Oss Insight Trending Repos Scraper

Keeping an eye on open-source projects usually means opening a lot of tabs and copying numbers into a spreadsheet by hand. This actor does that part for you. Give it a list of GitHub repositories in the simple owner/repo format, and it returns one clean row per repository with the current star count, fork count, open issue count, main programming language, and a direct link to the project. You can export the results as JSON, CSV, or Excel, feed them into your own reports, or run the actor again whenever you want a fresh snapshot. It is built for developers, analysts, founders, and researchers who want quick, reliable repository numbers without writing any code of their own.

What you get

For every repository you add, the actor saves a single dataset row. Here is what each row contains:

• recordId: the unique number of the repository
• name: the short repository name
• repoFullName: the full name in owner/repo format
• starsCount: how many stars the repository has right now
• forksCount: how many times it has been forked
• openIssuesCount: the number of open issues
• languageName: the main programming language
• htmlUrl: the link to the repository page
• scrapedAt: the date and time the row was collected
• error: empty when everything went fine, or a short message when something did not

How to use it

1. Open the actor and go to the Input tab.
2. Add one or more repositories to the Repos list, one per line, like apify/crawlee.
3. Leave the other settings as they are, or adjust them if you need to (see the table below).
4. Click Start and wait a few seconds.
5. Open the Output tab to view the table, or download it as JSON, CSV, or Excel.

Input settings

Setting	What it does	Default
Repos	The repositories to look up, written as owner/repo. This is the only required field.	apify/crawlee
Delay between requests (s)	How many seconds to pause between requests. Raise it if you are checking a long list.	1
User-Agent	The name the actor shows when it makes a request.	ActorResearch/1.0
Run timeout (s)	The total time the actor is allowed to work. It stops cleanly before starting the next repository once this runs out. Between 30 and 3600.	300
Request timeout (s)	How long to wait for a single request before giving up on it. Between 5 and 300.	30
Proxy configuration	Optional. Leave it switched off unless you have a reason to use a proxy.	Off

Input example

{
  "repos": ["apify/crawlee"],
  "requestDelaySecs": 1,
  "userAgent": "ActorResearch/1.0",
  "timeoutSecs": 300,
  "requestTimeoutSecs": 30,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}

Output example

{
  "recordId": "66670819",
  "name": "crawlee",
  "repoFullName": "apify/crawlee",
  "starsCount": 26273,
  "forksCount": 1733,
  "openIssuesCount": 150,
  "languageName": "TypeScript",
  "htmlUrl": "https://github.com/apify/crawlee",
  "mode": "repo",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-27T11:19:49.568076+00:00",
  "error": null
}

The dataset overview table shows recordId, name, repoFullName, starsCount, forksCount so you can scan your results at a glance.

Common use cases

• Open-source research: collect star and fork numbers for the projects you are studying, all in one table.
• Competitor tracking: watch how rival projects grow by running the same list every week.
• Reports and dashboards: export the data to a spreadsheet or BI tool and build charts from it.
• Scheduled snapshots: set up an Apify schedule to keep a history of how your favorite repositories change over time.
• Technology scouting: compare the popularity and main language of several libraries before choosing one for a project.

Tips for better results

• Write each repository exactly as owner/repo. Extra slashes, spaces, or full web links will be reported as an error row.
• Duplicates are skipped, so listing the same repository twice will not create two rows.
• If one repository in your list cannot be found, the rest still finish normally. Check the error column to see what went wrong.
• For very long lists, raise the run timeout so the actor has enough time to reach the end.

Frequently asked questions

Who is this actor for?

Anyone who wants repository numbers in a tidy table. Developers, data analysts, open-source maintainers, and curious researchers all find it handy.

What formats can I download?

JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, HTML, and the other export formats Apify offers for datasets.

How many repositories can I check in one run?

There is no fixed limit in the actor itself. The practical limit is the run timeout, since the actor pauses briefly between requests. If your list is long, increase the run timeout or split it into a few runs.

Can I run it on a schedule?

Yes. Use Apify schedules to run it daily, weekly, or at any interval you like, and each run will add a fresh dataset.

What happens if one repository fails?

The run keeps going. The failed repository gets its own row with a short message in the error column, and every other repository is collected as usual.

Why do some values come back empty?

A field is left empty when no value is available for that repository. For example, a repository with no declared main language will have an empty languageName.

Are the numbers live?

They reflect the latest values at the moment of the run. The scrapedAt column tells you exactly when each row was collected.

Do I need a proxy?

Usually not. The proxy option is there if you need it, and it is switched off by default.

Is web scraping legal?

Collecting openly available information is generally accepted in many places, but how you handle and use that information still matters. Here is how it applies to this actor:

• What it collects: this actor gathers repository facts such as names, star counts, fork counts, open issue counts, languages, and links. It does not collect personal details about individual people.
• Your own data rules: if you combine these results with other datasets that contain personal information, make sure you follow the privacy laws that apply to you, such as GDPR or CCPA.
• Respect for the source: keep your request volume reasonable, use the delay setting, and follow the usage terms of the original data provider and of GitHub.
• Credit and licensing: repository names, descriptions, and project content belong to their owners. Give credit where it is due, and check a project's license before reusing anything beyond the basic numbers.
• Use it responsibly: use the numbers for research, reporting, and analysis, and avoid anything that could harm the projects or their maintainers.

This section is general information only and is not legal advice. If you are unsure about a specific use, it is worth speaking with a qualified lawyer.

To read more, see Apify's guide: Is web scraping legal?