	Optional encrypted chat ID or channel. Supply with the bot token.

• Scrape: returns matching group observations. A direct target must yield useful source metadata. Unavailable targets appear in the run summary without a fabricated group row.
• Monitor: requires a monitor name. Baselines are private to the initiating account, Actor and query/target/filter settings. Changing those settings starts a separate baseline. Reordering the same queries does not. Unknown current values stay unknown in the output and do not erase known baseline values.
• Strict matching: uses the group name, eligible indexed About text, full public description, recognized public tags and actual locations. It excludes arbitrary post snippets and title count labels.

Input recipes

Look up known groups:

{"groupUrls":["https://www.facebook.com/groups/cheapmealideas/"],"maxItems":1}

Start a repeatable monitor:

{
  "groupUrls": ["https://www.facebook.com/groups/cheapmealideas/"],
  "mode": "monitor",
  "monitorStateId": "meal-community",
  "maxItems": 1
}

Reuse the exact monitor settings to compare the same target. Keyword monitors can discover additional groups on later runs because unchanged observations do not use the change-row quota. No schedule is created automatically.

Output data

Each dataset item describes a group. Monitor items add change information to the same group record.

Fields	Meaning
groupName, groupUrl, groupId	Name, canonical URL and original URL identifier. The identifier may be a vanity name.
numericGroupId, vanity	Numeric identity and named URL when supported by the source.
query, rank, matchedLocation, matchedIn	Discovery context and fields that matched query words. Requested location is not an actual location.
sourceTitle, sourceSnippet, sourceResultUrl, sourceResultKind, fieldSources	Original evidence, URL context and field-level attribution. Indexed data is not a current Facebook verification.
memberCount, memberCountText, memberCountIsApproximate	Normalized members, original size text and precision. Bounds stay text when a point count is unknown.
privacyLabel, privacyDescription, visibility, visibilityDescription	Privacy and discoverability are separate. Inaccessibility does not imply either one.
activityCount, activityPeriod, activityWindow, postsToday, postsLastDay, postsLastWeek, postsLastMonth	Stated counts and windows. Calendar-today, trailing periods and rates remain distinct.
postsPerDay, postsPerMonth, activityIsEstimate	Existing normalized rate estimates, separately labeled from observed windows.
newMembersText, newMemberCount, newMemberPeriod, newMemberWindow	Source membership-growth text and known count/window.
descriptionSnippet, indexedAboutSnippet, indexedRulesSnippet, description	Indexed snippets are separate from a full description returned by an accessible About page.
creationDate, createdAt, historyText, nameChangeHistory	Date-only or full timestamp when explicitly provided. Relative ages remain text.
groupLocations, tags, profilePictureUrl, coverPhotoUrl	Actual exposed locations, topics and group images. Image URLs can expire.
groupWebsites, groupEmails	Explicit group/community contact details from full About information. No contacts are harvested from posts or member profiles.
adminCount, moderatorCount, adminAndModeratorCount, roleCountsScope	Explicit publicly visible role counts. A generic manager connection is not an admin-only count.
rules, rulesCount, rulesTotalCount, rulesAreComplete	Returned rules, returned count, explicit total and known/unknown completeness.
viewerJoinState, viewerJoinStateScope	Observed logged-out visitor state such as CAN_JOIN. This is not your account's membership.
detailsFetched, detailsStatus, detailsErrorCount, collectedAt	Availability, partial-detail errors and collection time.
recordType, changeType, changes, previousMemberCount, previousPrivacyLabel	Monitor annotations for first observation, new groups and changed known values.

A shortened excerpt from the retained public-group snapshot shows the distinction between exact values, visible roles and unknown fields:

{
  "groupName": "Cheap Meal Ideas",
  "groupUrl": "https://www.facebook.com/groups/cheapmealideas/",
  "numericGroupId": "126966114029232",
  "memberCount": 5992625,
  "memberCountIsApproximate": false,
  "privacyLabel": "Public",
  "viewerJoinState": "CAN_JOIN",
  "viewerJoinStateScope": "logged_out",
  "adminCount": 0,
  "moderatorCount": 5,
  "roleCountsScope": "publicly_visible",
  "groupLocations": null,
  "groupEmails": null
}

This is a historical snapshot, not a promise of current values or populated details on your run. Missing optional values remain null. An explicitly observed zero is different from an unknown count. RUN_SUMMARY records filtering, unchanged observations, partial completion and direct-target outcomes. queryFailures identifies failed search pages. reason distinguishes runtime limits, query failures and completed extraction. NOTIFICATION_STATUS is available when notifications were attempted.

Download your results

Open your run's dataset, choose Export and select JSON, CSV or Excel. JSON keeps nested fields together. CSV and Excel are useful when you want to review the records in a spreadsheet.

See Apify's download and export guide for the available formats and field options.

Pricing

The start event is charged once after input validation when the run begins. It can apply even if no groups are returned.

