GitHub Discussions Scraper

💬 Turn GitHub Discussions into usable data

Support teams, developer advocates, and product researchers can collect public GitHub Discussions in a structured dataset. Each saved row includes the discussion text, repository context, author, activity times, comments, and source links. It also includes categories, labels, reactions, and replies when GitHub exposes them. Use the data to review community questions, track product feedback, and build a searchable support or research workflow.

Use cases

• Build a structured feed with GitHub Discussions Data for support or product research.
• Use Scrape GitHub Discussions to collect public discussion pages from a repository or organization.
• Run a GitHub Discussions Scraper to save discussion text, authors, categories, and comments.
• Use GitHub Discussion Scraper when you need one public discussion URL in a dataset.
• Collect recurring community questions with GitHub Discussions and review their activity and replies.

📦 One row for each public discussion

Returned data

The Actor saves one normalized dataset row for each eligible public GitHub discussion. Every row keeps a stable discussionId, the canonical discussionUrl, and the submitted sourceUrl. Text is available as body, with rendered HTML in bodyHtml. Public author, repository, date, answer, category, label, reaction, comment, and reply data follow the output schema when GitHub exposes them.

🔎 Find public GitHub discussions

How it works

Choose one target for each run: organization discussions, repository discussions, or individual discussion URLs. Add one or more public URLs in that target's field. The Actor reads public GitHub discussion pages and saves one row for each eligible discussion. Category, latest activity, and order settings apply to organization and repository discovery. A direct discussion URL is useful when you need one known page.

Start with one URL and a small maxItems value to check the source. Use category or latestActivityAfter to narrow an index run. Leave maxItems empty to return all available results until the source is exhausted. Use discussionId and discussionUrl to join data across runs, and keep sourceUrl to trace each row to its submitted URL.

⚙️ Input

Choose one target for each run. Add URLs only in its matching list. URLs in other target sections are ignored. category, latestActivityAfter, and sortOrder apply only to organization and repository discovery. maxItems limits the discussions saved. Leave it empty to return all available results until the source is exhausted.

Input fields

Field	Type	What it does
target	Select	Chooses Organization discussions, Repository discussions, or Individual discussion URLs for this run.
organizationUrls	URL list	Adds public GitHub organization discussion index URLs when target is organization.
organizationUrls[].url	URL	A public HTTPS URL for an organization's GitHub Discussions index.
repositoryUrls	URL list	Adds public GitHub repository discussion index URLs when target is repository.
repositoryUrls[].url	URL	A public HTTPS URL for a repository's GitHub Discussions index.
discussionUrls	URL list	Adds public GitHub discussion URLs when target is discussion.
discussionUrls[].url	URL	A public HTTPS URL for one GitHub discussion.
category	String	Keeps one GitHub Discussions category during organization or repository discovery. Leave it empty to include all categories.
latestActivityAfter	UTC date string	Keeps discussions whose latest activity is on or after this date during organization or repository discovery. Leave it empty to include all dates.
sortOrder	Select	Orders organization and repository lists by latest activity, top, newest, or oldest.
maxItems	Integer	Stops after this many discussions. Leave it empty to return all available results until the source is exhausted.

Example input

This input came from a successful run:

{
  "target": "discussion",
  "discussionUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/184710"
    }
  ],
  "sortOrder": "latest",
  "maxItems": 20
}

🧾 Output

Dataset output

The dataset output links to the Apify dataset overview. Each dataset row uses the same discussion shape for organization, repository, and direct discussion URLs. isAnswered and category appear when GitHub exposes them. Arrays such as labels, reactions, and comments can be empty.

Run output

Field	Type	What it does
dataset	URL	Links to the dataset with one row for each public GitHub discussion.

Discussion row fields

Field	Type	What it does
discussionId	String	Stable ID for the discussion.
discussionUrl	URL	Canonical public URL for the discussion.
sourceUrl	URL	Submitted URL that led to this discussion row.
title	String	Discussion title.
body	String	Plain text body of the discussion.
bodyHtml	HTML string	Rendered HTML body of the discussion.
owner	String	GitHub user or organization that owns the repository.
repository	Object	Repository that contains the discussion.
repository.name	String	Short repository name.
repository.fullName	String	Repository name with its owner.
repository.url	URL	Public URL for the repository.
number	Integer	Discussion number in its repository.
author	Object	Public author of the discussion.
author.login	String	GitHub login of the discussion author.
author.profileUrl	URL	Public profile URL for the discussion author, when available.
createdAt	Date-time string	Time when the discussion was created.
lastActivityAt	Date-time string	Time of the latest public activity.
isAnswered	Boolean	Whether GitHub marks the discussion answered, when publicly exposed.
category	String	Discussion category, when publicly exposed.
labels	String array	Labels assigned to the discussion.
reactions	Object array	Reaction counts shown on the discussion.
reactions[].type	String	Reaction type name.
reactions[].count	Integer	Number of reactions of that type.
commentCount	Integer	Number of publicly rendered comments.
comments	Object array	Public comments and their nested replies.
comments[].url	URL	Public URL for the comment.
comments[].author	Object	Public author of the comment.
comments[].author.login	String	GitHub login of the comment author.
comments[].author.profileUrl	URL	Public profile URL for the comment author, when available.
comments[].body	String	Plain text body of the comment, when available.
comments[].bodyHtml	HTML string	Rendered HTML body of the comment, when available.
comments[].createdAt	Date-time string	Time when the comment was created.
comments[].replies	Object array	Replies nested under the comment.
comments[].replies[].url	URL	Public URL for a reply.
comments[].replies[].author	Object	Public author of the reply.
comments[].replies[].author.login	String	GitHub login of the reply author.
comments[].replies[].author.profileUrl	URL	Public profile URL for the reply author, when available.
comments[].replies[].body	String	Plain text body of the reply, when available.
comments[].replies[].bodyHtml	HTML string	Rendered HTML body of the reply, when available.
comments[].replies[].createdAt	Date-time string	Time when the reply was created.
comments[].replies[].replies	Object array	Further nested replies with the same comment fields.

