# Lobsters Scraper - Developer News & Stories Extractor (`klondikeking/lobsters-scraper`) Actor Extract stories, votes, comments, and metadata from the Lobsters developer news community. Clean JSON API — no proxy needed. - **URL**: https://apify.com/klondikeking/lobsters-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Pierrick McD0nald](https://apify.com/klondikeking) (community) - **Categories:** Developer tools, Social media - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing $1.00 / 1,000 story scrapeds 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 ## Lobsters Scraper — Developer News Stories & Discussions Extract stories, votes, comments, tags, and metadata from [Lobsters](https://lobste.rs), a computing-focused community centered around link aggregation and discussion. This Actor lets you monitor trending developer topics, track engagement metrics, and analyze the content that matters to the programming community. ### Use Cases - **Trend Monitoring** — Track which technologies and topics gain traction among developers over time - **Content Curation** — Build curated newsletters or feeds from Lobsters front-page stories - **Competitive Analysis** — Monitor discussions around your product, framework, or technology - **Research** — Analyze engagement patterns (votes vs. comments) across different domains and tags - **SEO & Content Strategy** — Identify high-performing domains and story types in the developer space ### Input | Field | Type | Required | Description | |-------|------|----------|-------------| | `startUrls` | Array | Yes | Lobsters URLs to scrape (e.g., `https://lobste.rs/`, `https://lobste.rs/active`) | | `maxItems` | Number | No | Maximum stories to extract. Default: 100. Use 0 for unlimited. | | `maxPages` | Number | No | Maximum pages to crawl. Default: 5. Use 0 for unlimited. | | `proxyConfiguration` | Object | No | Proxy configuration. Recommended for production. | ### Output The Actor outputs a dataset with the following fields for each story: ```json { "id": "wskhre", "title": "linux 0-day, access root-owned files as an unprivileged user", "url": "https://github.com/0xdeadbeefnetwork/ssh-keysign-pwn/", "votes": 61, "commentsCount": 25, "tags": ["linux", "security"], "domain": "github.com/0xdeadbeefnetwork", "author": "dzwdz", "publishedAt": "2026-05-14 20:14:21", "hasDescription": false, "lobstersUrl": "https://lobste.rs/s/wskhre" } ```` #### Field Descriptions - **id** — Short story identifier - **title** — Story headline - **url** — Link to the external or internal resource - **votes** — Number of upvotes received - **commentsCount** — Number of comments in the discussion - **tags** — Array of topic tags assigned to the story - **domain** — Source domain (e.g., `github.com`) - **author** — Username of the submitter - **publishedAt** — ISO-formatted submission timestamp - **hasDescription** — Whether the story includes a text description - **lobstersUrl** — Direct link to the story page on Lobsters ### Pricing Pay per event: **$0.001 per story scraped**. No monthly subscription. You only pay for the stories extracted. Perfect for one-off research or scheduled monitoring. ### Limitations - Lobsters does not require authentication for front-page content - Rate limiting is handled with automatic retries (3 attempts) - Internal Lobsters discussion links (`/s/...`) are returned as-is in the `url` field - Story descriptions (text body) are not extracted; only metadata and engagement metrics ### FAQ **Q: Can I scrape user profiles or comments?** A: This Actor focuses on front-page story listings. Comment extraction is not supported in this version. **Q: Do I need a Lobsters account?** A: No. All data is publicly available without authentication. **Q: What happens if I hit a rate limit?** A: The Actor automatically retries failed requests up to 3 times with exponential backoff. ### Changelog - **v1.0.0** — Initial release. Story metadata extraction with pagination, tags, votes, and comments count. # Actor input Schema ## `startUrls` (type: `array`): Lobsters URLs to scrape. Defaults to the front page. ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of stories to extract. Use 0 for unlimited. ## `maxPages` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of pages to crawl. Use 0 for unlimited. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Proxy settings for requests. Recommended for production use. ## Actor input object example ```json { "startUrls": [ "https://lobste.rs/" ], "maxItems": 100, "maxPages": 5, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true } } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `stories` (type: `string`): No description ## `stats` (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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "startUrls": [ "https://lobste.rs/" ], "maxItems": 100, "maxPages": 5, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true } }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("klondikeking/lobsters-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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "startUrls": ["https://lobste.rs/"], "maxItems": 100, "maxPages": 5, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True }, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("klondikeking/lobsters-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 '{ "startUrls": [ "https://lobste.rs/" ], "maxItems": 100, "maxPages": 5, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true } }' | apify call klondikeking/lobsters-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=klondikeking/lobsters-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Lobsters Scraper - Developer News & Stories Extractor", "description": "Extract stories, votes, comments, and metadata from the Lobsters developer news community. Clean JSON API — no proxy needed.", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "pWeRWnwIQtjrajeer" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/klondikeking~lobsters-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-klondikeking-lobsters-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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/klondikeking~lobsters-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-klondikeking-lobsters-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/klondikeking~lobsters-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-klondikeking-lobsters-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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", "required": [ "startUrls" ], "properties": { "startUrls": { "title": "Start URLs", "type": "array", "description": "Lobsters URLs to scrape. Defaults to the front page.", "default": [ "https://lobste.rs/" ], "items": { "type": "string" } }, "maxItems": { "title": "Max Stories", "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of stories to extract. Use 0 for unlimited.", "default": 100 }, "maxPages": { "title": "Max Pages", "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of pages to crawl. Use 0 for unlimited.", "default": 5 }, "proxyConfiguration": { "title": "Proxy Configuration", "type": "object", "description": "Proxy settings for requests. Recommended for production use." } } }, "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```