# Niconico Video Search & Rankings (`nexgendata/niconico-video-search`) Actor - **URL**: https://apify.com/nexgendata/niconico-video-search.md - **Developed by:** [NexGenData](https://apify.com/nexgendata) (community) - **Categories:** News - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $30.00 / 1,000 items 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 ## 📺 Niconico Video Search & Ranking Scraper — Japan's Homegrown Video Giant **Optional delivery:** Send results straight to your own Notion database or Supabase table in the same run, via Apify's native [MCP connectors](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp-connectors) — the Actor never sees your credentials. One-click connect: [Notion](https://console.apify.com/account/integrations/mcp-connectors/new?serverUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fmcp.notion.com%2Fmcp) or [Supabase](https://console.apify.com/account/integrations/mcp-connectors/new?serverUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fmcp.supabase.com%2Fmcp). Leave blank to get the dataset as usual. Search and rank videos on **Niconico (ニコニコ動画)** — Japan's original, fiercely-loyal video platform, often called "Japan's Bilibili" and the birthplace of Vocaloid, 実況プレイ (let's-play) culture, and the scrolling-comment format YouTube later copied. Pull titles, view counts, comment counts, My-List saves, length, tags, thumbnails, and watch URLs — **no login, no Niconico API key**. This is a corner of the internet most Western scrapers can't reach. YouTube tooling is everywhere; Niconico — where a huge slice of Japanese fandom, music, and gaming culture actually lives — is almost completely untapped outside Japan. If you research JP entertainment, track Vocaloid/anime/gaming trends, scout creators, or build a media dataset, this is signal your competitors don't have. ### 📊 Sample Output [![Niconico video search scraper sample output — Japanese video results with title, view count, comment count, My-List saves and length for media research and trend tracking](https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/8gLgXMBveEI1tTz1z/records/niconico-video-search-sample)](https://apify.com/nexgendata/niconico-video-search?fpr=2ayu9b) Real videos returned by this actor for `{ "mode": "search", "query": "ゲーム", "maxItems": 12 }` — every row below comes straight from a live run: | Title | Views | Comments | My-Lists | Length | |---|---|---|---|---| | 新・豪血寺一族 -煩悩解放 - レッツゴー！陰陽師 | 22,968,162 | 5,670,779 | 183,062 | 5:20 | | 幕末志士達のスマブラ６４実況プレイ | 17,714,612 | 276,096 | 153,230 | 15:10 | | DECO*27 - ゴーストルール feat. 初音ミク | 12,770,162 | 191,222 | 117,232 | 3:26 | | 【マリオ64実況】 奴が来る 伍【幕末志士】 | 11,882,794 | 704,990 | 54,980 | 20:54 | | 東方紅魔郷Ultraモード 2周目突入 Stage1〜4 | 8,890,133 | 113,987 | 150,936 | 16:40 | | 最強の匠は誰か！？…Minecraftをカ… | 7,616,012 | 145,298 | 47,072 | 24:25 | | 幕末志士達のマリオカート６４実況プレイ | 7,478,971 | 87,383 | 53,321 | 18:46 | > Niconico ranks engagement very differently from YouTube: **comment count** and **My-List saves** (the platform's bookmark metric) are the true signals of cult status — a 22M-view video here carries 5.6M comments, the kind of density you never see on Western platforms. ### What you get Per video, a flat, typed record: - **Identity** — `content_id` (e.g. `sm9`), `title`, `description` - **Engagement** — `view_count`, `comment_count`, `mylist_count` (bookmarks), `like_count` - **Format** — `length_seconds`, `posted_at` - **Discovery** — `tags[]` (the rich Japanese tag folksonomy Niconico is famous for) - **Media** — `thumbnail_url`, `video_url` (direct watch link) - **Creator** — `user_id` - **Provenance** — `query`, `scraped_at` ### Sample inputs **1. Search by keyword (most common)** ```json { "mode": "search", "query": "ゲーム", "maxItems": 12 } ```` **2. Most-viewed ranking, scoped to a theme** ```json { "mode": "ranking", "query": "VOCALOID", "maxItems": 30 } ``` **3. Search sorted by My-List saves (find cult favorites)** ```json { "mode": "search", "query": "初音ミク", "sort": "mylist", "maxItems": 50 } ``` ### JSON sample record One representative record, exactly as returned: ```json { "content_id": "sm9", "title": "新・豪血寺一族 -煩悩解放 - レッツゴー！陰陽師", "description": "レッツゴー！陰陽師（フルコーラスバージョン）", "view_count": 22968162, "comment_count": 5670779, "mylist_count": 183062, "like_count": 44165, "length_seconds": 320, "posted_at": "2007-03-06T00:33:00+09:00", "thumbnail_url": "https://nicovideo.cdn.nimg.jp/thumbnails/9/9", "user_id": 4, "tags": ["陰陽師", "公式", "音楽", "ゲーム", "ニコニ国歌"], "video_url": "https://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm9", "query": "ゲーム", "scraped_at": "2026-06-15T04:50:34Z" } ``` ### How it works This actor queries Niconico's public search/ranking endpoints through Apify proxy and parses the structured results directly — `view_count`, `comment_count`, `mylist_count`, `like_count`, length, tags, and watch URL — into one flat record per video. No headless browser, no brittle DOM scraping, no login. Pick `search` for keyword discovery or `ranking` for the most-viewed board, control ordering with `sort` (views / recent / comments / mylist / likes / length), and cap the run with `maxItems` — a hard ceiling, so compute and your bill never outrun what you asked for. ### 🗾 Why this Japanese data is unique Niconico isn't a