Mastodon Profile Scraper

Mastodon Profile Scraper

Scrape Mastodon profile data from any server, up to 100 profiles per run. Get display names, bios, follower counts, and account metadata in a clean, flat dataset. No API key or authentication required. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

Mastodon's federated API requires per-server registration and rate limits that slow down bulk data collection. This actor reads public profile pages directly from any Mastodon instance, so you can pull account details without signing up for each server. Feed it a list of profile URLs and it returns a structured row for every account found.

Who uses it	What they scrape Mastodon for
Social media researchers	Cataloging Mastodon account metadata across different instances for a study.
Community managers	Auditing follower counts and bio changes for a list of accounts they track.
OSINT analysts	Gathering public profile details from Mastodon to map an individual's online presence.
Journalists	Verifying the account details and network size of sources who use Mastodon.

What it does

This Actor collects Mastodon profile information from a list of profile URLs and returns each account's public details as a flat row.

• 📋 Bulk profile scraping: Provide a list of Mastodon profile URLs and collect their public data in one run.
• 🔗 Cross-instance support: Works with any Mastodon server, from mastodon.social to small self-hosted communities.
• 📊 Structured output: Each profile returns as a single row with consistent columns, ready for analysis.

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

What you can do with Mastodon data

📈 Track account growth over time.

A community manager runs the scraper weekly on a list of 50 Mastodon profiles to monitor follower count changes and spot influential accounts.

🔍 Build a Mastodon directory.

A researcher feeds the actor hundreds of profile URLs from different servers to compile a searchable database of accounts by bio keywords and fields.

🛡️ Verify account authenticity.

An OSINT analyst scrapes a target profile's creation date, follower count, and bio links to assess whether an account is genuine or a sockpuppet.

📰 Source background checks.

A journalist scrapes a Mastodon profile before an interview to confirm the person's stated role, affiliations, and posting history metadata.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
No per-server API keys	Scrape profiles from any Mastodon instance without registering an application on each one.
Flat, predictable schema	Every profile, regardless of server, returns the same fields so you can merge datasets.
Respects public data	Reads only the information visible on a public Mastodon profile page.

How it compares

This actor focuses on extracting raw profile data from Mastodon, while Video 2 Social Post is an AI repurposing API that generates social copy from videos for multiple platforms, including Mastodon.

Feature	ParseForge	Video 2 Social Post
Scrapes Mastodon profile metadata	Yes	Not listed
No API key required for Mastodon	Yes	Not listed
Bulk profile URL input	Yes	Not listed
Exports to CSV, JSON, Excel, XML	Yes	Not listed
Generates social media post copy	No	Yes

Configure the run

Drive the Actor with a list of Mastodon profile URLs. The maximum profiles setting caps how many accounts are processed from your list in a single run. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

{
  "profileUrls": [
    "https://mastodon.social/@Gargron"
  ]
}

A larger pull:

{
  "profileUrls": [
    "https://mastodon.social/@Gargron"
  ],
  "maxItems": 200
}

Pricing

Pay-per-result: $0.0213 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

Results collected	Approximate cost
100 results	$2.13
1,000 results	$21.30
10,000 results	$213.00

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 Mastodon Profile 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 Mastodon 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/mastodon-profile-scraper"

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

Troubleshooting

Why am I getting no results?

Check that your profile URLs are correct and point to a public Mastodon account. If the account is suspended, deleted, or the server is down, the scraper will skip it.

The actor returns an error for a valid URL.

Some Mastodon servers have custom themes or slow response times. Try the URL in a private browser window. If it loads there, wait a minute and retry the actor.

I hit the maximum profiles limit but I have more URLs.

Increase the 'Maximum profiles' input value up to 100, or split your URL list into multiple runs if you need more than 100 profiles.

The follower count is missing for some profiles.

Some Mastodon servers hide follower counts or display them in a non-standard format. The actor extracts what is publicly visible; if the server does not show it, the field will be empty.

My run is very slow.

Scraping many profiles from the same server in sequence can be slow. Reduce the number of profiles per run or distribute your URLs across different instances to speed things up.

FAQ

Question	Answer
Do I need an API key to scrape Mastodon profiles?	No. This actor reads the public profile pages that are visible to anyone in a web browser, so no API key or authentication is required.
Can I scrape profiles from any Mastodon server?	Yes. You can provide profile URLs from any Mastodon instance, such as mastodon.social, mstdn.social, or a private community server.
What data does the scraper return for each profile?	It returns the public account details available on the profile page, including display name, bio, follower and following counts, post count, and account creation date.
How many profiles can I scrape in one run?	You can set a maximum number of profiles to scrape, up to 100 per run by default. The actor processes URLs from your list until it hits that cap.
Does this actor scrape private or locked Mastodon accounts?	No. It only collects data that is publicly visible on a profile page. Private, follower-only, or locked accounts will not return their protected details.
Can I scrape profile posts or toots?	This actor focuses on profile metadata only. It does not scrape individual posts, timelines, or media attachments.
What format is the exported data?	You can export your results in CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML formats from the Apify dataset.
Is it possible to scrape a list of profiles from a CSV file?	Yes. You can paste the URLs directly into the input field or run the actor programmatically with a list of URLs from your own file or database.
Does the scraper handle rate limiting?	The actor makes polite requests. If you are scraping many profiles from the same server, you may want to spread your runs out to avoid hitting temporary IP blocks.
Can I use this for Mastodon social media marketing?	You can use the scraped profile data to research audiences or identify accounts for outreach, but the actor itself does not post or engage.

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 Mastodon gGmbH. 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.