The result event applies to each saved matching group in scrape mode or saved change row in monitor mode. Duplicate, filtered and unchanged observations do not create result events. Unavailable direct targets and summary records are not charged as group results. A failed run may retain already saved and charged rows.

Paid group enrichment is currently unavailable and its option defaults to false. Basic search enrichment and the optional direct/indexed detail checks remain available. Public fields may still be missing when Facebook or the search index does not expose them.

A basic pricing change is scheduled for 11 November 2026 (00:00 UTC). The start fee remains unchanged and the standard Free, Bronze, Silver and Gold plan discounts are preserved. Apify scheduled Platinum and Diamond at the same group-result rate as Gold. Their earlier relative discounts are not preserved. Before that date, existing rates continue to apply.

See the live Pricing tab for current rates and discounts. Keep the query list and output limits small until you have reviewed a sample.

Tips for best results

• Start with a specific phrase. “Tesla owners” is easier to review than a broad word such as “cars.”
• Separate search location from actual location. A city qualifier can improve discovery without proving where a group is based.
• Inspect the source text. Member/activity values can be abbreviated or stale. Review their labels before using them in a decision.
• Use known URLs for a stable monitor. Repeated keyword searches can discover additional groups.
• Try filters after a small sample. A filter cannot pass metadata that the source does not expose.

Limits and caveats

• Only publicly available, anonymous information is used. There is no Facebook login, member-list collection or private-post access.
• Search coverage is not exhaustive. Direct numeric and vanity URLs can be indexed differently. A target without useful matching metadata remains unavailable and unbilled as a group result.
• Public About access often returns a login wall. Full description, images, actual locations, contacts, rules and logged-out state may remain null. The legacy detail options do not enable a paid fallback. The separate paid opt-in requires effective pricing and activation, and still cannot guarantee every field on every group.
• Optional detail checks are limited, so some groups may not receive them. Group contacts require explicit group-purpose evidence. A vanity address is not a geographical location.
• The source may expose only part of the rules or role counts. Completion and publicly visible scope are labeled rather than assumed.
• Processing stops within the original 270-second budget at 256 MB. Completed output is preserved. Basic scrapes buffer at most 100 groups within a query before saving and billing them together. Useful buffered groups are flushed when a query finishes, a query fails, or the processing cutoff is reached. Interrupted basic scrapes can continue from verified checkpoints without repeating saved groups or charges; groups not yet saved may be searched again within the original deadline. Uncertain storage or billing state stops the run rather than risking duplicates; monitoring and older interrupted runs retain this conservative stop behavior.
• Monitoring supports up to 500 groups. Avoid overlapping runs with the same monitor settings. An uncertain prior delivery pauses reuse with a reference to that run rather than risking duplicate charges.
• Current unknown values are not filled with stale baseline values. Missing results and rejected filters never imply that a group was removed.
• Notifications contain a bounded preview and mark truncation. Delivery can fail after data is saved. Review the run dataset for all changes.

Automation and integrations

Save your settings for next time

Once you have an input that works for you, save it as an Apify task. This keeps your settings together so you can use them again without filling in the form from scratch.

Run on a schedule

Need fresh results regularly? You can schedule the Actor or a saved task to run at a time that suits you.

Each scheduled run collects data again. Use the same monitor settings for built-in comparisons, or compare scrape exports in your own workflow.

Send results to your other tools

Use n8n, Make or Zapier to connect this scraper to the rest of your workflow. For example, you could pass its results to an AI assistant or add records to a spreadsheet. Follow the Apify integration guides for your chosen tool.

For a custom connection, an Apify webhook can notify your app when a run finishes or fails. Your app can then fetch the results or handle the failure.

For built-in change comparison, select monitor mode and reuse its settings. The Actor does not create or activate a schedule. Scheduling a monitor is a separate action you choose in Apify.

API usage

Want to collect this data from your own app or automation? The examples below send input to the scraper and show how to collect its results.

The Node.js and Python examples wait for the run to finish before reading its results. The cURL example starts the run and returns its details. Wait for that run to finish, then use its defaultDatasetId to fetch the results.

For setup instructions, see Apify's JavaScript client guide, Python client guide and Actor runs API reference.

cURL

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/fetch_cat~facebook-groups-search-scraper/runs" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"keywords":["startup founders"],"maxGroupsPerQuery":5}'

Node.js

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('fetch_cat/facebook-groups-search-scraper').call({
  keywords: ['startup founders'],
  maxGroupsPerQuery: 5,
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

Python

import os
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient(os.environ["APIFY_TOKEN"])
run = client.actor("fetch_cat/facebook-groups-search-scraper").call(
    run_input={"keywords": ["startup founders"], "maxGroupsPerQuery": 5}
)
items = client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).list_items().items
print(items)

MCP and AI agents

You can ask your AI assistant to collect data with Facebook Groups Search Scraper and help you work with the results. The scraper returns the data, and your assistant can then summarize it, compare records or prepare notes.

Connect your assistant through the Apify MCP server. MCP gives your assistant a way to find this scraper, run it and read the results. Follow the official setup and sign-in guide for your app.

