NPM Package Downloads Tracker

What does NPM Downloads Tracker do?

NPM Downloads Tracker fetches and compares npm package download statistics for one or many packages in a single run — no API key required. It pulls data from the official npm Downloads API across multiple time windows (last day, last week, last month, last year, or a custom date range) and returns clean, structured records per package. Enable compare mode to get a side-by-side summary of all packages in one record, ideal for framework comparisons or trend reports.

Use this actor to track npm package download trends, benchmark package popularity metrics, and monitor adoption growth over time with scheduled runs.

Why use NPM Downloads Tracker?

Track npm download statistics for any package — or a whole competitive landscape — without writing custom API scripts or dealing with npm API quirks.

1. Framework and library benchmarking — Compare npm popularity metrics for competing packages (React vs Vue vs Svelte, Express vs Fastify vs Hono) across multiple time windows to understand real-world adoption shifts.
2. Package download stats for investment research — Analysts monitoring developer ecosystem trends can use weekly download counts as a leading indicator of platform traction, especially for packages tied to specific protocols or runtimes.
3. Dependency health monitoring — Track whether packages your project depends on are growing or declining in npm downloads. A sharp drop in package download stats often signals abandonment before the maintainer announces it.
4. Content and developer marketing — Measure the impact of blog posts, conference talks, or launch announcements on package download spikes. Schedule runs before and after major events and compare the delta.
5. OSS project growth tracking — Maintainers can monitor their own package's npm popularity metrics week-over-week to validate marketing efforts and community growth.

How to use NPM Downloads Tracker

1. Open the actor on Apify and click Try for free.
2. Enter your list of npm package names (e.g. ["react", "vue", "svelte"]).
3. Select a time period (last-day, last-week, last-month, last-year, or custom with date range).
4. Toggle Include Metadata to pull version, license, keywords, and homepage from the npm Registry.
5. Toggle Include Trend for a daily download breakdown (chart-ready time-series data).
6. Toggle Compare Mode to append a ranking summary row comparing all packages side by side.
7. Click Start — results appear in the dataset within seconds.
8. Download as JSON, CSV, or Excel — or integrate via the Apify API.

Schedule this actor weekly or monthly via Apify Scheduler to build a longitudinal npm package download trends dataset.

Input

Field	Type	Default	Description
packages	array	["react","vue","svelte"]	List of npm package names to track (e.g. ["react", "vue", "angular"]). Scoped packages (e.g. @babel/core) are fully supported.
period	string	last-month	Download window: last-day, last-week, last-month, last-year, or custom.
startDate	string	—	Start date in YYYY-MM-DD format. Required when period is custom.
endDate	string	—	End date in YYYY-MM-DD format. Required when period is custom.
includeMetadata	boolean	true	Fetch version, license, keywords, and homepage from the npm Registry.
includeTrend	boolean	true	Fetch daily download breakdown for trend analysis and charting.
compareMode	boolean	false	Append a summary comparison record ranking all packages side by side.

Example — React vs Vue vs Svelte (last month):

{
  "packages": ["react", "vue", "svelte"],
  "period": "last-month",
  "includeMetadata": true,
  "includeTrend": true,
  "compareMode": true
}

Output

Each package produces one record in the dataset. You can download the dataset in various formats such as JSON, HTML, CSV, or Excel.

[
  {
    "package": "react",
    "downloads_total": 587234891,
    "downloads_period": "last-month",
    "rank": 1,
    "description": "React is a JavaScript library for building user interfaces.",
    "version": "18.3.1",
    "license": "MIT",
    "keywords": ["react"],
    "homepage": "https://reactjs.org/",
    "npm_url": "https://www.npmjs.com/package/react",
    "trend_data": [
      {"day": "2026-08-01", "downloads": 18945231},
      {"day": "2026-08-02", "downloads": 19123456}
    ],
    "fetched_at": "2026-09-02T10:15:00Z"
  },
  {
    "package": "vue",
    "downloads_total": 49123456,
    "downloads_period": "last-month",
    "rank": 2,
    "version": "3.4.21",
    "license": "MIT",
    "fetched_at": "2026-09-02T10:15:00Z"
  }
]

When compareMode: true, an additional summary record is appended:

{
  "_type": "comparison_summary",
  "packages_compared": 3,
  "period": "last-month",
  "ranking": [
    {"rank": 1, "package": "react", "downloads_total": 587234891},
    {"rank": 2, "package": "vue", "downloads_total": 49123456},
    {"rank": 3, "package": "svelte", "downloads_total": 8234567}
  ],
  "fetched_at": "2026-09-02T10:15:00Z"
}

Data fields

Field	Type	Description
package	string	npm package name
downloads_total	integer	Total download count for the selected period
downloads_period	string	Period label (e.g. last-month)
rank	integer	Rank within this run's package list (1 = highest downloads)
description	string	Package description from npm Registry
version	string	Latest published version
license	string	SPDX license identifier
keywords	array	Package keyword tags
homepage	string	Project homepage URL
npm_url	string	Direct npmjs.com package page URL
trend_data	array	Daily breakdown: [{day, downloads}] for chart-ready time-series
fetched_at	string	ISO 8601 timestamp of the data fetch

Cost estimation

This actor uses Pay-Per-Event (PPE) pricing.

Scenario	Packages	Cost
Single package check	1	$0.007
Framework comparison (5 packages)	5	$0.015
Dependency portfolio (20 packages)	20	$0.045
Large benchmark (100 packages)	100	$0.205

Pricing breakdown:

• $0.005 — actor start (one-time per run)
• $0.002 — per npm package successfully analyzed

Runs typically complete in under 10 seconds for up to 50 packages.

FAQ

Does this actor require an npm account or API key? No. NPM Downloads Tracker uses the public npm Downloads API (api.npmjs.org/downloads/...) which is fully open. No account, token, or authentication is needed.

How accurate are the download numbers? Download counts come directly from the official npm registry API — the same source powering npmtrends.com. Numbers include installs via npm install, CI pipelines, and mirrored registry pulls. Data is available from 2015-01-10 onwards.

Can I track scoped packages like @babel/core? Yes. Scoped package names are fully supported — include the full name with the @scope/ prefix. The npm Downloads API handles scoped packages natively.

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Disclaimer: Download statistics are fetched from the public npm Downloads API and reflect npm registry data only. Downloads include CI/CD, mirrors, and automated installs (industry-standard caveat). Data represents point-in-time snapshots and may not reflect real-time registry state. This actor is not affiliated with or endorsed by npm, Inc.

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Related actors

• NPM Package Analyzer — Deep package analysis (dependencies, bundle size) to pair with download trends
• NPM Package Trends — Historical download trend comparisons across the npm ecosystem
• GitHub Repo Analytics — GitHub stars and forks alongside npm download counts

Feedback

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