# Slashdot Scraper (`muhammadafzal/slashdot-scraper`) Actor

Scrape public Slashdot stories from section feeds, archive searches, and direct story URLs, including titles, summaries, sources, authors, topics, timestamps, and comment counts.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/muhammadafzal/slashdot-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Muhammad Afzal](https://apify.com/muhammadafzal) (community)
- **Categories:** Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $5.00 / 1,000 slashdot stories

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — 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

## Slashdot Scraper

Scrape public Slashdot section pages, archive searches, and direct story URLs into structured story records.

### Extracted fields

Each record includes the Slashdot story ID, title, story URL, linked source URL/domain, Slashdot author, posted time, department, topic, comment count, visible summary/body, tags, input section/keyword, and scrape timestamp.

### Input examples

```json
{
  "startUrls": [{ "url": "https://tech.slashdot.org/" }],
  "maxResults": 25,
  "maxPages": 3
}
```

For a section feed, omit `startUrls` and set `sections` to values such as `tech`, `news`, `yro`, or `science`. For the public story archive, use `searchKeywords`, for example `["artificial intelligence"]`. Direct `slashdot.org/story/...` URLs are supported.

### Pricing

| Event | Price |
| --- | ---: |
| Actor start | $0.00005 |
| Slashdot story | $0.005 per unique story record |

A 25-story run costs up to about $0.12505 in event charges, excluding any platform usage or proxy costs that may apply to the account.

### Reliability and limits

The Actor uses direct public HTML with bounded concurrency, retries, page limits, and a configurable delay. It does not bypass login walls, CAPTCHAs, or access controls. An empty result is reported as an empty run, while request failures are included in the `OUTPUT` key-value record and terminal status.

### Compliance

Use this Actor only with public pages and in accordance with Slashdot's terms, robots guidance, and applicable law. Review source-site rights before storing or republishing article text.

### Use cases

- Run a one-off research job and export the structured result as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, or RSS from Apify.
- Schedule the same input to monitor changes over time and send completed datasets to a webhook or integration.
- Feed schema-shaped records into a database, spreadsheet, BI tool, or AI workflow with the source URL retained for verification.

### Output example

```json
{
  "storyId": "185056314",
  "title": "Amazon's Drones Will Soon Deliver to Nearly 500 US Cities and Towns",
  "url": "https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/08/19/1950233/example",
  "sourceUrl": "https://example.com/article",
  "sourceDomain": "example.com",
  "author": "BeauHD",
  "postedAt": "on Wednesday August 19, 2026 @05:00PM",
  "department": "air-drop",
  "topic": "Transportation",
  "commentCount": 32,
  "summary": "Slashdot's visible story summary.",
  "storyBody": "Slashdot's visible story body when enabled."
}
```

The exact fields depend on the selected input and what the public source exposes. Use the dataset schema as the machine-readable contract and retain source URLs for verification.

### Run Slashdot Scraper with the Apify API

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('muhammadafzal/slashdot-scraper').call({
  "startUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://tech.slashdot.org/"
    }
  ],
  "sections": [
    "tech"
  ],
  "maxResults": 50,
  "maxPages": 5,
  "includeStoryBody": true,
  "requestDelayMs": 350
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);
```

You can also run the Actor from Apify Console, schedules, webhooks, the REST API, Make, Zapier, n8n, or the hosted Apify MCP server.

### Frequently asked questions

#### Can I schedule Slashdot Scraper?

Yes. Use an Apify schedule to run the same saved input at a chosen interval, then connect a webhook or integration to process the dataset when the run finishes.

#### How should I test a new input?

Begin with the prefilled example or a small limit. Confirm that the output fields, source coverage, runtime, and live charges match your workflow before increasing the scope.

#### How do I export the results?

Open the run's default dataset in Apify Console and export JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, or RSS. Applications can retrieve the same records through the Apify API client or REST dataset endpoint.

#### Can an AI agent call this Actor?

Yes. Add `muhammadafzal/slashdot-scraper` through the hosted Apify MCP server or call it through the API. The Actor's input and dataset schemas help agents construct valid requests and interpret returned records.

### Recommended workflow

1. **Define the smallest useful scope.** Choose a representative public URL, query, identifier, or filter and keep the first result limit low.
2. **Run and inspect.** Check the run log, dataset item count, field coverage, source URLs, and live event or usage charges.
3. **Validate downstream assumptions.** Confirm nullable fields, deduplication keys, timestamps, and any locale-specific formats before importing records into another system.
4. **Scale gradually.** Increase limits or scheduling frequency only after the small run behaves as expected. Use Apify's maximum-cost and timeout controls to bound large jobs.
5. **Monitor changes.** Keep a small known-good input as a canary. If the source layout or API changes, compare the new dataset with a previously validated run and report the run ID when requesting support.

For recurring workflows, store the exact Actor input with your pipeline configuration. This makes runs reproducible and helps distinguish a source-data change from an input change.

# Actor input Schema

## `startUrls` (type: `array`):

Optional public slashdot.org, tech.slashdot.org, news.slashdot.org, or other Slashdot section/story URLs. Example: https://tech.slashdot.org/.

## `sections` (type: `array`):

Optional section subdomains used when startUrls is empty. Examples: tech, news, yro, science, or askslashdot. Defaults to tech.

## `searchKeywords` (type: `array`):

Optional terms searched in Slashdot's public story archive when startUrls is empty. Example: artificial intelligence.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Maximum unique story records to write to the default dataset. Default 50; maximum 500.

## `maxPages` (type: `integer`):

Maximum public Slashdot pages to visit, including pagination. Default 5; maximum 50.

## `includeStoryBody` (type: `boolean`):

Include the visible Slashdot story summary/body in each record. Disable for smaller output.

## `requestDelayMs` (type: `integer`):

Delay between page requests to keep the public scrape bounded. Default 350 ms; range 0–5000.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "startUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://tech.slashdot.org/"
    }
  ],
  "sections": [
    "tech"
  ],
  "maxResults": 50,
  "maxPages": 5,
  "includeStoryBody": true,
  "requestDelayMs": 350
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `summary` (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 = {
    "startUrls": [
        {
            "url": "https://tech.slashdot.org/"
        }
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("muhammadafzal/slashdot-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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "startUrls": [{ "url": "https://tech.slashdot.org/" }] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("muhammadafzal/slashdot-scraper").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 '{
  "startUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://tech.slashdot.org/"
    }
  ]
}' |
apify call muhammadafzal/slashdot-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,muhammadafzal/slashdot-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

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/z1wGj0stYu8hcjF0z/builds/Bio4snxDM8f5qSAal/openapi.json