Easier setup with an Apify plugin

If you use a supported coding assistant, the official Apify plugin can set up the connection for you. It connects your assistant to Apify and includes instructions for common tasks. Follow the guide for your particular app.

Use Apify AI in Console

Prefer to keep everything in Apify? Open Apify AI in Console and ask it to find Fetch Cat's Facebook Groups Search Scraper. You can describe the data you want and ask questions about the results.

Apify AI is currently in beta. It asks for confirmation before starting an Actor, and normal run charges apply.

Choose your assistant

• Claude and Claude Code (Anthropic): Apify setup guide.
• ChatGPT and Codex (OpenAI): Apify setup guides.
• Grok Bot (xAI): Apify plugin guide.
• Gemini CLI (Google): MCP server setup guide. Use the server URL below with the HTTP configuration supported by Gemini CLI.

Connect just this scraper

To keep your setup focused on this scraper, add this server configuration to a compatible MCP client:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=fetch_cat/facebook-groups-search-scraper"
    }
  }
}

Sign in to Apify when your client asks. If your client uses a Bearer token instead, follow its setup guide and keep the token in its secure configuration. Configuration formats vary by app, so use the linked guide if your client needs a different format.

Use Apify's general server

Already connected to the general Apify MCP server at https://mcp.apify.com? You can use it to find this scraper without adding another server. Ask your assistant to use Facebook Groups Search Scraper by Fetch Cat, or give it the identifier fetch_cat/facebook-groups-search-scraper.

Your assistant can check the available settings and retrieve the results from the returned run. If the run is still working, it should follow that run rather than start it again. Both connection options use Apify's hosted service.

Example requests

• Find gardening groups near Austin and export their names, URLs and available member counts to a spreadsheet.
• Look up the Cheap Meal Ideas group and retrieve its available public metadata, with missing fields clearly identified.
• Collect public electric-vehicle communities in the United States and help me compare their available descriptions and activity information.

Normal Apify charges apply. Check the live Pricing tab before asking your assistant to run a larger batch.

Pay with x402

If your AI agent has a funded wallet, it can pay for Apify usage through x402. This experimental option lets an agent use Apify without a conventional account.

Apify AGI provides a prepaid API token with a spending cap after payment. Your agent can use that token to run this scraper through the Apify API or an authenticated MCP connection.

Some MCP setups also support paying for each request directly. That is a different payment option, so check the official guide for its availability.

Follow the official guide for wallet setup, supported payment options and current terms. Apify handles the payments. Keep wallet keys and payment tokens in your agent's secure configuration.

Other ways for agents to pay

Apify also supports MPP for prepaid access through AGI and Skyfire for eligible Actors. If your agent already uses one of these, see the agentic payment guide to choose the right setup.

FAQ

Does this scrape posts or group members?

No. A post or permalink URL can identify its parent group, but the Actor does not collect post bodies or member profiles.

Why are optional fields empty?

Facebook or the public index did not expose usable information. Direct About access is often blocked. A filter requiring that missing field excludes the row rather than treating it as zero or false.

Is the visitor join state my account membership?

No. It describes the anonymous, logged-out visitor represented by the public page.

What does a member or activity change prove?

It proves that known observed values differ from the saved baseline. Indexed snapshots can be stale. It is not a real-time membership audit.

Can a second monitor run return new groups?

Yes. Keyword searches can reach additional groups because unchanged observations do not use the change-row quota. Use the same explicit targets for a more stable comparison.

What happens after a partial failure?

Saved output stays accessible. Technical failures are reported rather than invented as empty group rows. An uncertain monitor save/charge outcome blocks automatic reuse of that baseline and references the previous run for review.

Can I download CSV or use an API or AI assistant?

Yes. Use dataset exports, the API examples or the MCP setup above. Normal charges and access limits still apply.

Related Actors

• Facebook Group Insights Scraper — Retrieve public About information for already-known group URLs.
• Facebook Page Details Scraper — Research public Page details, contacts and profile information.
• Facebook Pages Scraper — Export Page profiles and visible post links from Page URLs or handles.
• LinkedIn Company Profiles Scraper — Retrieve public company profiles and firmographic details.
• Instagram Profile & Posts Scraper — Export public profile details and recent posts or reels.

Support and feedback

For custom additions or integrations, email hello@fetchcat.dev.

Found an error or have a feature request? Open an issue with the run URL, a non-sensitive input example and what you expected.

Need help sharing it? See Apify’s guide to sharing a run when reporting an issue. Sharing a run can give the developer access to its input, logs and results, so use a run that contains no sensitive data. Please leave out API tokens, passwords, cookies, private documents and personal data. Use a public sample URL or a redacted example instead.

Tried this scraper? We'd love to hear how it worked for you. Leave an honest review from the Actor page to help others choose the right tool and help us improve it. Your feedback means a lot to us.

Made with care for curious people, AI agents and the possibilities in data. ♥