# Apple App Store Scraper: Apps, Reviews and Top Charts (`groundtruth/app-store-data`) Actor

Search apps, look up apps by id or bundle id, pull customer reviews and read the top charts, from Apple's official public APIs. No HTML scraping, no reviewer names, and a source link on every record.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/groundtruth/app-store-data.md
- **Developed by:** [Ground Truth](https://apify.com/groundtruth) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, E-commerce, AI
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.10 / 1,000 app records

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?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Apple App Store Scraper: Apps, Reviews and Top Charts (Official API)

Get App Store apps, customer reviews and top charts from Apple's own public
APIs, with a source link on every record. No HTML scraping, no logins, and no
reviewer names.

Four modes in one Actor:

| Mode | What you give it | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| `search` | Keywords | Apps matching each keyword, in Apple's ranking order |
| `lookup` | App ids, App Store URLs or bundle ids | One full record per app, in as many countries as you list |
| `reviews` | App ids or bundle ids | Recent or most helpful customer reviews, up to 500 per app and country |
| `top_charts` | Country, chart, category | The current top free, paid or grossing apps with full records |

### Who uses this

- App makers tracking a competitor's rating, version and price in several countries.
- Product teams reading what users complain about after a release.
- Researchers and analysts pulling the top apps of a category on a schedule.
- AI agents that need current App Store facts and a link to check them.

An agent calls this when it needs to answer "what is the rating, price or latest review of this app" with a source it can cite.

### What it does not do

- It does not return reviewer names or profile links. Apple publishes them in the review feed. This Actor drops them.
- It does not read the Google Play store.
- It does not return more than 500 reviews per app and country. That is the most Apple's review feed serves.
- It does not return download counts or revenue. Apple does not publish them.
- The review feed is unreliable. See "About the review feed" below.

### Sample output

Input:

```json
{ "mode": "lookup", "app_ids": [310633997], "countries": ["us"] }
```

One app record:

```json
{
  "record_type": "app",
  "source": "lookup",
  "app_id": 310633997,
  "bundle_id": "net.whatsapp.WhatsApp",
  "name": "WhatsApp Messenger",
  "developer": "WhatsApp Inc.",
  "developer_id": 310634000,
  "price": 0.0,
  "formatted_price": "Free",
  "currency": "USD",
  "rating": 4.68,
  "rating_count": 18794373,
  "version": "26.40.77",
  "release_date": "2009-05-04T02:43:49Z",
  "current_version_release_date": "2026-10-12T12:34:26Z",
  "genres": ["Social Networking", "Utilities"],
  "primary_genre": "Social Networking",
  "size_bytes": 402210816,
  "minimum_os_version": "15.1",
  "country": "us",
  "url": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/whatsapp-messenger/id310633997",
  "verify_url": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id310633997"
}
```

Check it yourself: open the `verify_url`. The App Store page shows the same name, developer, price and rating (rounded to one decimal place). Rating counts move by the minute.

One review record (mode `reviews`):

```json
{
  "record_type": "review",
  "app_id": 310633997,
  "app_name": "WhatsApp Messenger",
  "review_id": "14676202820",
  "rating": 5,
  "title": "Mi mejor",
  "text": "Muy buena",
  "version": "26.40.77",
  "date": "2026-10-16T22:33:35-07:00",
  "vote_sum": 0,
  "vote_count": 0,
  "country": "us",
  "sort": "mostrecent",
  "page": 1,
  "verify_url": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id310633997?see-all=reviews"
}
```

A handled error: `{"mode": "reviews"}` stops at once with `mode reviews needs app_ids (numbers from App Store URLs) or bundle_ids`. Nothing is charged.

### About the review feed

Apple's customer review feed is flaky. When this Actor was built (18 October 2026), roughly 70 to 85 percent of requests came back empty even for apps with millions of reviews, and the same request worked a moment later. This Actor therefore retries each review page up to 14 times with a fresh request before giving up.

If a page still comes back empty, the run says so. The `RUN_SUMMARY` record in the key-value store lists, for each app and country, how many reviews came back and a status:

| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `ok` | The reviews you asked for came back, or the last page was reached |
| `empty_feed_after_retries` | Apple returned nothing after every retry. The app may have no written reviews there, or the feed may be down. Run again later. |
| `ended_early` | A later page stayed empty. You have the pages before it. |
| `no_ratings_in_storefront` | The app has no ratings in that country, so there are no reviews to fetch |
| `upstream_error`, `rejected` | Apple answered with an error. The warning says which. |

Because retries take time, expect about 10 seconds per page of 50 reviews.

### Configuration

| Field | Type | Default | Used by | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| `mode` | string | `search` | all | `search`, `lookup`, `reviews` or `top_charts` |
| `search_terms` | list of text | `["meditation"]` | search | Up to 100 keywords, 200 characters each |
| `app_ids` | list | none | lookup, reviews | App ids or App Store URLs, up to 1000 |
| `bundle_ids` | list of text | none | lookup, reviews | For example `net.whatsapp.WhatsApp` |
| `countries` | list of text | `["us"]` | all | Two letter store codes, up to 20 |
| `max_results` | integer | 10 | search | Apps per keyword and country, 1 to 200 |
| `max_reviews_per_app` | integer | 50 | reviews | Per app and country, 1 to 500 |
| `review_sort` | text | `mostrecent` | reviews | `mostrecent` or `mosthelpful` |
| `chart` | text | `top-free` | top_charts | `top-free`, `top-paid` or `top-grossing` |
| `category` | text | `all` | top_charts | `all` or one category such as `finance` or `games` |
| `max_chart_items` | integer | 25 | top_charts | Apps per country, 1 to 100 |
| `include_description` | boolean | false | apps | Adds `description` and `release_notes` |
| `max_total_records` | integer | 20000 | all | Safety cap on apps plus reviews |

With no input at all, the Actor searches for "meditation" in the US store.

