GitHub Trending Repos Scraper

GitHub Trending Repos Scraper

Scrape GitHub Trending repositories by language, time period, and spoken language, up to 25 per run. Each repo comes with its name, description, stars, forks, and today's stars. No API key or login. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

GitHub Trending shows the repositories gaining the most stars today, this week, or this month. This Actor reads that public page directly, so you skip the GitHub API's rate limits and authentication. Filter by programming language or spoken language, and get each trending repo as a flat row.

Who uses it	What they scrape GitHub Trending for
Developers	Discover which open source projects are gaining traction in their language
Tech recruiters	Spot rising repositories and the teams behind them
Market researchers	Track which tools and frameworks are trending week over week
Content creators	Find fresh open source projects to feature in newsletters or videos

What it does

This Actor collects trending repositories from GitHub Trending and returns each one as a flat row with its name, description, stars, forks, and today's stars.

• 🔤 Language filter: narrow to a programming language like python, javascript, or rust.
• ⏱️ Time period: choose daily, weekly, or monthly trending.
• 🌐 Spoken language: filter by human language code like en, zh, or es.
• 📦 Flat output: each repository is one row, ready for CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

What you can do with GitHub Trending data

📈 Track weekly trends.

A developer runs the Actor weekly for python to see which libraries are gaining stars, then decides what to learn next.

🔍 Monitor competitor projects.

A product manager scrapes trending repos in their domain monthly to spot new open source competitors.

📰 Curate a newsletter.

A content creator collects daily trending repos across all languages and picks the most interesting for their audience.

🧑‍💼 Source candidates.

A tech recruiter scrapes trending repos in a niche language to find active maintainers to approach.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
No API key	Reads the public GitHub Trending page, so no authentication or rate limits
Fixed schema	Every repo returns the same fields, so downstream processing is predictable
Flexible filters	Combine language, time period, and spoken language to target exactly what you need
Export anywhere	Save results as CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML for your workflow

How it compares

No other Store actor targets GitHub Trending the same way, so the honest comparison is with the alternatives teams actually weigh.

	GitHub Trending Repos Scraper	Build it in-house	By hand
Setup	Run it now, zero config	Days of engineering	None, but hours per pull
When GitHub Trending changes	Maintained for you	You fix it	You re-learn the page
Proxies, retries, anti-bot	Built in	Your problem	Browser only
Output	Fixed JSON schema, CSV/Excel export	Whatever you build	Copy-paste
Cost	Pay per result	Engineering time	Analyst hours

Configure the run

Set a maximum number of repositories, then filter by programming language, time period, and spoken language. Filters run before results are saved, so only matching repos reach your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

{
  "maxItems": 10
}

A larger pull:

{
  "maxItems": 200
}

Pricing

Pay-per-result: $0.011 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

Results collected	Approximate cost
100 results	$1.10
1,000 results	$11.00
10,000 results	$110.00

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. Upgrade your Apify plan to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

Run it

1. Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit.
2. Open the GitHub Trending Repos Scraper.
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click Start.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the Dataset tab.

Run it programmatically through the Apify API (run-sync-get-dataset-items) or the ApifyClient for JavaScript and Python.

Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to GitHub Trending through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

$claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=parseforge/github-trending-scraper"

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

Troubleshooting

Why am I getting no results?

Check your filters. If you set a language or spoken language that has no trending repos for the selected time period, the result will be empty. Try clearing the filters or choosing a broader time period.

Why did I get fewer results than my maxItems?

GitHub Trending only shows a limited number of repositories per page. If there are fewer trending repos than your maxItems, you will get all available ones.

Why is the language filter not working?

Make sure you use the correct language slug, like 'javascript' not 'JavaScript'. You can find the slug in the GitHub Trending URL when you filter on the website.

Can I scrape more than 25 repositories?

No. The Actor is limited to 25 repositories per run because GitHub Trending only shows a limited number. For more, consider using the GitHub API or a different scraper.

FAQ

Question	Answer
Do I need a GitHub API token?	No. This Actor reads the public GitHub Trending page directly, so no authentication or API key is required.
How many repositories can I scrape per run?	You can set a maximum of up to 25 repositories per run. The default is 10.
Can I filter by programming language?	Yes. Use the language field with a slug like 'python', 'javascript', or 'rust'. Leave it empty for all languages.
What time periods are supported?	You can choose daily, weekly, or monthly trending. The default is daily.
Can I filter by spoken language?	Yes. Use the spoken language code like 'en' for English or 'zh' for Chinese. Leave it empty for all languages.
What data does each repository include?	Each row includes the repository name, description, total stars, forks, and stars gained today.
What formats can I export to?	You can export results as CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.
Is this Actor free to use?	The Actor itself is free to run on the Apify platform. You only pay for Apify platform usage if you exceed the free tier.
Can I schedule this Actor to run automatically?	Yes. You can set up a schedule in Apify to run it daily, weekly, or monthly.
Does this Actor handle pagination?	GitHub Trending shows a limited number of repos per page. This Actor collects up to the maximum you set, which is 25.

Related actors

Browse the full ParseForge collection for more scrapers.

🆘 Need help? Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ Disclaimer. This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by GitHub, Inc. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.