# Techmeme Scraper (`muhammadafzal/techmeme-scraper`) Actor

Scrape public Techmeme pages into structured technology news stories with headlines, publishers, article URLs, summaries, sections, images, and related links.

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

## Pricing

from $1.00 / 1,000 techmeme 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

## Techmeme Scraper

Scrape public Techmeme pages into structured technology news stories for monitoring, daily briefings, trend analysis, and research workflows.

### Extracted fields

`storyId`, `section`, `title`, `sourceName`, `sourceUrl`, `articleUrl`, `summary`, `imageUrl`, `relatedLinks`, `sourcePageUrl`, and `scrapedAt`.

Each dataset item represents one Techmeme story cluster. Publisher names and URLs come from the primary citation; related links are grouped as Techmeme exposes them, such as More, X, LinkedIn, Bluesky, and Forums.

### Input

```json
{ "pageUrl": "https://www.techmeme.com/", "maxResults": 50, "includeRelatedLinks": true }
```

The Actor accepts public Techmeme URLs such as the homepage or `/river`. Set `maxResults` from 1 to 200 and disable `includeRelatedLinks` when you only need primary story fields. It does not scrape article bodies or bypass paywalls.

### Pricing

Pay per event: $0.00005 for the Actor start event plus $0.001 per schema-valid Techmeme story. A 50-story run costs approximately $0.05005 before any platform usage outside the event price.

### Output

Each dataset row represents a story cluster, not a full article. A page with no parseable clusters produces an empty dataset and a `SUMMARY` diagnostic rather than fabricated records. Techmeme's public HTML and terms of use control whether and how the data may be reused; respect publisher rights and rate limits.

### Use cases

- Monitor public articles and build research or alerting datasets.
- 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.

### Run Techmeme 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/techmeme-scraper').call({
  "pageUrl": "https://www.techmeme.com/",
  "maxResults": 50,
  "includeRelatedLinks": true
});
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.

### Reliability and limitations

Public websites and upstream APIs change over time. Start with a small result limit, inspect the dataset and run log, and keep a known-good input for scheduled canary runs. A valid query can return no records when the source has no matches. If a run is blocked, rate-limited, or missing an expected field, reduce concurrency or scope where the input supports it and include the run ID in a support report.

The Actor does not guarantee that every optional field is present on every record. Treat absent values as unavailable from that source response, not as proof that the real-world value does not exist.

### Responsible use

Use this Actor only for data you are authorized to access. Follow the target website's terms, robots and access policies, and applicable privacy, database, copyright, anti-spam, and data-protection laws. Do not use it to bypass authentication or other access controls, collect private data, harass people, or make high-impact decisions without independent verification.

### Frequently asked questions

#### Can I schedule Techmeme 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/techmeme-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

## `pageUrl` (type: `string`):

Use the public Techmeme page to scrape, for example https://www.techmeme.com/ or https://www.techmeme.com/river. Defaults to the homepage.

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

Maximum number of story clusters to return. Use 1 for a small canary; allowed range is 1–200.

## `includeRelatedLinks` (type: `boolean`):

Include Techmeme's grouped More, X, LinkedIn, Bluesky, and Forums links when present.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "pageUrl": "https://www.techmeme.com/",
  "maxResults": 50,
  "includeRelatedLinks": true
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (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 = {
    "pageUrl": "https://www.techmeme.com/"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("muhammadafzal/techmeme-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 = { "pageUrl": "https://www.techmeme.com/" }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("muhammadafzal/techmeme-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 '{
  "pageUrl": "https://www.techmeme.com/"
}' |
apify call muhammadafzal/techmeme-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,muhammadafzal/techmeme-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/kFVhZVR8UuMJhHRIV/builds/GZrK4YhDe0s7mbEKr/openapi.json