#### App record fields

`record_type`, `source`, `app_id`, `bundle_id`, `name`, `developer`, `developer_id`, `price`, `formatted_price`, `currency`, `rating`, `rating_count`, `rating_current_version`, `rating_count_current_version`, `version`, `release_date`, `current_version_release_date`, `genres`, `primary_genre`, `size_bytes`, `minimum_os_version`, `content_rating`, `languages`, `icon_url`, `developer_url`, `developer_website`, `country`, `url`, `verify_url`. Search records add `search_term` and `search_rank`. Chart records add `chart`, `chart_rank` and `category`. A field Apple does not provide is `null`, never guessed.

`developer` is the seller name Apple shows on the App Store page. For some apps that is a person's name, because that is how the developer registered.

#### Review record fields

`record_type`, `app_id`, `app_name`, `review_id`, `rating`, `title`, `text`, `version`, `date`, `vote_sum`, `vote_count`, `country`, `sort`, `page`, `verify_url`.

#### Errors

| Message starts with | What to do |
|---|---|
| `Input problem` | The message names the field and the fix. Nothing was charged. |
| `No records returned` | Apple did not answer. Try again later. |

An app id that does not exist in a country is not an error. It is listed under `not_found` in `RUN_SUMMARY` and in the run log.

### Pricing

Pay per result, nothing else: $0.10 per 1,000 app records and $0.10 per 1,000 review records (that is $0.0001 each), plus the small standard Actor start charge. Records are charged only when they are returned. A run that returns nothing costs the start charge only. Set a maximum charge per run in Apify and the Actor stops when it is reached.

### Data source and rules

All data comes from Apple's public iTunes Search and Lookup APIs, the customer reviews RSS feed and Apple Marketing Tools charts, read at the pace Apple documents (about 20 calls a minute for search and lookup). Use of Apple's data is subject to Apple's terms for those services.

# Actor input Schema

## `mode` (type: `string`):

search: find apps by keyword. lookup: get apps by id or bundle id. reviews: get customer reviews for apps. top_charts: get the current top apps for a country and category.

## `search_terms` (type: `array`):

Used by mode search. One search per keyword per country. Example: meditation, budget planner.

## `app_ids` (type: `array`):

Used by modes lookup and reviews. The number in the App Store URL (310633997 in apps.apple.com/us/app/whatsapp-messenger/id310633997). A full App Store URL also works.

## `bundle_ids` (type: `array`):

Used by modes lookup and reviews, as an alternative to app ids. Example: net.whatsapp.WhatsApp.

## `countries` (type: `array`):

Two letter App Store country codes, such as us, gb, de, jp. Every search, lookup, review pull and chart runs once per country. Maximum 20.

## `max_results` (type: `integer`):

Mode search: how many apps to return for each keyword and country. 1 to 200.

## `max_reviews_per_app` (type: `integer`):

Mode reviews: how many reviews to return for each app in each country. 1 to 500. Apple publishes at most 500 recent reviews per app and country.

## `review_sort` (type: `string`):

Mode reviews: newest first, or most helpful first.

## `chart` (type: `string`):

Mode top_charts: which chart to read.

## `category` (type: `string`):

Mode top_charts: limit the chart to one App Store category, or all.

## `max_chart_items` (type: `integer`):

Mode top_charts: how many apps to return per country. 1 to 100, the most Apple publishes per chart.

## `include_description` (type: `boolean`):

Add the store description and the latest release notes to each app record. Makes records larger.

## `max_total_records` (type: `integer`):

A safety cap on apps plus reviews in one run. The run stops when it is reached.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "mode": "search",
  "search_terms": [
    "meditation"
  ],
  "countries": [
    "us"
  ],
  "max_results": 10,
  "max_reviews_per_app": 50,
  "review_sort": "mostrecent",
  "chart": "top-free",
  "category": "all",
  "max_chart_items": 25,
  "include_description": false,
  "max_total_records": 20000
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

## `resultsCsv` (type: `string`):

No description

## `summary` (type: `string`):

No description

## `runDetails` (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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "mode": "search",
    "search_terms": [
        "meditation"
    ],
    "countries": [
        "us"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("groundtruth/app-store-data").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 = {
    "mode": "search",
    "search_terms": ["meditation"],
    "countries": ["us"],
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("groundtruth/app-store-data").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 '{
  "mode": "search",
  "search_terms": [
    "meditation"
  ],
  "countries": [
    "us"
  ]
}' |
apify call groundtruth/app-store-data --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,groundtruth/app-store-data"
        }
    }
}
```

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/OAIDLAiCRxqRIbbd2/builds/uh3e6dwhJ5SUB2GjT/openapi.json