YouTube clone — it's a parallel media universe that shaped Japanese internet culture. Vocaloid (初音ミク) broke here, the 実況プレイ let's-play format was popularized here, and the platform's scrolling-comment overlay (弾幕) predates and inspired the format used worldwide today. Its tag folksonomy and My-List metric encode fandom signals that **don't exist on Western platforms and aren't surfaced by any English-language tool**. Pulling it in clean, structured, English-readable fields is the edge for anyone studying JP entertainment, music, or gaming. ### ⚖️ Legal & ToS This actor reads **only public Niconico search and ranking results** — the same listings any visitor sees on `nicovideo.jp`, no login required. It collects publicly displayed video metadata (title, counts, tags, thumbnail, URL). It does **not** download video files, access private/members-only content, or touch anything behind authentication. You are responsible for using the output in line with Niconico's terms and your local regulations. ### ❓ FAQ **Q: Do I need a Niconico account or premium membership?** A: No. The actor works entirely off public search and ranking pages — no login, no API key. **Q: What's the difference between `search` and `ranking` mode?** A: `search` finds videos by keyword (Japanese or English). `ranking` returns the most-viewed videos, optionally scoped to a query/genre keyword — leave `query` blank for the overall top. **Q: What is `mylist_count` and why does it matter?** A: My-List is Niconico's bookmark/save feature. A high `mylist_count` signals a video people deliberately kept — often a stronger quality signal than raw views, and unique to this platform. **Q: Can I download the actual video files?** A: No. This actor returns metadata and the public watch URL only — it does not download or rehost video content. **Q: Why did I get fewer videos than `maxItems`?** A: That keyword/ranking simply had fewer matching videos. `maxItems` is a ceiling, not a target — getting fewer is normal, not an error. ### 🔗 Related Actors Pair this with the rest of the NexGenData Asia-video & trend fleet: - [📹 Bilibili Video Search — China's Niconico](https://apify.com/nexgendata/bilibili-video-search?fpr=2ayu9b) — the China counterpart: search and rank Bilibili's video catalog - [🇯🇵 Yahoo! Japan Realtime Trends — Live Buzz Ranking](https://apify.com/nexgendata/yahoo-japan-realtime-trends?fpr=2ayu9b) — what Japan is searching for right now - [💬 5ch Thread Tracker — Japan's Biggest Forum](https://apify.com/nexgendata/5ch-thread-tracker?fpr=2ayu9b) — track threads and posts on Japan's most influential board - 🏢 **About NexGenData** — we maintain 260+ production Apify actors for lead-gen, competitive intelligence, and hard-to-reach web data. Browse the full catalog at [apify.com/nexgendata](https://apify.com/nexgendata?fpr=2ayu9b). ### 💰 Pricing example This actor uses **Pay-Per-Event** pricing — you only pay for videos that actually land in your dataset: - **Actor start:** $0.005 - **Per item:** $0.03 A **12-video search = $0.005 + (12 × $0.03) = $0.365**. A 100-video deep pull = $0.005 + (100 × $0.03) = $3.005. No monthly minimum, no seats, no surprise overage bills. *** ### ⭐ Found this useful? If this actor opened up Japan's video catalog for you, a quick **[review on the Apify Store](https://apify.com/nexgendata/niconico-video-search?fpr=2ayu9b)** helps other teams discover it. Feature request or bug? Open it from the **Issues** tab — we read every one. # Actor input Schema ## `mode` (type: `string`): search = find videos by keyword. ranking = return Japan's most-viewed videos (optionally scoped to a query/genre keyword). ## `query` (type: `string`): Keyword to search on Niconico (Japanese or English). Required for search mode; optional for ranking mode (leave blank for the overall top videos). ## `sort` (type: `string`): Sort order for search mode. Ranking mode always sorts by views. ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Hard cap on the number of videos returned. ## `notionConnector` (type: `string`): Optional. Connect your Notion workspace and the results are also written as a Notion page in the same run — the Actor never sees your Notion credentials. Authorize a Notion MCP connector in Apify Console → Settings → API & Integrations, then select it here. ## `notionParentId` (type: `string`): Optional. The Notion page ID to create the page under. If blank, Notion creates a private page in your workspace. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Optional Apify proxy configuration. The Snapshot API is open, but a proxy helps avoid rate limits on large runs. ## `supabaseConnector` (type: `string`): Optional. Connect your own Supabase project and the results are also inserted into a table in the same run — the Actor never sees your Supabase credentials. Authorize a write-scoped, project-scoped Supabase MCP connector in Apify Console (Settings -> Integrations), then select it here. ## `supabaseTable` (type: `string`): Target table in the public schema (created if missing, with id, a jsonb data column, and a scraped\_at timestamp). Default: nexgendata\_leads. ## `supabaseProjectId` (type: `string`): Your Supabase project reference (e.g. abcdefghijklmnop). Required unless your connector URL is already project-scoped. Find