Example discussion row

This is a complete row from a successful current-beta repository run.

{
  "discussionId": "nodejs/nodejs.org#7145",
  "discussionUrl": "https://github.com/nodejs/nodejs.org/discussions/7145",
  "sourceUrl": "https://github.com/nodejs/nodejs.org/discussions",
  "title": "change name of next.something and next-data",
  "body": "I don't think these names are 100% right. Because 95% of them are server side code, but not specific to nextjs. For example, it could be integrated with remix or fatsify. So I think we could review the appointment of the rosters and the structure they are in.",
  "bodyHtml": "<p dir=\"auto\">I don&apos;t think these names are 100% right.</p> <p dir=\"auto\">Because 95% of them are server side code, but not specific to nextjs. For example, it could be integrated with remix or fatsify.</p> <p dir=\"auto\">So I think we could review the appointment of the rosters and the structure they are in.</p>",
  "owner": "nodejs",
  "repository": {
    "name": "nodejs.org",
    "fullName": "nodejs/nodejs.org",
    "url": "https://github.com/nodejs/nodejs.org"
  },
  "number": 7145,
  "author": {
    "login": "AugustinMauroy",
    "profileUrl": "https://github.com/AugustinMauroy"
  },
  "createdAt": "2024-10-26T09:47:18Z",
  "lastActivityAt": "2025-08-22T00:00:59.000Z",
  "category": "Ideas",
  "labels": [],
  "reactions": [
    {
      "type": "heart",
      "count": 2
    }
  ],
  "commentCount": 2,
  "comments": [
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/nodejs/nodejs.org/discussions/7145#discussioncomment-11328103",
      "author": {
        "login": "ovflowd",
        "profileUrl": "https://github.com/ovflowd"
      },
      "body": "I'm +1 renaming these. We could call them engine.XXX (for next.XXX) and server-data for (next-data)",
      "bodyHtml": "<p dir=\"auto\">I&apos;m +1 renaming these.</p> <p dir=\"auto\">We could call them <code class=\"notranslate\">engine.XXX</code> (for <code class=\"notranslate\">next.XXX</code>) and <code class=\"notranslate\">server-data</code> for (<code class=\"notranslate\">next-data</code>)</p>",
      "createdAt": "2024-11-20T19:50:48Z",
      "replies": [
        {
          "url": "https://github.com/nodejs/nodejs.org/discussions/7145#discussioncomment-11328666",
          "author": {
            "login": "AugustinMauroy",
            "profileUrl": "https://github.com/AugustinMauroy"
          },
          "body": "What's done quite a bit too, but that's up to the devs, is to put all that in a lib directory, for example, which is what next.js offers for setting up prisma.",
          "bodyHtml": "<p dir=\"auto\">What&apos;s done quite a bit too, but that&apos;s up to the devs, is to put all that in a <code class=\"notranslate\">lib</code> directory, for example, which is what next.js offers for setting up prisma.</p>",
          "createdAt": "2024-11-20T21:03:24Z",
          "replies": []
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

💳 Pricing

Pay per saved discussion

This Actor uses pay-per-event pricing. The primary event is charged once for each public discussion saved to the dataset. The active per-discussion price is shown in Apify Console. Use maxItems and the discovery filters to control how many discussions you ask for.

🔌 Integrations

Use the dataset in your workflow

Open the dataset output after a run, or use the Apify API to read the structured discussion rows in your workflow.

❓ FAQ

Can I use an organization, repository, or direct discussion URL?

Yes. Choose the matching target and add one or more public GitHub URLs. Organization and repository targets use discussion index URLs. The discussion target uses individual discussion URLs.

Does this collect GitHub issues or GitLab discussions?

No. This Actor collects public GitHub Discussions. It does not collect GitHub issues or GitLab discussions.

Can I mix target types in one run?

No. Choose one target for each run. URLs in the other target sections are ignored.

Do I need a GitHub login or token?

No. The Actor is for public GitHub discussion pages that can be viewed without a customer login.

Which filters work with index URLs?

category, latestActivityAfter, and sortOrder apply to organization and repository discovery. A category keeps one category, a date keeps discussions with activity on or after that date, and order chooses latest activity, top, newest, or oldest.

What does leaving maxItems empty do?

It returns all available results until the source is exhausted. Use a number when you want to stop after a set number of discussions.

Are comments and replies included?

The output includes comments and nested reply fields. Comments, replies, and their public author data appear when GitHub renders them on the discussion page.

What if a discussion has no comments or reactions?

The row still includes the discussion fields, and the related arrays can be empty. Optional public fields such as category or isAnswered appear when GitHub exposes them.

How do I connect rows from different runs?

Use the stable discussionId or canonical discussionUrl as the discussion key. Keep sourceUrl when you also need to know which submitted URL led to the row.

📝 Changelog

0.0: Initial release

🆘 Support

For issues, questions, or feature requests, file a ticket and I'll fix or implement it in less than 24h 🫡

🔗 Related Actors

• GitHub Release. Review release notes, tags, assets, and change signals for the same repositories.
• GitHub Security Advisories Scraper. Export advisory records and affected packages alongside community feedback.
• Reddit Comments Search Scraper. Search public Reddit comments for related questions and product feedback.
• Claude Code Help Channel Aggregator. Group GitHub Discussions and Reddit questions into recurring support themes.
• Topic Radar. Track related topics across GitHub and other public developer sources.

Made with ❤️ by Maxime Dupré