it in your project URL: supabase.com/dashboard/project/THIS\_PART. ## `deliveryDedup` (type: `boolean`): When on (default), records already delivered in a previous run are not delivered again to the same destination — so scheduled runs only push new items. Turn off to deliver every record on every run. ## Actor input object example ```json { "mode": "search", "query": "ゲーム", "sort": "views", "maxItems": 30, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true }, "supabaseTable": "nexgendata_leads", "deliveryDedup": true } ``` # 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 = { "mode": "search", "query": "ゲーム", "sort": "views", "maxItems": 30, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true } }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("nexgendata/niconico-video-search").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 = { "mode": "search", "query": "ゲーム", "sort": "views", "maxItems": 30, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True }, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("nexgendata/niconico-video-search").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 '{ "mode": "search", "query": "ゲーム", "sort": "views", "maxItems": 30, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true } }' | apify call nexgendata/niconico-video-search --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=nexgendata/niconico-video-search", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Niconico Video Search & Rankings", "version": "0.0", "x-build-id": "rIdJ6HuSHPFbc1EAA" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/nexgendata~niconico-video-search/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-nexgendata-niconico-video-search", "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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/nexgendata~niconico-video-search/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-nexgendata-niconico-video-search", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/nexgendata~niconico-video-search/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-nexgendata-niconico-video-search", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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", "properties": { "mode": { "title": "Mode", "enum": [ "search", "ranking" ], "type": "string", "description": "search = find videos by keyword. ranking = return Japan's most-viewed videos (optionally scoped to a query/genre keyword).", "default": "search" }, "query": { "title": "Query / keyword", "type": "string", "description": "Keyword to search on Niconico (Japanese or English). Required for search mode; optional for ranking mode (leave blank for the overall top videos)." }, "sort": { "title": "Sort by", "enum": [ "views", "recent", "comments", "mylist", "likes", "length" ], "type": "string", "description": "Sort order for search mode. Ranking mode always sorts by views.", "default": "views" }, "maxItems": { "title": "Max results", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 500, "type": "integer", "description": "Hard cap on the number of videos returned.", "default": 30 }, "notionConnector": { "title": "Deliver to Notion (optional)", "type": "string", "description": "Optional. Connect your Notion workspace and the results are also written as a Notion page in the same run — the Actor never sees your Notion credentials. Authorize a Notion MCP connector in Apify Console → Settings → API & Integrations, then select it here." }, "notionParentId": { "title": "Notion parent page ID (optional)", "type": "string", "description": "Optional. The Notion page ID to create the page under. If blank, Notion creates a private page in your workspace." }, "proxyConfiguration": { "title": "Proxy configuration", "type": "object", "description": "Optional Apify proxy configuration. The Snapshot API is open, but a proxy helps avoid rate limits on large runs.", "default": { "useApifyProxy": true } }, "supabaseConnector": { "title": "Deliver to Supabase (optional)", "type": "string", "description": "Optional. Connect your own Supabase project and the results are also inserted into a table in the same run — the Actor never sees your Supabase credentials. Authorize a write-scoped, project-scoped Supabase MCP connector in Apify Console (Settings -> Integrations), then select it here." }, "supabaseTable": { "title": "Supabase table name (optional)", "type": "string", "description": "Target table in the public schema (created if missing, with id, a jsonb data column, and a scraped_at timestamp). Default: nexgendata_leads.", "default": "nexgendata_leads" }, "supabaseProjectId": { "title": "Supabase project ID (optional)", "type": "string", "description": "Your Supabase project reference (e.g. abcdefghijklmnop). Required unless your connector URL is already project-scoped. Find it in your project URL: supabase.com/dashboard/project/THIS_PART." }, "deliveryDedup": { "title": "Deduplicate deliveries across runs", "type": "boolean", "description": "When on (default), records already delivered in a previous run are not delivered again to the same destination — so scheduled runs only push new items. Turn off to deliver every record on every run.", "default": true } } }, "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```